Docker Alternatives

Docker is described as 'Open-source engine that automates the deployment of any application as a lightweight, portable, self-sufficient container that will run virtually anywhere' and is a very popular Virtualization tool in the system & hardware category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Docker for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Mac, Windows, Self-Hosted and BSD apps. The best Docker alternative is Podman, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Docker are Linux Containers (LXC), Distrobox, OrbStack and BitNami Application Stacks.

filter to find the best alternatives

Docker alternatives are mainly Virtualization Tools, but if you're looking for Web Servers or Server Management Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include FreeBSD, Free, Mac, Windows and Open Source. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Docker.
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Alternatives list

  1. Apache Mesos icon
     20 likes

    Apache Mesos is a cluster manager that simplifies the complexity of running applications on a shared pool of servers.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
     
  2. Singularity icon
     10 likes

    Singularity is a container solution with a focus on building reproducible software stacks and running them most efficiently on existing HPC, scientific, compute farm and even enterprise architectures.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
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    1
    11
    Comments about Singularity as an Alternative to Docker
    Luca Gibelli
    Positive
    0

    Lightweight, very easy to setup. Moving containers between servers is as easy as copying a file.

    Docker Icon
    Singularity icon
    • Almost everyone thinks Singularity is a great Docker alternative.

    • Singularity is Free and Open SourceDocker is Freemium and Open Source
  3.  4 likes

    The FreeBSD jail mechanism is an implementation of operating system-level virtualization that allows system administrators to partition a FreeBSD-based computer system into several independent mini-systems called jails.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • BSD
    • FreeBSD
    • DragonFly BSD
     
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    1
    8
    Comments about FreeBSD Jails as an Alternative to Docker
    Guest
    Positive
    2

    Great tools and documentation, they have been around for much longer than docker and are a more mature solution.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Docker Icon
    • Most users think FreeBSD Jails is a great Docker alternative.

    • FreeBSD Jails is Free and Open SourceDocker is Freemium and Open Source
  4. OpenVZ icon
     12 likes

    OpenVZ is container-based virtualization for Linux.

    OpenVZ creates multiple secure, isolated Linux containers (otherwise known as VEs or VPSs) on a single physical server enabling better server utilization and ensuring that applications do not conflict.

    Each container performs.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
     
  5.  6 likes

    Libre.sh is a little framework to host Docker. It is simple and modular and respect the convention over configuration paradigm.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
     
  6. Kata Containers is an open source, secure container runtime with lightweight virtual machines that feel and perform like containers, but provide stronger workload isolation using hardware virtualization technology as a second layer of defense.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
     
  7. Simplecontainer manager a.k.a smr. Standalone and cluster mode, GitOps, Secrets, Reconciliation, and YAML definitions for Docker.

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
     
  8. Kubevious icon
     1 like

    Kubevious provides a usable and highly graphical interface for Kubernetes. Kubevious renders all configurations relevant to the application in one place. That saves a lot of time from operators, eliminating the need for looking up settings and digging within selectors and labels.

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Online
     
    • Kubevious is the most popular commercial alternative to Docker.

    • Kubevious is Paid and Open SourceDocker is Freemium and Open Source
  9. Pods icon
     2 likes

    Pods is a frontend for podman. It uses libadwaita for its user interface and strives to meet the design principles of GNOME.

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
     
  10. The Turbo.net Client allows you to package apps and their dependencies into a lightweight, isolated virtual environment called a "container." Containerized apps can be run on any machine that has the appropriate Turbo.

    5 Turbo.net Client alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Android
    • iPad
     
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    1
    Comments about Turbo.net Client as an Alternative to Docker
    JohnDangerbrooks
    Positive
    -1

    It is the only solution that runs an OS other than Linux.

    Docker Icon
    Turbo.net Client icon
    • Turbo.net Client is the most popular Android & iPad alternative to Docker.

    • Turbo.net Client is Freemium and ProprietaryDocker is Freemium and Open Source
  11. Crane icon
     8 likes

    Crane is a container image tool that includes building local Docker images; connecting to DockerHub; listing local and remote container images; pushing local images to the DockerHub registry, and importing remote container images into an MLOps platform cluster.

    13 Crane alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
     
  12.  1 like

    plash is a flexible container build and run engine. It supports rootless containers, needs no daemons and runs inside docker.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
     
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