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Portainer Review

Depends

Should I use Portainer?

Portainer is one platform to deploy, run, secure, and govern Kubernetes across your whole fleet, from a single control plane. A platform is a product, not a project. - portainer.io

· 1 month ago

Buy if you need one GUI to govern many Docker or Kubernetes hosts; the free Community Edition or 3-node tier fits small ops teams. Skip it for a single server or if you want transparent pricing — simpler tools like Dockge cover that.

Confidence

High. Based on 25+ public sources: G2/Gartner reviews, Reddit threads, CVE databases, and vendor pages. No starting-price figures were published in the sources reviewed.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo evidence on support experience in sources reviewed
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

Community Edition

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Free 3-node licenseFree
Business/EnterpriseContact sales

Best for

  • Teams unifying Docker + Kubernetes fleets
  • Ops governing edge/IIoT device fleets
  • Self-hosters wanting one container GUI

Not for

  • Single-box Docker users — Dockge does it with less
  • Buyers needing public pricing without a sales call
  • Strict-security shops wary of auth-bypass CVEs
  • Guess: kubectl-first teams who don't need a GUI layer

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Free node license shrank from 5 to 3; older free users pushed toward paid

medium

Pricing hidden behind sales contact; no published numbers on the site

medium

29 CVEs to date — Portainer itself is an attack surface you must patch

low

No paid bug bounty program; relies on voluntary reporting

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Intuitive web UI for managing Docker and Kubernetes
  • 4.8/5 from 298 G2 reviews
  • Free, lightweight, open-source Community Edition
  • Single control plane across Docker, Kubernetes, Podman fleets
  • One license covers edge/IIoT device management

Cons

  • Free tier cut from 5 nodes to 3
  • No public pricing; sales contact required
  • Long-time users drifting to simpler tools like Dockhand
  • Some veterans say it isn't what it once was

Sources & method

- 15 sources - 29 CVEs to date, including a 2026 auth bypass and information-disclosure issues; no paid bug bounty.

official x4review x6security x3news x2
  • CVE-2026-55761: authentication bypass, Authentication bypass vulnerability disclosed in Portainer.
  • CVE-2025-49593: information disclosure, Information disclosure issue involving a Portainer administrator context.
  • CVE-2026-44848: missing authorization, Missing authorization check reported on Portainer.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 15

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. Free core, but free tier shrank and pricing is hidden
  • Ease of use: 5/5. Reviewers consistently praise the intuitive web UI
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Docker, Kubernetes, Podman and edge fleets in one
  • Support quality. No evidence on support experience in sources reviewed
  • Security posture: 2/5. 29 CVEs including auth bypass; no paid bounty
  • 4.8/5 G2 rating 298 reviews
  • Yes Free tier 3 nodes free
  • $6.2M Funding Raised June 2022
  • $4.7M Est. ARR 2025 estimate

Pricing

Community Edition

Free

  • Docker/Kubernetes management
  • Open source
  • Community support

Free 3-node license

Free

  • Business Edition features
  • Up to 3 nodes
  • Annual renewal

Business/Enterprise

Not disclosed

  • Fleet-wide governance
  • Pro/Enterprise support tiers

Security

29 CVEs to date, including a 2026 auth bypass and information-disclosure issues; no paid bug bounty.

  • CVE-2026-55761: authentication bypassAuthentication bypass vulnerability disclosed in Portainer.⁹
  • CVE-2025-49593: information disclosureInformation disclosure issue involving a Portainer administrator context.⁹
  • CVE-2026-44848: missing authorizationMissing authorization check reported on Portainer.10

What users say

Reviewers rate it highly (4.8/5 on G2) but Reddit is split between loyal fans and users switching to simpler tools like Dockge and Dockhand.

“Portainer does the job it's built for”
Gartner Peer Insights
“I don't really want to lose portainer”
Reddit, r/portainer

Alternatives

Compare Portainer with each alternative.

  • Dockge

    Simpler Docker Compose UI; the pick for Portainer leavers

  • Komodo

    Free, open-source Docker stack management alternative

    Portainer vs Komodo

  • Rancher

    Enterprise-grade Kubernetes fleet management rival

  • 1Panel

    Modern self-hosted server panel, a Reddit favorite

Companies that use it

  • Koton
Full analysis

Based on 25+ public sources: G2/Gartner reviews, Reddit threads, CVE databases, and vendor pages. No starting-price figures were published in the sources reviewed.

Great GUI for Docker/K8s fleets; free tier shrank, pricing hidden, simpler tools now cover small setups.

Methodology

Based on 25+ public sources: G2/Gartner reviews, Reddit threads, CVE databases, and vendor pages. No starting-price figures were published in the sources reviewed.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Portainer Reviews | G2 (298 reviews, 4.8/5)g2.com
    review
  2. Portainer Reviews & Ratings | Gartner Peer Insightsgartner.com
    review
  3. Portainer Reviews - AWS Marketplaceaws.amazon.com
    review
  4. Portainer homepage — one platform pitchportainer.io
    official
  5. Get 3 nodes free — free tierportainer.io
    official
  6. Business Edition pricing FAQdocs.portainer.io
    official
  7. portainer/portainer — Community Edition on GitHubgithub.com
    official
  8. Portainer CVE list — OpenCVE (29 CVEs)app.opencve.io
    security
  9. CVE-2026-55761 auth bypass — SentinelOnesentinelone.com
    security
  10. CVE-2026-44848 missing authorization — Endor Labsendorlabs.com
    security
  11. Do you use Portainer? — Redditreddit.com
    review
  12. Portainer 5 Nodes EE no longer free — Redditreddit.com
    review
  13. Why no pricing on the website? — Redditreddit.com
    review
  14. Portainer.io revenue and ARR estimate — GetLatkagetlatka.com
    news
  15. $6.2M funding media releaseportainer.io
    news

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