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. Updated March 2026: Verified with latest Docker images and configurations. 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