Docker pricing and licenses

See Docker Pricing for plans.

Docker licensing is always free for personal use. But what if your team or business wants to use Docker? Compare our pricing options and features.

See Docker Desktop License Agreement on pricing and terms.

So for business use, Podman and Colima are good alternatives. They also have other benefits.

Comparision

Feature Docker Podman Colima
Core Concept Standardized container platform Linux native, rootless, secure Lightweight VM for macOS & Linux
Licensing Commercial license for Docker Desktop in large enterprises; free for personal use and small businesses. Open-source (Apache 2.0). Completely free for all uses, including commercial. Open-source (MIT license). It leverages the open-source Docker Engine, avoiding Docker Desktop’s commercial license.
Architecture Client-server daemon (Docker uses a central daemon for a client-server model) Daemonless (Podman is a daemonless engine that runs containers as user processes) Wrapper for other runtimes (Colima is a lightweight VM manager that hosts a Docker or containerd engine for macOS and Linux)
Security Runs as a root daemon; single point of failure. Rootless by default; containers run as user processes, improving security. Inherits security of the underlying runtime (usually Docker Engine), but a more minimal VM reduces attack surface (run as root but only inside the VM).
Performance/Resources Resource-heavy on Mac and Windows. It runs a full Linux VM with a daemon and a GUI. This can consume significant CPU and RAM, even when idle. It has a “Resource Saver” mode, but the VM still has an overhead. Very lightweight and fast on Linux. Because it’s daemonless, it only uses resources when a command is executed. On macOS and Windows, it still requires a VM, but the overall footprint is often lighter than Docker Desktop. Extremely lightweight. Colima’s VM is a minimal Linux distribution (Lima). It has a significantly smaller memory and CPU footprint compared to Docker Desktop, resulting in faster startup times and less resource consumption, especially on macOS.
User Experience All-in-one GUI for Mac/Windows, which is convenient but resource-heavy. CLI-focused and Linux-native. Podman Desktop offers a GUI, but it’s a separate install. CLI-only, lightweight, and very fast. Integrates with the existing docker CLI, so there’s no learning curve.
Kubernetes Integration Built-in single-node Kubernetes via Docker Desktop. Can manage “pods” natively and has strong Kubernetes-focused tools like podman generate kube. Easily enables a local Kubernetes cluster (k3s) via a simple command line flag (colima start --kubernetes).
Platform macOS, Linux, Windows Linux native; macOS, Windows via a VM. macOS, Linux
CLI docker ... podman ... (mostly Docker-compatible) colima ... (manages the VM) + docker ...
Docker Compose Built-in Requires podman-compose or a docker-compose alias. Works out-of-the-box by default.

Here is a detailed comparison table focusing on security, performance, and other user-affecting features, with a focus on how each tool operates.

User Experience All-in-one package. Provides a comprehensive GUI for managing containers, images, and volumes. It also offers built-in Kubernetes and extensions. This makes it very user-friendly for beginners but can feel bloated for CLI-focused users. CLI-focused and Linux-native. The core experience is on the command line. A GUI is available with Podman Desktop, but it’s a separate install and not a core part of the package. CLI-only and minimalist. It has no GUI; all interaction is through the command line. It’s designed for users who are comfortable with the terminal and want a fast, simple experience. It integrates seamlessly with the standard docker CLI you already know.
Network & Volumes Seamless integration. Handles port forwarding and volume mounts automatically, which “just works” out of the box for most scenarios. Requires configuration. Port forwarding and volume mounts can be more complex, particularly with rootless networking. It often requires specific network setups (e.g., slirp4netns) to function correctly. Very good integration. Colima provides excellent automatic port forwarding and volume mounts to the underlying VM, making the user experience feel very similar to Docker Desktop but with less overhead.
Ecosystem & Community The industry standard. The largest community, most extensive documentation, and the most third-party tool integrations. It’s the de facto choice for many teams and CI/CD pipelines. Growing rapidly. Podman has strong backing from Red Hat and a very active community, especially in enterprise and security-conscious environments. The ecosystem is maturing quickly, with tools like podman-compose closing the feature gap with Docker. Niche but dedicated. Colima is a much smaller project focused on a specific use case (lightweight dev on Mac/Linux). Its community is highly active on GitHub, and its development is rapid. It doesn’t have the broad ecosystem of Docker or Podman but serves its purpose exceptionally well.

Explanations

Docker

Docker is the well-known, industry standard for containerization. It uses a client-server architecture where the docker CLI communicates with a background daemon (dockerd). This daemon manages all containers, images, and volumes. While powerful and feature-rich, its daemon-based approach and default root access can be a security concern. For macOS and Windows, Docker Desktop uses a virtual machine (VM) to run the Linux-based daemon.

Podman

Podman is a container engine designed to be a direct, daemonless replacement for Docker. Instead of a central daemon, it runs containers as direct child processes of the user. This means it can run rootless containers by default, which is a significant security advantage.

It’s a top choice for security-sensitive environments and for native Linux users, though on macOS and Windows it must still run inside a VM.

Colima

Colima is not a container engine itself but rather a simple command-line tool that sets up a lightweight Linux VM to run a container engine, typically Docker Engine or containerd. It’s specifically designed for macOS and Linux developers as a more lightweight and resource-efficient alternative to Docker Desktop. It allows you to use your familiar docker commands but with a more performant and minimalist backend.