Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

boot2docker VS Quay

Compare boot2docker VS Quay and see what are their differences

boot2docker logo boot2docker

boot2docker is a lightweight Linux distribution made specifically to run Docker containers.

Quay logo Quay

Quay is a hosted and enterprise Docker container registry.
  • boot2docker Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-24
  • Quay Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-30

boot2docker features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Boot2docker is lightweight and has a small footprint, as it's built on Tiny Core Linux, which makes it fast and efficient to run on various systems.
  • Quick Setup
    It offers a quick and straightforward setup for Docker on non-Linux systems, allowing developers to get started with containerization rapidly without extensive configurations.
  • Portable
    Being a VM that runs Docker, boot2docker can be easily moved or recreated on different machines, ensuring environment consistency across development systems.

Possible disadvantages of boot2docker

  • Limited Features
    Boot2docker may not have all the features and functionalities of a full Docker installation on a native Linux environment, which might limit advanced operations.
  • Deprecated
    Boot2docker has been deprecated in favor of Docker Desktop, which means it might not receive updates or support, potentially leading to security risks.
  • Requires Virtualization
    Since it runs Docker inside a VM, it requires virtualization support on the host machine, which may not be available or optimal in all environments.

Quay features and specs

  • Security
    Quay offers robust security features, including vulnerability scanning and content signing, which helps ensure the integrity and safety of container images.
  • Automated Builds
    Quay supports automated builds, which can streamline the process of creating new container images from source code, improving efficiency and consistency.
  • High Availability
    Quay provides features for high availability, ensuring that your container registry is reliable and can handle increased loads without downtime.
  • Customizable Permissions
    Quay allows detailed permission settings, letting you control access at a granular level, which is crucial for team collaboration and security management.
  • Image Repository Management
    With rich repository management tools, Quay makes it easy to organize, manage, and track your images and their usage.

Possible disadvantages of Quay

  • Cost
    Compared to other container registries, Quay can be more expensive, which might be a concern for organizations with budget constraints.
  • Complexity of Setup
    Setting up a Quay instance can be complex, requiring a fair amount of configuration and understanding of container registries, which might be daunting for new users.
  • Performance at Scale
    Some users have reported performance issues with Quay when dealing with a large number of operations or images, impacting overall efficiency.
  • User Interface
    The user interface of Quay can be less intuitive compared to competitors, which may lead to a steeper learning curve for new users.

boot2docker videos

Installing VirtualBox, and Boot2Docker to run Docker Containers in OSX/Windows

More videos:

  • Demo - boot2docker v0.2 demo

Quay videos

QUAY X CHRISSY TEIGEN SUNGLASSES COLLECTION REVIEW | Maryam Maquillage

More videos:

  • Review - QUAY AUSTRALIA SUNGLASSES REVIEW
  • Review - HONEST REVIEW OF QUAY AUSTRALIA SUNGLASSES | ARE THEY WORTH IT? STYLE, QUALITY, PRICE

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to boot2docker and Quay)
Developer Tools
37 37%
63% 63
Cloud Hosting
36 36%
64% 64
Containers And Microservices
Cloud Computing
49 49%
51% 51

User comments

Share your experience with using boot2docker and Quay. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Quay seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 48 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

boot2docker mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of boot2docker yet. Tracking of boot2docker recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Quay mentions (48)

  • Docker Image Creation | Python App Development
    Navigate to Docker Hub and create an account if you haven't already. Alternatively, you can also use https://quay.io for instance. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • A list of SaaS, PaaS and IaaS offerings that have free tiers of interest to devops and infradev
    Quay.io — Build and store container images with unlimited free public repositories. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Object Storage with MinIO in Docker
    The container is built from the repository of MinIO on Quay.io. Port 9000 is used for connecting to the API and port 9001 is for accessing the Console in the browser. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Transparent proxy/caching image registry
    I'd like to extend this functionality to other images also, but I'd prefer not to change manually all the deployments and helm values. Is there a way to implement a transparent caching image registry? I'd prefer something generic, like "everything quay.io to be pulled from harbor.int/quay_cache/". Source: over 1 year ago
  • When pulling images from quay.io vs ghcr.io
    I have a manifest that has repo's from both quay.io & ghcr.io (Docker & Github I guess) image repositories. Source: almost 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing boot2docker and Quay, you can also consider the following products

Amazon ECS - Amazon EC2 Container Service is a highly scalable, high-performance​ container management service that supports Docker containers.

Docker Hub - Docker Hub is a cloud-based registry service

Docker - Docker is an open platform that enables developers and system administrators to create distributed applications.

Google Kubernetes Engine - Google Kubernetes Engine is a powerful cluster manager and orchestration system for running your Docker containers. Set up a cluster in minutes.

Apache Karaf - Apache Karaf is a lightweight, modern and polymorphic container powered by OSGi.

CoreOS - CoreOS platform provides the components needed to build distributed systems to support application containers.