Portainer vs Dockge: Which Docker Manager?

Quick Verdict

Dockge is the better choice for most self-hosters who manage their services with Docker Compose files. It is simpler, lighter, and stores your compose files as standard YAML on disk. Choose Portainer if you need to manage individual containers, Docker Swarm clusters, Kubernetes, or multiple remote Docker hosts with granular user permissions. For the typical homelab running 5-30 Compose stacks on a single server, Dockge gets the job done with far less overhead.

Overview

Portainer CE (v2.33.7) is the most widely deployed Docker management UI. It is a Go application that covers the full Docker API surface: containers, images, volumes, networks, Compose stacks, Swarm services, and Kubernetes workloads. It includes user management, app templates, webhook-based redeployment, and agent-based multi-host management. Portainer has been around since 2016 and has a large community.

Dockge (v1.5.0) is a focused Docker Compose stack manager created by Louis Lam, the developer behind Uptime Kuma. It launched in late 2023 and does one thing: manage compose.yaml files through a clean web UI. You create, edit, start, stop, and update stacks. The files live on disk as plain YAML you can use with the Docker CLI directly. Dockge is a Node.js application with minimal resource usage.

These tools serve different scopes. Portainer is a full Docker management platform. Dockge is a Compose file editor with a deploy button. The right choice depends entirely on what you need to manage.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Portainer CE (v2.33.7)	Dockge (v1.5.0)
Container management (start/stop/restart/remove)	Yes, full lifecycle with logs, stats, console	Only through Compose stacks
Docker Compose stacks	Yes, via web editor, upload, or Git repo	Yes, primary focus with interactive YAML editor
Compose files stored on disk	No — stored in Portainer’s internal database	Yes — standard compose.yaml in a directory per stack
Image management (pull/remove/prune)	Yes	No
Volume management	Yes (create, remove, browse)	No
Network management	Yes (create, remove, connect/disconnect)	No
Docker Swarm support	Yes	No
Kubernetes support	Yes	No
Multi-host management	Yes, via Agent or Edge Agent	Yes, via Dockge Agent (basic)
User management / RBAC	Admin, standard users, teams (granular RBAC in Business Edition)	Single admin account only
App templates	Yes — built-in one-click templates	No
Docker run-to-Compose converter	No	Yes — built-in converter
Real-time terminal output	Container console only	Yes — live output during deploy/update
Webhook-based redeployment	Yes	No
Git-based stack deployment	Yes — pull Compose from a Git repo	No
Built-in HTTPS	Yes (self-signed on port 9443)	Optional (configure via env vars)
REST API	Yes, comprehensive	No public API

Installation Complexity

Both tools are single-container deployments that mount the Docker socket. Installation difficulty is comparable, but each has a gotcha.

Portainer deploys with a straightforward Compose file:

services:
  portainer:
    image: portainer/portainer-ce:2.33.7
    container_name: portainer
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "9443:9443"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - portainer_data:/data

volumes:
  portainer_data:

Start it and navigate to https://your-server:9443. Create your admin account within a few minutes — Portainer locks the instance if you wait too long (a security feature, not a bug).

Dockge needs a stacks directory with matching paths:

services:
  dockge:
    image: louislam/dockge:1.5.0
    container_name: dockge
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5001:5001"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - ./data:/app/data
      - /opt/stacks:/opt/stacks
    environment:
      DOCKGE_STACKS_DIR: "/opt/stacks"

The critical detail: the stacks directory path must be identical on the host side and container side (/opt/stacks:/opt/stacks), and the DOCKGE_STACKS_DIR variable must match. Get this wrong and Dockge will not detect your stacks.

Winner: Tie. Both install in under five minutes. Portainer has the admin timeout gotcha. Dockge has the stacks path gotcha.

Performance and Resource Usage

Metric	Portainer CE	Dockge
Idle RAM	~100 MB	~30 MB
Active RAM	~200 MB	~50 MB
Disk footprint	~200 MB	<50 MB
Language/runtime	Go (compiled binary)	Node.js
Startup time	~3 seconds	~2 seconds

Dockge uses roughly a third of Portainer’s memory. On a Raspberry Pi 4 or a low-end VPS with 2 GB RAM, that difference matters — 170 MB saved is 170 MB available for the services you actually care about.

Portainer’s higher resource usage is justified by its larger feature set. It indexes containers, images, volumes, and networks continuously. Dockge only tracks Compose stacks, so there is less to monitor.

Winner: Dockge. Significantly lighter. If resources are tight, Dockge is the obvious choice.

