Detailed comparison across 10 dimensions
Winner: Docker Swarm
Docker Swarm clearly comes out ahead of Portainer on Staquest's weighted six-dimension score. Both offer a free tier. Portainer's paid plans start at $99/mo.
| Overview | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | hybrid | hybrid |
| Company | Docker | Portainer.io |
| Free Tier | ||
| Has API | ||
| Open Source | ||
| Learning Curve | - | - |
| Integration | - | - |
| Trending | Stable | Stable |
| GitHub Stars | - | - |
| Industries | DevelopmentSaaS & Cloud | DevelopmentSaaS & Cloud |
| Categories | devops | devops |
| Website | Visit | Visit |
Docker Swarm
open source
| Feature | docker-swarm | portainer |
|---|---|---|
| Built-In Overlay Networking | ||
| Advanced Security | ||
| Integrated With Docker Engine | ||
| Business Edition Features | ||
| Load Balancing | ||
| Business Support | ||
| Native Clustering Functionality | ||
| Commercial Use | ||
| Raft Consensus Algorithm | ||
| Community Support | ||
| Service Discovery | ||
| Dedicated Support | ||
| Non-Commercial Use | ||
| Open Source Container Management | ||
| Sla | ||
| Sso | ||
| Starts At 5 Nodes | ||
| Up To 15 Nodes | ||
| Up To 3 Nodes |
Showing 19 of 19 features
Dashes mean the feature isn't listed in our data. The tool may still support it.
On Staquest's weighted six-dimension scoring, Docker Swarm comes out ahead overall, though Portainer can be the better fit depending on your priorities — see the dimension-by-dimension breakdown above.
Both Docker Swarm and Portainer offer a free tier.
Docker Swarm scores higher on pricing value in Staquest's analysis. It is the highest-weighted dimension in this comparison.