Docker vs Rancher Labs comparison

Docker and Rancher Labs are both solutions in the Container Management category. Docker is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.7, while Rancher Labs is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.8. Docker holds a 3.7% mindshare in CM, compared to Rancher Labs’s 8.4% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Docker users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Rancher Labs users who would recommend it.

Docker

Read 55 Docker reviews

1,592 Views
1,307 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Rancher Labs

Read 14 Rancher Labs reviews

4,868 Views
3,957 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Docker

Rancher Labs

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 13, 2024

Rancher Labs and Docker compete in the container management and deployment category. Based on feature availability and deployment flexibility, Docker often has the upper hand due to its strong security and portability features, while Rancher Labs specializes in Kubernetes management and storage solutions.

Features: Rancher Labs provides flexibility with strong integration, resource management, and excellent persistent storage capabilities for Kubernetes. It offers open-source options and excels in storage management. Docker is favored for its security, detailed documentation, and ease of use, with superior containerization and portability features for efficient deployments across environments.

Room for Improvement: Rancher Labs could enhance stability, advanced integrations, and support for complex multi-cloud deployments. Improving security features and observability tools is suggested. Docker could improve in stability and documentation, requiring more intuitive management interfaces and enhanced security features. Better integrated monitoring and improved handling of GPU resources for machine learning applications are needed.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Rancher Labs is typically implemented on-premises with reliable support via open-source communities. Docker deploys easily across public, private, and hybrid clouds with praised responsive technical support. Docker's flexibility in cloud adaptability sets it apart, offering a more versatile deployment experience.

Pricing and ROI: Rancher Labs is open-source without licensing fees, providing significant ROI through cost savings, though support fees can be substantial. Docker, largely open-source, offers variable licensing costs based on user needs, facilitating cost-effective scalability. Both offer substantial returns, with Rancher providing comprehensive Kubernetes management without additional expenses unless premium support is selected.

To learn more, read our detailed Docker vs. Rancher Labs Report (Updated: December 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Docker vs. Rancher Labs

December 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Docker

Ranking in Container Management

5th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Development Platforms (1st), Software Supply Chain Security (5th)

Rancher Labs

Ranking in Container Management

6th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Storage for Kubernetes (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Container Management category, the mindshare of Docker is 3.7%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rancher Labs is 8.4%, up from 8.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Container Management

Featured Reviews

Gur Sannikov

Technical program manager at Intel Corporation

Offers reliability and helps to save on costs

In terms of the impact of container orchestration, I would say that though my company does not currently use a lot of containers, we plan to move to containers. I recommend others to just use the internet than ChatGPT since mostly all issues are already known and very easy to deal with so it is better to use the knowledge from the industry. In terms of the use of Docker for AI projects or workflows, I would say that my company deploys AI applications on Docker, like any other application and pipeline. The tools or practices that have proven to be the most beneficial for our company's AI initiatives are agnostic to Docker. There is nothing special in Docker, and our company just uses it to deploy applications. The value derived from the use of the product revolves around the scalability and the reliability it offers. The product helps with the cost-savings part since it saves time and money linked with the amount of engineers required to spend time on operations. I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

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RyanVassallo

Head of Systems and Infrastructure at Booming Games

Offers an open-source version along with a good UI

The product has multiple good features. One of the solution's good features is that it is the GitOps functionality known as Rancher fleet, which is used for continuous delivery. The tool's UI is very convenient enough to help you manage multiple clusters in the cloud or on-premises, making it a product with which you can manage different clusters and locations. The tool also has a feature that is still kind of maturing, but I think it has very good potential. This new feature is named Harvester, which is allows users to have virtual machines managed by Kubernetes engine. This is very new technology in the market. I think that Harvester needs to mature as a product, and I think that in the future, it will be very powerful. You have one tool that does many things for you.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Docker is the dedicated QA environment for connecting the team members. Additionally, there are many core features available and it is highly secure when we are imaging a client's server."

