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Docker vs Splunk Observability Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 6, 2025

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 (6th)
Splunk Observability Cloud
Ranking in Container Management
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (11th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (9th), Cloud Monitoring Software (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Container Management category, the mindshare of Docker is 2.9%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk Observability Cloud is 0.5%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Container Management
 

Featured Reviews

Rikin Parekh - PeerSpot reviewer
Useful to create sandbox environments to run applications and makes it easy to test them
Overall, setting up the Docker environment is quite easy. Many methods exist, such as using Docker Compose and Docker networks to communicate between containers. The main challenge lies in designing the architecture and integrating different frameworks and microservices. I would rate the ease of setting up the tool at around nine out of ten. The time it takes to deploy depends on the scale of the system. For the early-stage startup I'm currently working with, it doesn't take much time. It's just me handling the deployment. In our early-stage startup, we have a couple of teams with around four to five backend APIs and two front-end services. Deploying these doesn't take much time. My focus is more on minimizing costs due to our lean startup structure.
Lakshmi Padaga - PeerSpot reviewer
Collaborates performance metrics with log data to pinpoint the exact cause of issues and offers error detection
Splunk APM is a robust tool with many capabilities. There are always areas for potential improvement to enhance its functionality and user experience. For Splunk APM, there could be simplified navigation, like streamlining the user interface to make navigation more intuitive for our users, especially those new to APM, which can enhance usability. We can provide more customization options for dashboards and visualizations to help users tailor the platform to their specific needs. There could be more integration capabilities with a wider range of third-party tools and platforms would also be beneficial. By focusing on these areas, Splunk APM can enhance its value proposition, improve user satisfaction, and better meet the evolving needs of organizations monitoring their application performance.

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 is Docker has a fast learning curve."
"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 deployment is quite fast, which is beneficial."
"The most valuable features of Docker are its security, detailed documentation, and ease of use, and the Docker Swarm is not as complex as Kubernetes."
"We are using Docker to host applications."
"The solution offers speed and flexibility."
"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."
"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."
"Splunk's GUI and dashboard capacity are the most valuable features of Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring."
"The data collection from our VMs, containers, databases, and backend components is valuable."
"It can monitor, get the data, and then report on the data."
"The vibrant dashboards are valuable."
"The features are pretty much ready out of the box."
"The feature I find most valuable, is the data integration."
"I have primarily used it to go back into the past and understand why something happened. It provides enough information to do research and figure things out."
"It is a great resource for us because we have so many different data sources and to be able to aggregate that and put it through a concise dashboard or an alert really helps."
 

Cons

"There is always room for improvement. I often refer to forums such as StackOverflow to learn from other developers' experiences and the challenges they have faced while using Docker."
"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."
"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."
"Docker can improve the integration with Microsoft Windows. It does not support native installations."
"There may not be much room for improvement with Docker as it has greatly evolved. However, one area that could be improved upon is the documentation on their website which was once easy to follow but has become quite terrible with numerous versions being released. As an example, the installation process for Docker now requires more than just a one-line command, causing inconvenience. Additionally, based on my experience as a college instructor, teaching students to install Docker was a difficult task due to the lack of straightforward and easy-to-follow documentation. Docker should focus on improving their documentation to make it more user-friendly for all."
"Docker management is very difficult when we have a large number of nodes."
"The runtime and security could improve in Docker. Security is paramount in the cloud and important."
"Stability is an area with a shortcoming."
"The monitoring of workloads when using SignalFx could be improved."
"It's a bit difficult to use. It takes some time to get into it and to get it to do what you would like it to do. It is not straightforward to use it."
"It would be useful if they provided some help pages. If you don't know too much about the tool, there should be more documentation readily available. It would be useful if they had a help button embedded in the solution so you could ask questions and get answers."
"They can get more integration with a few more products. They can also update some of the dashboards that are in there now."
"It does not have a user-friendly interface and it is difficult to use."
"Splunk would be better if some tools were integrated to be able to take action on security or network concerns."
"The cost needs to be re-examined. It's extremely expensive to run. It's also expensive to expand. That's the number one complaint all of my customers have when it comes to Splunk. It's way too expensive compared to other solutions."
"The solution's stability is an area that has room for improvement. It needs to provide constant stability to its users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Docker is a free tool."
"I would rate the pricing of Docker as ten out of ten"
"Docker's price is good."
"The product is a free open-source tool."
"Pricing is based on the number of users."
"Docker is a free open-source solution."
"Docker is a free-to-use solution. However, Docker Enterprise is not free."
"The offering and service are quite free."
"I would rate the price of Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring as an eight out of ten, with ten being the most expensive."
"Splunk offers a 14-day free trial and after that, we have to pay but the cost is reasonable."
"The solution's pricing is competitive. I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten. The price of the solution could be cheaper."
"The solution's pricing is costly."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"The price of Splunk APM is less than some of its competitors."
"Splunk APM is a very cost-efficient solution."
"Licensing cost is the biggest argument I get from those divesting from Splunk. There are those within our organization who say we are going to go to other tools since Splunk is too expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Insurance Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
15%
Retailer
8%
Government
7%
 

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 needs improvement with Docker?
In terms of communication between services, perhaps the configuration within networks between containers could be improved.
What do you like most about SignalFx?
The most valuable feature is dashboard creation.
What needs improvement with SignalFx?
There is room for improvement in the alerting system, which is complicated and has less documentation available. We sometimes encountered issues in setting up alerts. The custom detector could be m...
What is your primary use case for SignalFx?
The main purpose of using Splunk APM is to optimize our application. We use Splunk APM primarily to understand how the application works, how it uses resources, and its response time in connection ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Sunrun, Yelp, Onshape, Tapjoy, Symphony Commerce, Chairish, Clever, Grovo, Bazaar Voice, Zenefits, Avalara
Find out what your peers are saying about Docker vs. Splunk Observability Cloud and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,210 professionals have used our research since 2012.