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Compare Kubernetes and Portainer 
At a Glance
Market Segments
Enterprise (40.4% of reviews)
Small-Business (81.5% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
$0.00 3 Nodes Per Month
Kubernetes
Star Rating
(140)4.6 out of 5
Market Segments
Enterprise (40.4% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
Learn more about KubernetesPortainer
Star Rating
(267)4.8 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (81.5% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
$0.00 3 Nodes Per Month
Learn more about PortainerSummary
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
- Users report that Kubernetes excels in scalability and orchestration, with a rating of 9.6, making it a preferred choice for enterprises looking to manage large-scale containerized applications. In contrast, Portainer, while user-friendly, has a slightly lower orchestration rating of 9.4, which may limit its effectiveness in very large deployments.
- Reviewers mention that Portainer shines in ease of use and setup, scoring 9.6 in both categories, which is significantly higher than Kubernetes' scores of 7.8 and 7.2, respectively. This makes Portainer a more accessible option for small businesses or teams without extensive DevOps experience.
- G2 users highlight Kubernetes' robust system integration capabilities, achieving a perfect score of 10.0, which is crucial for organizations needing seamless connectivity with existing systems. Portainer, while effective, does not match this level of integration, which could be a drawback for users with complex system requirements.
- Users on G2 report that Kubernetes has a strong focus on security, with a rating of 8.7, but Portainer outperforms it slightly with a score of 9.4. This indicates that Portainer may offer more comprehensive security features, which is a critical consideration for businesses handling sensitive data.
- Reviewers say that Kubernetes provides excellent resource optimization with a score of 9.3, which is essential for maximizing infrastructure efficiency. However, Portainer's performance in this area is not as strong, which could lead to higher operational costs for users.
- Users say that while both products have strong community support, Portainer's quality of support is rated at 9.2, compared to Kubernetes' 8.4. This suggests that users may find more responsive and helpful support when using Portainer, which can be a significant advantage for teams needing quick assistance.
Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
Kubernetes
No pricing availablePortainer
Portainer Business - 3 Nodes Free
$0.00
3 Nodes Per Month
Portainer Business is our fully featured, fully supported business product. It is used by some of the largest organizations in the world to deliver a powerful Kubernetes and Docker container management experience for DevOps and IT teams. With more than 650,000 active users, Portainer is proven to be the simplest and most effective way of adopting and managing Kubernetes, and Docker/Swarm environments.
- https://www.portainer.io/take-3
Free Trial
Kubernetes
No trial information availablePortainer
Free Trial is available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
9.2
116
9.3
225
Ease of Use
7.8
124
9.5
228
Ease of Setup
7.2
78
9.5
180
Ease of Admin
8.0
69
9.6
164
Quality of Support
8.4
98
9.1
144
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
8.8
55
9.6
125
Product Direction (% positive)
9.7
112
9.7
218
Features by Category
Systems Management
Not enough data
9.2
6
Not enough data
10.0
6
Not enough data
9.7
5
Not enough data
9.4
6
Not enough data
9.3
5
Not enough data
9.4
6
IoT Capabilities
Not enough data
8.6
6
Not enough data
8.9
6
Not enough data
9.4
6
Not enough data
9.3
5
Not enough data
9.4
6
Not enough data
9.4
6
Not enough data
8.6
6
Not enough data
8.6
6
Agentic AI - Industrial IoT
Not enough data
Not enough data
Edge
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Operations
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Performance
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Simplification - Internal Developer Platform
Not enough data
8.9
18
Not enough data
9.5
18
Not enough data
8.9
18
Automation - Internal Developer Platform
Not enough data
8.6
18
Not enough data
9.2
18
Management
8.7
60
9.3
175
Feature Not Available
9.3
164
Feature Not Available
Feature Not Available
Organization
9.1
57
9.1
160
9.0
61
9.2
184
9.6
62
9.2
165
Development
8.6
48
8.8
131
9.0
61
9.1
158
8.9
48
8.9
129
9.1
51
Feature Not Available
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
Kubernetes and Portainer are categorized as Container Management
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
Kubernetes
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Portainer
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Small-Business
(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market
(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise
(> 1000 emp.)
Reviewers' Industry
Computer Software
33.6%
Information Technology and Services
19.7%
Telecommunications
10.2%
Financial Services
5.1%
Internet
3.6%
Other
27.7%
Information Technology and Services
20.8%
Computer Software
20.0%
Computer & Network Security
6.0%
Computer Networking
3.0%
Telecommunications
2.6%
Other
47.5%
Most Helpful Reviews
Kubernetes
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Verified User in Nanotechnology
Kubernetes is a sweet spot between flexibility and simplicity. Especially service discovery is made very simple. Competitors often are either to simple (Docker compose, swarm, fleet) or too complex (Marathon). Once it is up and running, low-level...
Most Helpful Critical Review
Mike L.
Verified User in Media Production
It's extremely immature (very buggy), the networking is just...painful, the scheduler is dumb and slow; those are my technical dislikes. My personal dislike is the overall lack of cohesive documentation as well as the assertion that just because there...
Portainer
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Oscar Eduardo C.
Verified User in Outsourcing/Offshoring
In my opinion, the best thing about Portainer is the ease of use. We are a pretty small team, so for everyone to be able to jump in and setup or monitor containers with a just a quick introduction, has made our work much easier and efficent.
Most Helpful Critical Review
Elbin E.
Verified User in Automotive
Sometimes the web interface is buggy, hard time running containers with the default Network
Verified User in Nanotechnology
Kubernetes is a sweet spot between flexibility and simplicity. Especially service discovery is made very simple. Competitors often are either to simple (Docker compose, swarm, fleet) or too complex (Marathon). Once it is up and running, low-level...
Oscar Eduardo C.
Verified User in Outsourcing/Offshoring
In my opinion, the best thing about Portainer is the ease of use. We are a pretty small team, so for everyone to be able to jump in and setup or monitor containers with a just a quick introduction, has made our work much easier and efficent.
Mike L.
Verified User in Media Production
It's extremely immature (very buggy), the networking is just...painful, the scheduler is dumb and slow; those are my technical dislikes. My personal dislike is the overall lack of cohesive documentation as well as the assertion that just because there...
Elbin E.
Verified User in Automotive
Sometimes the web interface is buggy, hard time running containers with the default Network
Alternatives
Discussions
What are the main features of Kubernetes?
1 comment
![Yiorgos [George] A.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Yiorgos [George] A.")
YA
- Container orchestration utilising available hardware or VMs, thus decreasing costs
- High Availability within a data center / availability zone
- Ability...Read more
What does Kubernetes do?
1 comment
MG
Container orchestration and container management.
You can also configure properties on the basis of which scaling of pods will be done.
It makes your...Read more
Kubernetes has no more discussions with answers
What is Portainer used for?
3 comments
AH
The process of handling and launching Docker containers.Read more
What is the difference between Portainer and Portainer CE?
3 comments
AH
Portainer CE is the community edition.Read more
Can Portainer manage Swarm?
3 comments
MP
Yes, Portainer has built-in management capabilities for both Swarm and Kubernetes.Read more
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