StackShareStackShare
Follow on
StackShare

Discover and share technology stacks from companies around the world.

Follow on

© 2025 StackShare. All rights reserved.

Product

  • Stacks
  • Tools
  • Feed

Company

  • About
  • Contact

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  1. Stackups
  2. Application & Data
  3. Container Registry
  4. Container Tools
  5. Docker Compose vs Kitematic

Docker Compose vs Kitematic

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Kitematic
Kitematic
Stacks67
Followers116
Votes14
Docker Compose
Docker Compose
Stacks22.3K
Followers16.5K
Votes501
GitHub Stars36.4K
Forks5.5K

Docker Compose vs Kitematic: What are the differences?

Introduction:

In the world of containerization, Docker Compose and Kitematic are two tools frequently used by developers to manage Docker containers. Each tool offers unique features that cater to different needs within the container environment.

1. Installation Process: Docker Compose requires manual installation and configuration of the Docker Compose file, whereas Kitematic provides a user-friendly graphical interface, making installation more straightforward for newcomers to Docker.

2. User Interface: Docker Compose is a command-line tool operated solely through the terminal, while Kitematic presents a visually appealing and intuitive GUI that allows users to manage containers, volumes, and networks with clicks and drags, facilitating ease of use for beginners.

3. Environmental Configuration: Docker Compose focuses on defining multi-container Docker applications, enabling users to manage multiple services simultaneously, while Kitematic is better suited for single-container applications, making it less robust for complex setups.

4. Operating Systems Compatibility: Docker Compose can run on various operating systems, but it is primarily designed for Linux and Mac OS environments. In contrast, Kitematic is more optimized for Windows users, offering a seamless experience on this platform.

5. Resource Management: Docker Compose provides more advanced resource management capabilities, enabling users to fine-tune CPU, memory, and storage options for individual containers, while Kitematic has limited functionality in terms of resource allocation and monitoring.

6. Integration with Docker Hub: Docker Compose can easily pull images and configurations from Docker Hub to automate the deployment process, whereas Kitematic does not have direct integration with Docker Hub, requiring users to manually upload and configure images for deployment.

In Summary, Docker Compose and Kitematic offer distinct features in managing Docker containers, with Docker Compose focusing on complex multi-container applications and resource management, while Kitematic provides a user-friendly GUI and seamless experience for single-container deployments, targeting Windows users specifically.

Share your Stack

Help developers discover the tools you use. Get visibility for your team's tech choices and contribute to the community's knowledge.

View Docs
CLI (Node.js)
or
Manual

Advice on Kitematic, Docker Compose

Michael
Michael

CEO at asencis Ltd

Jan 5, 2021

Needs advice

We develop rapidly with docker-compose orchestrated services, however, for production - we utilise the very best ideas that Kubernetes has to offer: SCALE! We can scale when needed, setting a maximum and minimum level of nodes for each application layer - scaling only when the load balancer needs it. This allowed us to reduce our devops costs by 40% whilst also maintaining an SLA of 99.87%.

272k views272k
Comments

Detailed Comparison

Kitematic
Kitematic
Docker Compose
Docker Compose

Simple Docker App management for Mac OS X

With Compose, you define a multi-container application in a single file, then spin your application up in a single command which does everything that needs to be done to get it running.

Mac App with GUI for Docker;Create images from any folder with a Dockerfile in it;Configure environment variables;Check App logs;Easily terminal into apps;Restart apps
-
Statistics
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Stars
36.4K
GitHub Forks
-
GitHub Forks
5.5K
Stacks
67
Stacks
22.3K
Followers
116
Followers
16.5K
Votes
14
Votes
501
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 8
    I like it because it sucks
  • 3
    No command line, Docker in one app, gui, easy to set up
  • 2
    Good for first timer
  • 1
    Easy to get started
Pros
  • 123
    Multi-container descriptor
  • 110
    Fast development environment setup
  • 79
    Easy linking of containers
  • 68
    Simple yaml configuration
  • 60
    Easy setup
Cons
  • 9
    Tied to single machine
  • 5
    Still very volatile, changing syntax often
Integrations
Docker
Docker
Docker
Docker

What are some alternatives to Kitematic, Docker Compose?

Kubernetes

Kubernetes

Kubernetes is an open source orchestration system for Docker containers. It handles scheduling onto nodes in a compute cluster and actively manages workloads to ensure that their state matches the users declared intentions.

Rancher

Rancher

Rancher is an open source container management platform that includes full distributions of Kubernetes, Apache Mesos and Docker Swarm, and makes it simple to operate container clusters on any cloud or infrastructure platform.

Docker Swarm

Docker Swarm

Swarm serves the standard Docker API, so any tool which already communicates with a Docker daemon can use Swarm to transparently scale to multiple hosts: Dokku, Compose, Krane, Deis, DockerUI, Shipyard, Drone, Jenkins... and, of course, the Docker client itself.

Tutum

Tutum

Tutum lets developers easily manage and run lightweight, portable, self-sufficient containers from any application. AWS-like control, Heroku-like ease. The same container that a developer builds and tests on a laptop can run at scale in Tutum.

Portainer

Portainer

It is a universal container management tool. It works with Kubernetes, Docker, Docker Swarm and Azure ACI. It allows you to manage containers without needing to know platform-specific code.

Codefresh

Codefresh

Automate and parallelize testing. Codefresh allows teams to spin up on-demand compositions to run unit and integration tests as part of the continuous integration process. Jenkins integration allows more complex pipelines.

CAST.AI

CAST.AI

It is an AI-driven cloud optimization platform for Kubernetes. Instantly cut your cloud bill, prevent downtime, and 10X the power of DevOps.

k3s

k3s

Certified Kubernetes distribution designed for production workloads in unattended, resource-constrained, remote locations or inside IoT appliances. Supports something as small as a Raspberry Pi or as large as an AWS a1.4xlarge 32GiB server.

Flocker

Flocker

Flocker is a data volume manager and multi-host Docker cluster management tool. With it you can control your data using the same tools you use for your stateless applications. This means that you can run your databases, queues and key-value stores in Docker and move them around as easily as the rest of your app.

Docker Machine

Docker Machine

Machine lets you create Docker hosts on your computer, on cloud providers, and inside your own data center. It creates servers, installs Docker on them, then configures the Docker client to talk to them.

Related Comparisons

GitHub
Bitbucket

Bitbucket vs GitHub vs GitLab

GitHub
Bitbucket

AWS CodeCommit vs Bitbucket vs GitHub

Kubernetes
Rancher

Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes vs Rancher

gulp
Grunt

Grunt vs Webpack vs gulp

Graphite
Kibana

Grafana vs Graphite vs Kibana