Amazon EC2 Container Service vs Beanstalk: What are the differences?

Amazon EC2 Container Service: Container management service that supports Docker containers. Amazon EC2 Container Service lets you launch and stop container-enabled applications with simple API calls, allows you to query the state of your cluster from a centralized service, and gives you access to many familiar Amazon EC2 features like security groups, EBS volumes and IAM roles; Beanstalk: Private code hosting for teams. A single process to commit code, review with the team, and deploy the final result to your customers.

Amazon EC2 Container Service can be classified as a tool in the "Containers as a Service" category, while Beanstalk is grouped under "Code Collaboration & Version Control".

Some of the features offered by Amazon EC2 Container Service are:

• Docker Compatibility
• Managed Clusters
• Programmatic Control

On the other hand, Beanstalk provides the following key features:

• Setup and manage repositories- Import or create Subversion and Git repositories that are instantly available to your team.
• Invite team members, partners & clients- Restrict access to certain repos and provide read-only or full read/write permissions.
• Browse files and changes- Every version of every file you’ve committed to Beanstalk is just a click away. See a timeline of who made changes and view the differences between revisions. Syntax highlighting for over 70 languages.

"Backed by amazon" is the primary reason why developers consider Amazon EC2 Container Service over the competitors, whereas "Ftp deploy" was stated as the key factor in picking Beanstalk.

According to the StackShare community, Amazon EC2 Container Service has a broader approval, being mentioned in 794 company stacks & 391 developers stacks; compared to Beanstalk, which is listed in 21 company stacks and 8 developer stacks.