Docker Compose vs Docker Swarm for Self-Hosting

Quick Verdict

Docker Compose is the right choice for 99% of self-hosters. It is simpler, better documented, and a single server handles everything most homelabs need. You define services in a YAML file, run docker compose up -d, and you are done. Docker Swarm only makes sense if you have multiple physical servers and need high availability — and even then, most people should look at Kubernetes before Swarm, because Swarm’s development has effectively stalled.

Overview

Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container applications on a single Docker host. You write a compose.yaml file describing your services, networks, and volumes, then bring everything up with one command. Compose is bundled with Docker Engine as a CLI plugin (docker compose) since Docker 20.10+. It is the universal standard for deploying self-hosted applications — virtually every self-hosted app ships an example compose.yaml.

Docker Swarm is Docker’s built-in container orchestration mode for running services across multiple nodes. You initialize a manager node with docker swarm init, join worker nodes, and deploy services using stack files (which share Compose syntax). Swarm handles service scheduling, load balancing, rolling updates, and failover across nodes. It shipped with Docker Engine starting in version 1.12 (2016) and requires no additional software.

The fundamental difference: Compose manages containers on one machine. Swarm manages services across a cluster. For a homelab running on a single server — which describes the vast majority of self-hosting setups — Compose does everything you need without the complexity of cluster management.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Docker Compose	Docker Swarm
Scope	Single host	Multi-node cluster
Setup complexity	Zero — included with Docker	docker swarm init plus joining worker nodes, managing certificates, configuring overlay networks
Learning curve	Low — learn YAML syntax and a few CLI commands	Moderate — must understand managers, workers, services, tasks, overlay networks, and consensus
High availability	None — single point of failure	Built-in — reschedules services when a node goes down (requires 3+ manager nodes for manager HA)
Horizontal scaling	Not supported — one instance per service	docker service scale app=5 distributes replicas across nodes
Service discovery	Container names resolve via Docker DNS on bridge networks	Built-in DNS-based service discovery across all nodes with VIP load balancing
Secret management	.env files, environment variables (plaintext on disk)	Encrypted secrets stored in Raft log, mounted as in-memory files in containers
Rolling updates	docker compose up -d recreates changed containers (brief downtime)	Zero-downtime rolling updates with configurable parallelism, delay, and rollback
Network model	Bridge networks (single host)	Overlay networks spanning all nodes via VXLAN encapsulation
Volume management	Bind mounts and named volumes on the local host	Local volumes only per node — no built-in distributed storage (need NFS, GlusterFS, or similar)
Resource limits	deploy.resources in Compose file (requires --compatibility flag or Swarm mode)	Native resource limits and reservations per service enforced by the scheduler
Monitoring	None built-in — use Portainer, docker stats, or external tools	docker service ls, docker service ps, built-in health check-driven rescheduling

Installation

Docker Compose

There is nothing to install. If you have Docker Engine, you have Compose:

docker compose version

If this returns a version (v2.x+), you are ready. Every compose.yaml in this site’s guides works out of the box.

The old standalone binary docker-compose (with a hyphen, v1) is deprecated and no longer maintained. Use the plugin syntax docker compose (with a space).

Docker Swarm

Swarm mode is built into Docker Engine but disabled by default. Initialize it on your first (manager) node:

docker swarm init --advertise-addr <your-server-ip>

This outputs a join token. On each additional server you want in the cluster:

docker swarm join --token <token> <manager-ip>:2377

For production high availability, you need at least three manager nodes (Raft consensus requires a quorum). That means three separate servers running Docker, all networked together, with ports 2377 (cluster management), 7946 (node communication), and 4789/udp (overlay network traffic) open between them.

You deploy services using stack files, which are Compose-format YAML with Swarm-specific options under deploy:

docker stack deploy -c compose.yaml myapp

The added complexity is real. You are now managing a distributed system: node health, leader election, overlay networking, ingress routing, and service placement constraints. For a single homelab server, none of this complexity buys you anything.

Performance

Docker Compose adds zero overhead. Containers run directly on the Docker Engine with standard bridge networking. There is no management daemon, no consensus protocol, no overlay network. Performance is identical to running docker run manually.

Docker Swarm adds minimal but measurable overhead:

• Manager processes consume ~50-100 MB RAM for the Raft consensus engine, certificate authority, and scheduler.
• Overlay networks add ~1-2 ms latency per hop due to VXLAN encapsulation and decapsulation. On a single node running Swarm, this still applies to overlay-networked services.
• Routing mesh (ingress network) adds an additional network hop for external traffic, adding ~0.5 ms latency.
• Health check polling uses minimal CPU but runs continuously per service.

On a dedicated server with 16+ GB RAM, this overhead is irrelevant. On a Raspberry Pi 4 with 4 GB or a budget VPS with 2 GB, the 50-100 MB consumed by Swarm management is RAM you cannot allocate to actual services.

Winner: Docker Compose. No overhead. Containers run exactly as they would without any orchestration layer.

Community and Ecosystem

Docker Compose is the universal standard for self-hosted deployments. Every self-hosted application ships a compose.yaml or docker-compose.yml example. Every tutorial, every guide, every Reddit post assumes Compose. The documentation is comprehensive and actively maintained. Stack Overflow has tens of thousands of Compose-related answers.

