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Source-backed analysis11

Review basis

The AppDuo team prepared this review by analysing product features, official documentation and user feedback to help you understand its strengths, limitations and suitability for your needs.

11 reference sources

Information updated Nov 10, 2026

How we review
Docker logo

Docker Review

The most widely used container tooling among developers, now adding tools for AI agents

7.5/10

By · Updated

  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Linux
Freemium · $11.00/mo
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Decide at a glance

Our verdict

Docker suits developers and DevOps teams who need to package, run and share applications consistently across environments: 71.1% of respondents in the 2025 Stack Overflow survey use it, Docker Engine is open source and the Personal plan is free. The trade-offs: Docker Desktop is not free for organisations with 250 or more employees or $10 million or more in revenue, and Docker Hub pull limits and per-seat costs can add up as teams grow.

Best for: Developers who want identical environments across machines and in deployment

Skip it if: Large organisations unwilling to pay per seat for Docker Desktop, who might use only Docker Engine on Linux

Pros

  • High adoption: 71.1% of Stack Overflow 2025 respondents use Docker (73.8% of professional developers)
  • A free Personal plan; Docker Desktop is also free for small businesses, education and non-commercial open source
  • Docker Engine is Apache 2.0 licensed and supports many Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Debian, RHEL, Fedora, CentOS)

Cons

  • Docker Desktop needs a paid plan for organisations with 250+ employees or $10M+ revenue
  • The Personal plan caps Docker Hub pulls and gives only 1 private repository; the pricing page and docs state different figures (100 per hour vs 200 per 6 hours)
All pros and cons · Who is it for?

Pros

  • Clear per-user pricing: Pro $11, Team $16, Business $24 per month (Pro and Team are cheaper billed annually)
  • A wide toolset: Docker Hub, Scout, Hardened Images, Model Runner and Sandboxes for AI agents

Cons

  • Docker does not support the open-source Docker Engine directly; it supports products such as Docker Desktop
  • Docker Desktop does not support Windows Server, and some modes need Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise or Education

Best for

  • DevOps teams needing an image registry (Docker Hub), vulnerability scanning (Scout) and user management
  • Individuals, students and small businesses who want Docker Desktop for free

Skip it if

  • People who just need to host a simple web app without managing containers themselves

Experience & key features

What is Docker?

Docker is a set of products that package software into containers, with Docker Engine at the core. Per Wikipedia, Solomon Hykes started the project inside dotCloud (founded in Paris in 2008), and Docker was open-sourced and debuted publicly at PyCon 2013. On 29 October 2013 dotCloud was renamed Docker, Inc. In November 2019 Mirantis acquired Docker's enterprise business. On 31 August 2021 Docker launched the Business subscription and changed Docker Desktop's licensing terms.

Key features

Docker Desktop brings containers and the development loop into one app for Mac, Windows and Linux. Docker Hub is where images are found and shared; Docker Scout covers software supply-chain security; Hardened Images are minimal, signed and continuously patched. Docker has recently added AI products: Gordon (Docker's AI agent), Model Runner for local LLM inference, microVM-isolated Sandboxes for agents and an MCP Gateway. Docker Desktop has shipped every two weeks since 4.45.0; version 4.99.0 was released on 9 November 2026.

Pricing and value

Per the pricing page, Personal is $0; Pro is $11 per month ($9 billed annually); Team is $16 ($15 annually); Business is $24, listed on annual billing only in the comparison table, all per user. Licensing rules: Docker Desktop is free for businesses with fewer than 250 employees and under $10 million in annual revenue, for personal use, education and non-commercial open-source projects; other cases need a paid plan. Docker Hub docs set limits of 100 pulls per 6 hours for unauthenticated users and 200 for Personal accounts.

More analysis

Who it's for and how it compares

Docker suits people who want to standardise development and deployment environments with containers. For code hosting and CI/CD it typically pairs with GitHub or GitLab; for running containers, people commonly pick AWS, Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure. These tools complement rather than replace each other: in the 2025 Stack Overflow survey, 71.1% of respondents used Docker, 81.1% GitHub and 43.3% AWS. Linux users may need only the open-source Docker Engine under Apache 2.0.

Screenshots

Docker Sandboxes: microVM isolation for AI agent sessions
Docker Sandboxes: microVM isolation for AI agent sessions
Docker Hardened Images: minimal, signed and continuously patched images
Docker Hardened Images: minimal, signed and continuously patched images
AI Governance: a single console for sandbox and MCP policy
AI Governance: a single console for sandbox and MCP policy

Plans & pricing

Prices last verified Nov 10, 2026

Personal

Free

Per the pricing page: 1 user, 1 Docker Scout repository, 1 private Docker Hub repository, community support. Hub pull limits are listed as 100 per hour on the pricing card and 200 per 6 hours in the Docker Hub docs.

Pro

$11/mo/user

$9/mo billed yearly

$11 per user per month ($9 billed annually). 1 user, 2 Docker Scout repositories, unlimited pulls (fair use), 100 Testcontainers Cloud minutes, support response in 5 business days.

Team

$16/mo/user

$15/mo billed yearly

$16 per user per month ($15 billed annually). Up to 100 users, unlimited Scout and private repositories, 500 Testcontainers Cloud minutes, audit logs, support response in 2 business days (24x5).

