Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Aptakube VS Portainer

Compare Aptakube VS Portainer and see what are their differences

Aptakube logo Aptakube

A modern, lightweight and multi-cluster desktop client for Kubernetes. Connect to multiple clusters simultaneously as if it was just one big cluster. View logs and manage all your resources from your machine!

Portainer logo Portainer

Simple management UI for Docker
  • Aptakube Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-15

  • 💯 Connect to one or more clusters simultaneously
  • ⚡️ Aggregated Log Viewer
  • 💪 Human-friendly resource view
  • ✍️ View & modify objects
  • 🎉 Zero-config setup
  • 😉 NOT another Electron app
  • ✅ Works with any Kubernetes cluster: on-prem, GKE, EKS, AKS and others.
  • 💻 Available on Windows, macOS and Linux
  • Portainer Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24

Aptakube

$ Details
paid Free Trial $7.0 / Monthly (per device)
Platforms
Mac OSX Windows Linux
Release Date
2022 July

Portainer

$ Details
Platforms
-
Release Date
-
Startup details
Country
New Zealand
State
Auckland
City
Auckland
Founder(s)
Neil Cresswell

Aptakube features and specs

  • Multi-cluster Connectivity
  • Aggregated Log Viewer
  • Zero-config
  • Lightweight
  • Human-friendly Resource View
  • YAML Viewer/Editor
  • Quick Actions (Restart, Scale, Trigger, etc.)
  • Real Time CPU/Memory Metrics

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.

Aptakube videos

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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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Aptakube and Portainer)
Developer Tools
22 22%
78% 78
DevOps Tools
11 11%
89% 89
Kubernetes
100 100%
0% 0
Containers As A Service
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

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

Aptakube Reviews

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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

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Portainer should be more popular than Aptakube. 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.

Aptakube mentions (11)

  • Awesome Kubernetes Resources !!! 🔥
    Aptakube - A modern, lightweight and multi-cluster desktop client for Kubernetes. Connect to multiple clusters simultaneously to view, edit and manage all your resources. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2024 – Show and tell
    I did not like any Kubernetes UI so I built my own https://aptakube.com It went from side project to my primary job in less than 6 months. Everyone was saying that $99 was too much for “an API wrapper”, but here we are, 2 years later and with hundreds of small to enterprise companies using it :). - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • Lowest Price for your own kubernetes using Hetzner Cloud(incl. Storage Provisioner)
    When you switch between different kube systems it becomes very annoying to change your config file every time before connecting. But with the “aptakube” application it becomes very easy to connect and see all your relevant information or connect to shells. Aptakube - Kubernetes GUI for Mac, Windows & Linux. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Mirantis K8s Lens closed its source
    Are you specifically looking for a free Kubernetes GUI? If you’re open to commercial options, have a look at what Aptakube (https://aptakube.com) can do. One feature that sets it apart from other UIs is connecting to multiple clusters simultaneously and seeing all resources in a single table. Disclaimer: I’m the author. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2024 – Show and tell
    During my previous job, when we were migrating to Kubernetes I couldn’t really find a GUI app that I liked, and most importantly, that could connect to multiple clusters simultaneously. We had 6 clusters and having to switch context constantly was annoying I ended up building one [1] to use myself, shared with a few people and they loved it. I asked if they’d pay for it and to my surprise, a lot of people said... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
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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 / 9 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: almost 2 years 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
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Aptakube and Portainer, you can also consider the following products

K8Studio.io - K8sStudio: Manage Kubernetes clusters with ease. Features a visual editor, cluster map, and seamless integration with AWS, GKE, and AKS.

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

K9s - K9s For Warriors is dedicated to providing service canines to our Warriors suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury and/or military sexual trauma.

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

Kubernetic - The Kubernetes Desktop Client for Mac, Linux and Windows

Rancher - Open Source Platform for Running a Private Container Service