Docker Swarm is in maintenance mode. Docker, Inc. has not added significant features to Swarm since 2019. The company’s orchestration focus shifted to Kubernetes integration (Docker Desktop with Kubernetes). The Swarm documentation exists but receives minimal updates. Community activity has declined steadily — most new orchestration questions target Kubernetes, not Swarm.

This does not mean Swarm is broken. It still works. It still receives security patches. But the ecosystem is shrinking. Fewer tutorials are written. Fewer tools add Swarm-specific integrations. If you invest time learning Swarm, that knowledge has limited transferability compared to learning Kubernetes.

Winner: Docker Compose. Universal adoption, active development, massive community. Swarm’s community is small and shrinking.

Use Cases

Choose Docker Compose If…

• You run one server (this is most self-hosters)
• You deploy applications using compose.yaml files (the standard workflow)
• You want the simplest possible setup with no management overhead
• You are learning Docker and self-hosting for the first time
• Brief downtime during container updates is acceptable (it is — your homelab is not an airline reservation system)
• You want maximum compatibility with self-hosted app documentation

Choose Docker Swarm If…

• You have two or more physical servers and want automatic failover
• You have maxed out one server’s resources and need to spread services across machines
• You need zero-downtime rolling updates (rare for homelabs, common for production services)
• You want encrypted secret management without third-party tools
• You specifically want multi-node orchestration without the complexity of Kubernetes
• You already know Swarm and it works for your setup

What About Kubernetes?

If your needs have genuinely outgrown a single server and Docker Compose, consider whether Kubernetes (via k3s or MicroK8s) is a better investment than Swarm. Kubernetes has a steeper learning curve, but it is the industry standard for container orchestration, is actively developed, and has a massive ecosystem of tools and integrations. Swarm is simpler to set up than Kubernetes, but learning it gives you a skill with a shrinking shelf life.

Final Verdict

Docker Compose. Unless you genuinely need multi-node orchestration, Compose is simpler, lighter, and better supported. It is the standard that the entire self-hosting ecosystem is built around.

The honest truth is that most self-hosters who think they need Swarm do not. A single server with 32 GB RAM and a modern CPU can run 50+ services simultaneously. If you are running out of resources, the first step is upgrading your hardware (an Intel N100 mini PC with 16 GB RAM costs under $200 and handles dozens of services). Moving to a multi-node cluster is a significant operational burden that should be a last resort, not a first instinct.

If you do need multi-node orchestration, Swarm is the easier on-ramp compared to Kubernetes. But go in with your eyes open: Swarm is in maintenance mode, and the long-term bet is on Kubernetes. For most people, that decision is years away — if it ever comes at all. Start with Compose. You can always migrate later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I convert my Docker Compose files to Swarm stack files?

Mostly yes. Swarm stack files use the same Compose YAML format. The main differences: Swarm uses the deploy key for replicas, placement constraints, update policies, and resource limits. Swarm does not support build, depends_on, or restart (use deploy.restart_policy instead). In practice, you copy your compose.yaml, add deploy sections, remove unsupported keys, and deploy with docker stack deploy. It is not a one-click migration, but the format overlap is significant.

Is Docker Swarm dead?

Not dead, but on life support. Docker Swarm still ships with every Docker Engine installation and receives security patches. However, no significant features have been added since 2019. Docker, Inc. has shifted orchestration focus to Kubernetes. The community is small and shrinking. Swarm works fine for existing deployments, but starting a new project on Swarm in 2026 means betting on a platform with no visible roadmap.

When should I move from Compose to an orchestrator?

When you have a concrete, immediate need — not a theoretical future one. Specific triggers: you have physically maxed out your server’s RAM or CPU and cannot upgrade; you need automatic failover because downtime has a real cost; you are running services that require horizontal scaling across machines. If none of these apply today, stay on Compose. The migration cost (learning curve, networking changes, storage solutions for distributed state) is substantial, and premature orchestration adds complexity without benefit.

Can I use Compose files inside a Swarm cluster?

Yes, with caveats. docker stack deploy -c compose.yaml reads a Compose file and creates Swarm services from it. However, some Compose features are ignored in Swarm mode (build, depends_on, restart, container names), and some Swarm features (deploy key) are ignored by docker compose up. You can maintain one file that works for both by keeping Compose-compatible settings and adding deploy sections that docker compose ignores. In practice, most people who run Swarm maintain separate stack files.

Do I need Swarm for Docker secrets?

No. While Swarm’s encrypted secrets are the most secure built-in option, they only work in Swarm mode. For Compose deployments, the common alternatives are: .env files with restrictive permissions (chmod 600), Docker Compose secrets with file-based secrets (available since Compose v2.x, though stored unencrypted on disk), or external secret managers like HashiCorp Vault or Authelia for application-level secrets. For a homelab, .env files with proper file permissions are sufficient.

Related

• Docker Compose Basics
• Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes
• Best Docker Management Tools
• How to Self-Host Portainer
• Podman vs Docker
• Getting Started with Self-Hosting
• Docker Networking
• Docker Volumes and Storage