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Portainer VS OpenShift Container Platform

Compare Portainer VS OpenShift Container Platform and see what are their differences

Portainer logo Portainer

Simple management UI for Docker

OpenShift Container Platform logo OpenShift Container Platform

Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform is the secure and comprehensive enterprise-grade container platform based on industry standards, Docker and Kubernetes.
  • Portainer Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24
  • OpenShift Container Platform Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-04

Portainer features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Portainer provides a simple and intuitive web-based UI that makes it easy for users to manage Docker environments and Kubernetes clusters, reducing the need for command-line operations.
  • Multi-platform Support
    Portainer supports a wide range of platforms including Docker, Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, and Azure ACI, allowing users to manage different containerization technologies from a single interface.
  • Simplified Management
    Portainer allows for easy deployment, configuration, and management of containers and services, streamlining operational tasks and improving productivity.
  • RBAC and Authentication
    Portainer includes built-in role-based access control (RBAC) and authentication mechanisms, enabling secure access management and user permissions control.
  • Monitoring and Insights
    Portainer provides built-in monitoring and analytics features that give insights into resource utilization, container health, and performance metrics.
  • Community Support
    Portainer has a large and active community, offering extensive documentation, forums, and third-party resources to help users troubleshoot issues and optimize their environments.

Possible disadvantages of Portainer

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Compared to other enterprise-grade container management solutions, Portainer might lack some advanced features and customizations needed for large-scale, complex deployments.
  • Scalability Concerns
    While good for small-to-mid-sized environments, Portainer may face challenges in highly scaled or extremely high-availability environments due to its architecture and performance limitations.
  • Dependency on External Tools
    For certain specialized tasks or detailed performance monitoring, Portainer often requires the integration of external tools, which can complicate the overall setup and management process.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Use
    While basic features are user-friendly, leveraging advanced functionalities like managing Kubernetes can come with a steep learning curve for new users.
  • Resource Consumption
    Deploying Portainer adds an extra layer of resource consumption. The overhead might be minimal for small systems but could become significant in resource-constrained environments.

OpenShift Container Platform features and specs

  • Comprehensive Kubernetes Platform
    OpenShift Container Platform provides a robust, enterprise-grade Kubernetes environment with advanced features for application lifecycle management, networking, and security out-of-the-box.
  • Integrated Developer Tools
    The platform includes integrated developer tools such as source-to-image (S2I) build systems and Jenkins pipelines, which streamline development workflows and enhance productivity.
  • Multi-cloud Support
    OpenShift supports hybrid and multi-cloud deployments, allowing organizations to run workloads across on-premises, bare metal, and multiple public cloud providers seamlessly.
  • Enhanced Security Features
    The platform offers advanced security capabilities such as built-in compliance checks, role-based access control (RBAC), and automated security updates to protect workloads from vulnerabilities.
  • Rich Ecosystem and Integrations
    OpenShift integrates seamlessly with a wide range of Red Hat and third-party tools and services, providing a rich ecosystem for building, deploying, and managing containerized applications.

Possible disadvantages of OpenShift Container Platform

  • Complexity
    The platform's extensive features and capabilities can lead to a steep learning curve, making it challenging for teams without prior Kubernetes or OpenShift experience.
  • Cost
    OpenShift Container Platform can be costly, especially for large-scale deployments, as it includes enterprise-grade support and additional tooling not found in vanilla Kubernetes.
  • Resource Intensive
    The platform may require significant compute and storage resources to run efficiently, which can be a consideration for organizations with limited infrastructure capacity.
  • Vendor Lock-in
    While OpenShift is based on open-source Kubernetes, certain features and integrations are Red Hat-specific, possibly leading to a degree of vendor lock-in.
  • Operational Overhead
    Managing and maintaining an OpenShift environment can introduce additional operational overhead due to its comprehensive but complex nature, requiring dedicated staff and expertise.

Portainer videos

Putting a UI around Docker with Portainer

More videos:

  • Demo - Portainer - The EASIEST WAY to manage your Docker apps! (Overview + Demo)
  • Review - Portainer for Docker Management

OpenShift Container Platform videos

OpenShift Container Platform by RedHat | Kubernetes Made Easy | Tech Primers

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Portainer and OpenShift Container Platform)
DevOps Tools
73 73%
27% 27
Developer Tools
55 55%
45% 45
Containers As A Service
47 47%
53% 53
Cloud Computing
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Portainer and OpenShift Container Platform

Portainer Reviews

Self Hosting Like Its 2025
I’ve been using Portainer for quite some time, and its widespread adoption in both homelab and professional environments makes it an excellent tool for learning through practical application. In my view, it stands out as the most stable web-managed container control interface available. It integrates seamlessly with Docker, Kubernetes, and even Podman. Portainer offers an...
Source: kiranet.org
Top 10 Best Container Software in 2022
If you are hunting for a container software that can easily integrate with Ubuntu, then LXC is a reliable option. For semi-managed clustering, you can go for CoreOS. The business purposes solved by Portainer covers querying dockerHub repositories and it is in deed a good tool for beginners.
OpenShift alternatives
The main advantage of Portainer is the flexibility of the software. In addition to Kubernetes, Docker Swarm and Docker can be used to manage clusters and containers. Portainer is based on open-source software and is offered in a freely available community version as well as a paid version with enterprise support. The software can be installed in cloud environments, on edge...
Source: www.ionos.com
7 Best Containerization Software Solutions of 2022
Portainer has one pricing edition that costs $0. A free trial of Portainer is also available if your for more advanced features.
Source: techgumb.com

OpenShift Container Platform Reviews

11 Best Rancher Alternatives Multi Cluster Orchestration Platform
On the flip side, the OpenShift Container Platform is a powerful commercialized tool introduced by Red Hat as flagship software. It boasts a very simple and intuitive user interface that lets you easily create, build, test, and deploy your applications directly to the cloud.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Portainer seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 35 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.

Portainer mentions (35)

  • Deploy multiple apps on a single VPS with Docker
    Portainer also provides an open-source version. In comparison to Sliplane and Dokku, it lacks a deploy pipeline. It comes with a web-based UI and offers some features to manage more advanced cluster setups. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Every Project Deserves its CI/CD pipeline, no matter how small
    Portainer is a really great web UI which will help us to manage all our Docker hosts and Docker Swarm clusters very easily. Let's take a look at its interface where it lists all our stacks available in the swarm. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • paperless-ngx on Synology DS220+
    I've installed the container manager from Synology (Docker) and added portainer.io for better access. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Selfhosting Vaultwarden, How Is It Done?
    There are some docker management systems around, portainer.io seems popular, with a GUI (graphical user interface) and configurable templates. Also cloud management systems/cloud hosting seem to offer a GUI to create and manage containers. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Dashy - Cant get the widgets to show
    I am really new to the home lab game. I have been using linux heavily since I got my two pi's and set up docker, portainer.io, pi hole, dashy, etc. The problem I am having is no matter how many ways I try to add a widget as simple as a clock to my dashy it just break the whole page. I enabled highlighting in my nano so I could see any errors but I am still not finding what I am doing wrong. Does anybody have... Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

OpenShift Container Platform mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of OpenShift Container Platform yet. Tracking of OpenShift Container Platform recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Portainer and OpenShift Container Platform, you can also consider the following products

Kubernetes - Kubernetes is an open source orchestration system for Docker containers

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

Rancher - Open Source Platform for Running a Private Container Service

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.

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