Containers which offer an environment as close as possible as the one you'd get from a VM but without the overhead that comes with running a separate kernel and simulating all the hardware.
Docker AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Virtualization Tools
The best Virtualization alternative to Docker is Linux Containers (LXC), which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Docker and ten of them are Virtualization Tools so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Virtualization Tool alternatives to Docker are OrbStack, rkt, containerd and Apache Mesos.
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Docker alternatives are mainly Virtualization Tools, but if you're looking for Compatibility Layer Tools or Operating Systems 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.
Alternatives list
- 9 Linux Containers (LXC) alternatives
10 OrbStack alternativesOrbStack is an alternative to Docker Desktop for macOS, designed to offer improved performance for Docker and virtual machines on Linux running on Mac computers. It addresses performance issues that have been experienced in the past, particularly on models with Apple Silicon.
rkt is the next-generation container manager for Linux clusters. Designed for security, simplicity, and composability within modern cluster architectures, rkt discovers, verifies, fetches, and executes application containers with pluggable isolation.
An industry-standard container runtime with an emphasis on simplicity, robustness and portability
containerd is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to Docker.
- containerd is Free and Open Source
31 Apache Mesos alternativesApache Mesos is a cluster manager that simplifies the complexity of running applications on a shared pool of servers.
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.
Comments about FreeBSD Jails as an Alternative to Docker
Most users think FreeBSD Jails is a great Docker alternative.
- FreeBSD Jails is Free and Open Source
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.
plash is a flexible container build and run engine. It supports rootless containers, needs no daemons and runs inside docker.
Desktop application sandboxing for Linux. It basically lets you start any installed binary in a configurable container. Changes are stored through copy-on-write.
Chaperone is a lightweight alternative to process environment managers like systemd or upstart. Chaperone provides an extensive feature set, including dependency-based startup, syslog logging, zombie harvesting, and job scheduling.
United States
Great tools and documentation, they have been around for much longer than docker and are a more mature solution.