Docker Compose vs Kubernetes: Complete Comparison Guide
Compare Docker Compose and Kubernetes on orchestration, scalability, complexity, and production readiness. Discover which platform is the best fit for your project.
Docker Compose
A tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications on a single host. With a simple docker-compose.yml file, you describe your complete application stack — services, networks, and volumes — and start everything with a single command. Docker Compose is the standard for local development environments and simple deployments.
Kubernetes
The industry-standard container orchestration platform from Google that automatically scales, distributes, and manages applications across multiple hosts. Kubernetes offers self-healing, rolling updates, service discovery, auto-scaling, and a declarative configuration model. It is designed for production workloads at scale.
Comparison table
| Feature | Docker Compose | Kubernetes |
|---|---|---|
| Scale | Single-host — ideal for development and small deployments | Multi-host cluster — designed for production at any scale |
| Auto-scaling | No built-in auto-scaling — manually set replicas | Horizontal Pod Autoscaler, Vertical Pod Autoscaler, cluster autoscaling |
| Self-healing | Basic restart policies for containers | Automatic restart, rescheduling, and replacement on failures |
| Configuration | Simple YAML file — minutes to set up | Declarative YAML manifests — steeper learning curve but more powerful |
| Networking | Docker bridge networks — simple but limited to one host | Service discovery, Ingress controllers, network policies, CNI plugins |
| Complexity | Minimal — perfect for developers who want to start quickly | Significant — requires knowledge of pods, services, deployments, namespaces |
Verdict
Docker Compose and Kubernetes serve fundamentally different needs. Docker Compose is the perfect choice for local development and simple single-host deployments — it is quick to set up and requires minimal knowledge. Kubernetes is designed for production at scale, offering auto-scaling, self-healing, and advanced networking that Docker Compose cannot provide. Most teams start with Docker Compose in development and migrate to Kubernetes when production requirements demand it. They are not competitors but complement each other.
Our recommendation
At MG Software, we use Docker Compose for all local development environments. Every developer can start a complete stack with a single command, including database, cache, and application services. For production deployments, we evaluate per project whether Kubernetes is necessary. Smaller projects are deployed with Docker Compose on a managed server, while complex applications with scaling requirements run on Kubernetes. We advise clients not to migrate to Kubernetes too early — the operational overhead is significant and only justified when facing real production scaling needs.
Frequently asked questions
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