Community and Support

Metric	Portainer CE	Dockge
GitHub stars	~32,000	~14,000
First release	2016	October 2023
Release cadence	Monthly	Every few months
License	Zlib (CE), proprietary (Business)	MIT
Documentation	Comprehensive official docs site	GitHub README + community wiki
Community	Large — forums, Discord, Reddit	Growing — GitHub issues, Uptime Kuma community overlap

Portainer has the mature ecosystem advantage. Eight years of development means better documentation, more forum threads, more third-party tutorials, and tested edge cases. If you hit a problem with Portainer, someone has probably already solved it.

Dockge benefits from Louis Lam’s reputation (Uptime Kuma is one of the most popular self-hosted tools). The community is enthusiastic and growing fast, but the project is younger. Documentation is thinner, and you will find fewer troubleshooting resources online.

Winner: Portainer. Larger community, better documentation, longer track record.

Use Cases

Choose Portainer If…

• You manage individual containers that are not part of Compose stacks
• You need Docker Swarm or Kubernetes management
• You manage Docker across multiple remote hosts
• You need user accounts and access control for a team
• You want built-in app templates for quick deployments
• You need webhook-based automated redeployments from a CI/CD pipeline
• You want Git-based stack deployment
• You need image, volume, and network management through a GUI

Choose Dockge If…

• Your entire self-hosting workflow is Docker Compose files
• You want your compose files stored as plain YAML on disk, not in a database
• You want to edit compose files with a text editor outside the UI
• You value simplicity and minimal resource usage
• You are a single user managing a single server
• You want a real-time terminal view of docker compose up output
• You want to convert docker run commands to Compose files
• You are coming from Uptime Kuma and trust Louis Lam’s design philosophy

Final Verdict

For the typical self-hoster — one server, 5-30 services, all managed via Docker Compose — Dockge is the better tool. It matches the way most homelabbers actually work: write a compose.yaml, deploy it, update it when needed. The compose files stay on disk as standard YAML, so you are never locked into Dockge. You can stop using it tomorrow and your stacks keep running. The UI is clean, the resource usage is minimal, and the learning curve is basically zero.

Portainer is the right choice when your needs exceed Compose management. If you run Docker Swarm, manage multiple hosts, need user access control, or want a comprehensive dashboard showing every container, image, volume, and network on your system, Portainer delivers all of that in a single tool. It is also the better option for teams where multiple people need different levels of access.

Many experienced self-hosters run both: Dockge for day-to-day Compose stack management and Portainer as a read-only dashboard for monitoring container status and inspecting logs. The two tools complement each other well, and the combined resource cost (~130 MB RAM) is negligible on most servers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I run Portainer and Dockge on the same server?

Yes. They do not conflict. Run Portainer on port 9443 and Dockge on port 5001. Both mount the Docker socket and can see all containers. The one caveat: stacks created in Dockge are standard Compose files on disk, while stacks created in Portainer are stored in its internal database. Portainer can see Dockge-managed containers but will not show them as “stacks” unless you also import the Compose file into Portainer.

Will Dockge replace Portainer long-term?

No. They serve different scopes. Dockge will not add Swarm support, Kubernetes support, or comprehensive container management — that is outside its design philosophy. If you need those features, you need Portainer. If you do not, Dockge is the simpler tool.

Which is better for a Raspberry Pi?

Dockge. It uses ~30 MB RAM versus Portainer’s ~100 MB. On a Raspberry Pi 4 with 2-4 GB RAM, that headroom matters. Both tools support arm64 and run well on Pi hardware.

Do I lose my stacks if I uninstall either tool?

With Dockge, your stacks are standard compose.yaml files in /opt/stacks/. Uninstall Dockge and the files remain — manage them with docker compose directly. With Portainer, stacks created through the Portainer UI are stored in Portainer’s database. The running containers persist, but you lose the Compose definitions unless you exported them. This is Dockge’s strongest advantage: your data is never locked inside the tool.

Does either tool support automatic container updates?

Neither Portainer CE nor Dockge has built-in automatic image updates. Portainer supports webhook-triggered redeployment, which can be connected to a CI/CD pipeline. For automated updates, use a dedicated tool like Watchtower or Diun alongside either manager.

Related

• How to Self-Host Portainer
• How to Self-Host Dockge
• Best Self-Hosted Docker Management
• Portainer vs Yacht
• Dockge vs Yacht
• How to Self-Host Watchtower
• Docker Compose Basics
• Docker Networking
• Docker Volumes and Storage