"The initial setup was easy, and you are only required to run commands."

"Docker packages up an application as a single item that you can then run without the need to install or configure it to work on any specific machine."

"The most valuable feature is that it gives you the same environment as on a developer machine as well as a production machine relevant to specifications."

"It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"The solution is easy to install."

"Docker is very reliable. It's easy to scale, and it's very stable."

"Kubernetes is the primary container orchestration tool I use with this solution. Docker provides a complete solution for deploying and managing workloads across multiple nodes. Container orchestration has significantly impacted my workload by automating tasks and streamlining operations. The availability of systems like Kubernetes is crucial for planning and managing complete clusters and computing environments. Every client's needs are different, and not one solution fits all."

More Docker pros

"The solution is stable."

"The most valuable feature of Rancher Labs is its user interface, which makes it easier to work with containers and deployment."

"A great UI with very good integrations."

"The solution has a lot of good features, such as you can access the console and edit through the GUI. The dashboard and the UI are designed well, user-friendly, and easy to manage, and access."

"The scalability potential is very good."

"The tool's UI is very convenient enough to help you manage multiple clusters in the cloud or the company, making it a product with which you can manage different clusters and locations."

"This solution is not vendor-locked, which means that we we are able to use it across all of our resources; this feature is of great value to us."

"Rancher Labs is a very user-friendly tool."

More Rancher Labs pros

Cons

"The product does not have an extensive documentation. The tool does not have good scenarios. We have to go through the GitHub repository and investigate similar scenarios. Also, if you are copying multiple things, then you can jeopardize the copy number. The copying aspect also lacks a UI part. We also need to limit the memory."

"The stability could be improved."

"Sometimes, we have sync-up issues where the build doesn't get processed due to these sync issues, causing the build to fail. That's one of the drawbacks I see. When we did a huge sync-up, we faced a couple of issues. It takes some time for us to complete the sync-up. For frequent, smaller updates, we haven't had any issues. However, challenges can arise for those who prefer doing everything in one go. This might not necessarily be due to the tool itself but because of the approach of doing everything in a single batch."

"Docker could improve by having security vulnerability reports."

"The solution is not easy to manage and it is one of the reasons why people introduce orchestration tools to manage it."

"The backup compatibility for legacy window stations is an area of concern where improvement is required, especially since my company has certain legacy tools that we are struggling to move."

"As for improving Docker, I would like to see enhancements in its user interface and documentation to make it even more user-friendly and accessible. I believe Docker will expand its scope and reduce limitations to support more applications, both online and offline. For instance, in scenarios like deployments on ships or during upgrades, Docker can continue to offer software services and container-based intelligence."

"I would like to see a more UI-based tool so that students can easily understand it rather than memorizing all of the Docker commands."

More Docker cons

"I can't migrate to the newer version."

"We have found that the auto-secure feature of this solution doesn't always work, and could be improved to be more reliable, particularly when working with business critical applications."

"While Rancher Labs provides some level of security, it's not considered very robust."

"We're looking for something that is even easier to use. It's a bit complicated."

"Could be more intuitive."

"If you have poor infrastructure, you will have issues with the tool."

"They should improve application visibility along with code visibility."

"One area for improvement in Rancher Labs is the development aspect."

More Rancher Labs cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Docker is cost-effective and open-source."

"Docker is a free open-source solution."

"Pricing is based on the number of users."

"It's an open-source solution, so it doesn't cost anything"

"The solution is an open-source technology and not a commercial product. However, you will have to pay sometimes. The tool's pricing depends on the vendor."

"Docker's price is good."

"The pricing of the solution is fairly cheap."

"Docker is open source. To use a Docker enterprise model, we would need to pay for it."

More Docker pricing and cost advice

"There is an annual subscription. The price of the solution should be cheaper and have better pricing flexibility."

"The solution is free and open source but there is a fee for support."

"This is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs involved."

"The pricing of the solution sits in the mid range, not high and not low. It has a fixed price that you pay every month."