Business

$24/mo/user

$24 per user per month; the comparison table lists it on annual billing only. No user cap, SSO, SCIM, Enhanced Container Isolation, 1,500 Testcontainers Cloud minutes, invoice purchasing, support response in 1 business day (24x5).

Free plan limits
Docker Desktop is free for small businesses (fewer than 250 employees AND under $10 million annual revenue), personal use, education and non-commercial open-source projects; larger organisations need a paid subscription. Docker Engine is Apache 2.0 licensed.
Free trial
No free trial
Cancellation & refunds

The pages opened do not state a refund policy for paid plans.

Privacy

Docker's privacy policy (updated 26 August 2026) lists the data collected: account and contact information, billing details (cards handled by Stripe, with Docker not storing full card numbers), website data such as cookies and IP address, and product usage data. AI services add compute records, telemetry (sandbox events, MCP tool calls), API keys you store and snapshots that may contain your prompts and model outputs; unsaved snapshots are deleted within 7 days. If you connect your own model provider's API key, prompts go to that provider under your own agreement with it; Docker says it does not use prompts or responses to train models. Personal data is generally kept no more than 12 months. Docker says it did not sell or share California residents' personal information for cross-context advertising in the previous 12 months, but it uses analytics providers such as Google Analytics and ad networks on its website. The policy does not separately describe Docker Desktop telemetry. Users have access, correction and deletion rights, plus GDPR and CCPA rights.

Official pricing page

Docker alternatives

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GitHub

Code hosting, code review, CI/CD and Copilot on one platform

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DigitalOcean

Simple cloud with transparent pricing for developers and small teams

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Frequently asked questions

Is Docker free?

Conditionally yes. The Personal plan is free, and Docker Desktop is free for small businesses (under 250 employees and under $10 million revenue), personal use, education and non-commercial open source. Docker Engine is Apache 2.0 licensed.

How much does Docker Pro cost?

$11 per user per month, or $9 per month billed annually, per the official pricing page. Team is $16 ($15 annually) and Business is $24.

What is the difference between Docker Desktop and Docker Engine?

Docker Engine is the component that runs containers, Apache 2.0 licensed and supported by the Moby community. Docker Desktop is an app for Windows, macOS and Linux that uses Docker Engine as one component, with its own license and supported by Docker.

What does Docker Desktop need on Windows?

Windows 10 22H2 or Windows 11 23H2 or later (Enterprise, Pro or Education), WSL 2.1.5 or later or Hyper-V, a 64-bit processor with SLAT, 8 GB of RAM and virtualization enabled in BIOS. Windows Server is not supported.

Review evidence & sources11

Scores

Ease of use
7.2
Why this score

Docker Desktop bundles the CLI, a GUI and Docker Engine in one app for Windows, macOS and Linux, with broad docs. Marked down because containers have a learning curve and Windows setup requires WSL 2 or Hyper-V, BIOS virtualization and 8 GB of RAM. The interface is English-only.

Features
8.9
Why this score

Docker Engine, Compose, Docker Hub, Scout, Hardened Images, Model Runner, Sandboxes and Offload; the homepage claims 20B+ monthly pulls and 20M+ developers daily (self-reported). It leads container tooling at 71.1% in the 2025 Stack Overflow survey.

Value for money
7.6
Why this score

Free for individuals and small businesses; Pro at $9 per month billed annually is low. Marked down because large organisations must pay for Desktop (Team $15, Business $24 per seat) and Personal gives only 1 private repository.

Performance
7.4
Why this score

Docker Desktop ships every two weeks since version 4.45.0 (latest 4.99.0 on 9 Nov 2026) and has a beta Docker VMM backend with performance improvements on Mac and Windows. No independent benchmarks were found in the sources opened, so the score is cautious.

Support
6.8
Why this score

Broad docs; Personal gets community support only, Pro responds in 5 business days, Team in 2 and Business in 1. Docker does not directly support the open-source Docker Engine.

Privacy & security
6.9
Why this score

The policy names data types, generally keeps data no more than 12 months, deletes unsaved AI snapshots within 7 days, covers GDPR/CCPA rights and says prompts are not used to train models. Marked down for Google Analytics and ad networks on the website and no separate description of Docker Desktop telemetry.

Sources

Specs & compatibility
Developer
Docker, Inc.
Headquarters
United States
Launched
2013
Category
Development

Capabilities

  • Open source
  • AI features
  • Integrations
  • Real-time collaboration

Platforms

  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Linux

Interface languages

  • English

Integrations

  • Docker Hub
  • Docker Compose
  • Kubernetes
  • Testcontainers
  • Docker Scout
  • MCP

Support

  • Help center
  • Community forum
  • Email

Change history

  1. Feature.Docker Desktop 4.99.0 is released; the app has shipped every two weeks since 4.45.0.
  2. Company.Docker acquires AtomicJar, the company behind Testcontainers.
  3. Company.Docker raises a $105M Series C led by Bain Capital.
Full change history (6)
  1. Price.Docker launches the Business subscription and changes Docker Desktop licensing terms.
  2. Company.Mirantis acquires Docker's enterprise business; Scott Johnston becomes CEO.
  3. Company.dotCloud is renamed Docker, Inc.
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