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Docker vs Google Kubernetes Engine comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 13, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Docker
Ranking in Container Management
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (1st), Software Supply Chain Security (5th)
Google Kubernetes Engine
Ranking in Container Management
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Container Management category, the mindshare of Docker is 3.1%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Kubernetes Engine is 2.2%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Container Management
 

Featured Reviews

Renat Babin - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to deploy with an impressive networking feature
The volumes for persistent storage could be more user friendly right out of the box. I would like an option to just use it as local storage or some kind of NSF or CIF. Or to mount the volume straight to a Google Drive or through a particular cloud storage. It's not that these things are impossible, but you have to do some extra work or configurations.
Abhilash Gopidas - PeerSpot reviewer
The auto-scaling feature helps during peak hours, but the support is not great
The product has no downtime. Automated scaling is a valuable feature. During peak hours, the datasets are on a higher volume. We need scaling in place. Otherwise, there's a degradation in the performance. We might sometimes miss data, or there will be no data sync between systems. Auto-scaling helps deal with performance needs during peak hours. There's no lag time for processing data.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Traditional deployments take more time and builds can be inconsistent across different environments. Docker solves these issues."
"The solution is stable."
"The current version is quite good with our application."
"There are ways of using Docker where you have absolutely no dependencies on the environment that you work in. This allows us to deploy Docker anywhere anytime and this has been most valuable."
"Containerization is the most valuable feature. I can communicate to the Docker containers using other containers."
"The most valuable feature of Docker is automation. When I deploy the solution I am confident it will work anywhere. It is reliable and easy to use."
"The solution's most valuable feature is having containers independent of the operating system or environment."
"The stability is excellent."
"The most valuable aspect of Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is its managed nature, which significantly reduces the burden on our platform team."
"Google Kubernetes Engine is used for orchestrating Docker containers. We have 30 or 40 customers working with this solution now. We'll probably see 10 to 15 percent growth in the number of customers using Google Kubernetes Engine in the future."
"The most valuable feature of Google Kubernetes Engine is how you can automatically scale and load balance."
"The initial setup process is simpler and more user-friendly than other cloud providers."
"Google Kubernetes Engine's most valuable feature is container deployment."
"The product has no downtime."
"The product’s dashboard is very intuitive."
"It's easy to manage and deploy. It's the best."
 

Cons

"I would love to have it available on Linux."
"The volumes for persistent storage could be more user friendly right out of the box."
"The solution’s documentation could improve a bit."
"Enhancing artificial intelligence capabilities and cluster management should be a priority. It should facilitate some security management."
"I want to see if new architectures have been incorporated in Docker or if we have to wait for another release."
"They should provide proper documentation to understand the solution's cgroup process."
"The learning curve with Docker is huge and extensive"
"Stability is an area with a shortcoming."
"I think that security is an important point, and there should be additional features for the evaluation of data in containers that will create a more secure environment for usage in multi-parent models."
"An area in which Google Kubernetes Engine could improve is configuration."
"Their documentation is a little here and there. Sometimes, the information is not clear or updated. Their documentation should be a little bit better."
"The user interface could be improved."
"Our critique is that we have to do too much work to get the cluster production-ready."
"The solution does not have a visual interface."
"I use the Firebase tool with GKE and it would be helpful if the solution can give notifications when we reach the budget limit."
"The tool's configuration features need improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We use the open-source version."
"Docker is cost-effective and open-source."
"We are using the open-source version of the solution."
"It's free."
"The product is not expensive."
"Its convenience edition is free of cost."
"For commercial use, it's about $30 per month. The license itself isn't expensive, but if there are many users, the price becomes high."
"The current cost for us is nothing as an open source."
"I would rate Kubernetes' pricing four out of five."
"The solution's price is reasonable."
"I would rate the solution's pricing a nine out of ten. The tool costs around 3000 dollars per month. There are no additional costs apart from these."
"This is an open source solution, so there is no pricing or licensing."
"Currently, it costs around $1000 per month which sorted our deployment. So once we get more clients, having a huge suffix, costs can go up."
"It is competitive, and it is not expensive. It is almost competitive with AWS and the rest of the cloud solutions. We are spending around 3K USD per month. There are four projects that are currently running, and each one is incurring a cost of around 3K USD."
"Initially, Google Kubernetes Engine was a little bit cheaper, but now its prices have been increased compared to the pricing model and the features that are made available by its competitors."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Insurance Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Docker?
We are using Docker to host applications.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Docker?
Our customers buy the software and the prices are available on Docker Hub. The subscription is typically yearly, and customers will need to buy the subscription directly. They can purchase it thems...
What needs improvement with Docker?
Docker is a time-tested, proven solution with industry-wide applications. There can be challenges with port mapping, however, that's not related to Docker itself.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Kubernetes Engine?
For pricing, Google is considered cheaper compared to AWS, making it suitable for smaller to medium companies concerning cost. I would rate the cost around four out of ten, where ten is the higher ...
What needs improvement with Google Kubernetes Engine?
The management UI could be improved. When looking at the web interface, it feels kind of slow due to the many features involved. The interface could definitely be faster.
 

Also Known As

No data available
GKE
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Philips Lighting, Alpha Vertex, GroupBy, BQ
Find out what your peers are saying about Docker vs. Google Kubernetes Engine and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.