"The cost is reasonable since it's open source. Rancher effectively addresses container orchestration trends, especially for those with some Kubernetes knowledge."

"Although Rancher Labs is an open-source solution, they also offer a paid version, where you buy the support when needed."

"There are no hidden charges attached to the product unless a user opts for the premium support offered by the solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Insurance Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What do you like most about Rancher Labs?

The tool's UI is very convenient enough to help you manage multiple clusters in the cloud or the company, making it a product with which you can manage different clusters and locations.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rancher Labs?

The cost is reasonable since it's open-source. Rancher effectively addresses container orchestration trends, especially for those with some Kubernetes knowledge.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Rancher Labs?

While Rancher Labs provides some level of security, it's not considered very robust. We found it to offer basic security features, which met some of our requirements, but we also relied on other op...

See all answers

Comparisons

VMware Tanzu Platform vs Docker

Compared 23% of the time

Mirantis Container Runtime vs Docker

Compared 16% of the time

Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE vs Docker

Compared 10% of the time

Codespaces vs Docker

Compared 9% of the time

AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) vs Docker

Compared 7% of the time

More Docker Competitors

VMware Tanzu Platform vs Rancher Labs

Compared 40% of the time

Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform vs Rancher Labs

Compared 10% of the time

Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE vs Rancher Labs

Compared 7% of the time

Portainer vs Rancher Labs

Compared 5% of the time

Mirantis Container Runtime vs Rancher Labs

Compared 4% of the time

More Rancher Labs Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Docker

December 2024

Download Docker product report

Buyer's Guide

Rancher Labs

December 2024

Download Rancher Labs product report

Learn More

Docker

Rancher Labs

Overview

Docker is a versatile container platform used for running and deploying applications in isolated environments, ensuring consistency across development, testing, and production.

Docker offers solutions for containerizing applications, automating deployments, and managing infrastructure through its robust platform. It supports CI/CD workflows, provides a development platform for container management, and simplifies the setup by using streamlined tools. Organizations leverage Docker for building microservices, running UI applications, deploying web services, and setting up secure environments. It also facilitates managing containers via Kubernetes and creating development stacks for enhanced productivity.

What are Docker's key features?

Security: Offers containment and isolation of applications.
Easy Use: Simplifies the deployment and management of applications.
Documentation: Extensive resources to aid in understanding and implementation.
Customization: Flexible environment configurations.
Scalability: Efficiently handles applications irrespective of scale.
Internal DNS: Manages network configurations within the container ecosystem.
Overlay Networks: Facilitates seamless inter-container communication.
Resource Efficiency: Optimizes usage of system resources.

What benefits should users look for?

Consistency: Ensures homogeneous environments across development, testing, and production stages.
Portability: Allows applications to run consistently on any platform.
Cost-Effectiveness: Reduces overhead costs associated with application deployment.
Speed: Accelerates the build, test, and deployment cycles.
Flexibility: Supports various tools and integrations to adapt to different workflows.

Industries implement Docker for CI/CD pipelines, scaling services, and improving resource utilization. Tech companies use Docker for building and deploying their software in isolated environments. Finance and healthcare sectors deploy applications securely, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. Educational institutions set up consistent development environments for coding labs and training students in advanced technologies.

Rancher Labs build innovative, open source software that makes it easy to deploy and manage containers in production on any infrastructure. We enable organizations to accelerate all aspects of their software development pipeline, from writing and testing code to running complex microservices-based applications.

Rancher, our flagship container management platform, allows users to easily manage all aspects of running containers in development and production environments, on any infrastructure. With well over four million downloads, Rancher has quickly become the tools of choice for teams serious about running containers in production. This includes large enterprises such as Sony, IBM, Tyco, Align Technologies and more.

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Albert Heijn, Bell, BMC, Samsung, WindStream, Johnson & Johnson

Buyer's Guide

Docker vs. Rancher Labs

December 2024

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