Podman vs Docker: Which Should You Self-Host With?

Quick Verdict

Docker is still the better choice for most self-hosters. The ecosystem compatibility alone — Portainer, DIUN, nearly every tutorial on the internet — makes it the path of least resistance. Podman is the technically superior engine with genuine security advantages (rootless by default, no daemon), but that ecosystem gap matters every time you troubleshoot a problem at 2 AM. Pick Podman if security is your top priority or you run RHEL/Fedora natively; stick with Docker for everything else.

Overview

Docker and Podman both run OCI-compliant containers. They pull the same images, use the same Dockerfile syntax, and produce functionally identical results. The difference is architecture.

Docker runs a persistent background daemon (dockerd) that manages containers, images, networks, and volumes. Every docker CLI command talks to this daemon via a Unix socket (/var/run/docker.sock). That daemon runs as root by default, which is both Docker’s greatest convenience and its biggest security concern.

Podman (Pod Manager) was created by Red Hat as a daemonless alternative. Each container runs as a direct child process of the Podman command — fork-exec, no intermediary daemon. This means no always-running root process, no socket to protect, and containers that can run entirely as an unprivileged user. Podman’s CLI is intentionally Docker-compatible; most commands work by simply replacing docker with podman.

Both tools use the same underlying container runtimes (runc or crun) and the same image format (OCI). The containers themselves are identical. The difference is everything around them: how they start, how they’re managed, and what tooling supports them.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Docker	Podman
Architecture	Client-daemon (dockerd)	Daemonless (fork-exec)
Rootless support	Available but opt-in, less mature	Default mode, first-class support
CLI compatibility	Native	Drop-in compatible (alias docker=podman)
Compose support	Native (docker compose v2)	podman-compose or podman compose via plugin; some edge cases break
Systemd integration	Limited; needs third-party wrappers	Native via podman generate systemd and Quadlet
Networking (bridge)	Mature bridge driver, docker0 interface	CNI or Netavark; rootless uses slirp4netns or pasta
Volume management	Named volumes, bind mounts, volume drivers	Named volumes, bind mounts; fewer third-party volume plugins
Image format	OCI and Docker format	OCI and Docker format
Registry support	Docker Hub default, configurable	Multiple registries configurable in registries.conf
Auto-restart policies	restart: unless-stopped, always, on-failure	Supported in rootful; rootless uses systemd units instead
Resource overhead	~50-100 MB for daemon at idle	No daemon overhead; slightly higher per-container startup cost
Docker socket	/var/run/docker.sock — required by many tools	Optional compatibility socket via podman.socket; not all tools work
Community & ecosystem	Massive; virtually every self-hosting tool assumes Docker	Growing; strong enterprise adoption, smaller hobbyist community
Pod support	Not native (Swarm for orchestration)	Native pod concept (shared network namespace, like Kubernetes pods)
Kubernetes integration	Separate tooling needed	podman generate kube / podman play kube built in
Build support	docker build (BuildKit)	podman build (Buildah)

Installation Complexity

Docker is simpler to get running. On Ubuntu/Debian:

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Two commands and you’re done. The convenience script handles repository setup, package installation, and daemon configuration. Every major distro is supported.

Podman requires distro-specific installation and more manual configuration, especially for rootless mode:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install podman

# Fedora/RHEL (pre-installed on recent versions)
sudo dnf install podman

For rootless containers, you also need to configure subordinate UID/GID mappings:

sudo usermod --add-subuids 100000-165535 --add-subgids 100000-165535 $USER

On Ubuntu, you may need to manually configure /etc/containers/registries.conf to set default registries, since Podman doesn’t default to Docker Hub alone. Fedora and RHEL ship with sane defaults; Debian-based distros often need manual tweaks.

The gap is shrinking — Podman packages are improving — but Docker’s install experience is still smoother, especially for beginners.

Performance and Resource Usage

Runtime performance is nearly identical. Both Docker and Podman use the same OCI runtimes under the hood (runc or the faster crun). Once a container is running, there is no measurable difference in CPU, memory, or I/O performance between the two.

Where they differ:

• Daemon overhead. Docker’s dockerd process consumes 50-100 MB of RAM at idle and uses CPU cycles for health checks, event logging, and API handling. Podman has zero idle overhead since there is no daemon.
• Container startup. Docker container starts are marginally faster because the daemon is already running and maintains state. Podman’s fork-exec model has a slightly higher per-start cost, though the difference is typically under 100ms — irrelevant for self-hosting workloads.
• Networking in rootless mode. Podman’s rootless networking via slirp4netns or pasta adds measurable latency compared to Docker’s bridge networking (which requires root). If you run Podman in rootful mode, networking performance is equivalent. The newer pasta backend significantly narrows this gap compared to the older slirp4netns.
• Storage drivers. Both default to overlay2 on modern kernels. No meaningful difference.

For self-hosting — where containers run long-lived and startup time is irrelevant — the performance difference between Docker and Podman is negligible. Pick based on features, not speed.

Community and Support

Docker has the larger ecosystem by a wide margin. Nearly every self-hosting tutorial, YouTube video, and forum answer assumes Docker. Tools like Portainer, Dockge, and most container management UIs require the Docker socket. (Watchtower (deprecated) also required it, but DIUN is the actively maintained replacement for update notifications.) When something breaks, you’ll find a Stack Overflow answer in seconds.

Docker is maintained by Docker, Inc. with frequent releases, active GitHub repositories, and extensive official documentation. The Docker Hub registry is the default image source for most projects.

Podman is backed by Red Hat and is the default container engine on RHEL, CentOS Stream, and Fedora. It has strong enterprise adoption — particularly in environments where running a root daemon is a compliance problem. Red Hat’s investment means Podman isn’t going anywhere.

However, hobbyist and self-hosting community support is thinner. Fewer tutorials cover Podman specifically. Some self-hosting tools don’t support Podman’s compatibility socket, or have edge cases that break. The podman-compose project works for most Compose files but isn’t feature-complete compared to Docker Compose v2.

The gap is closing. Podman’s compatibility improves with every release, and more projects are testing against it. But today, Docker’s ecosystem advantage is real and significant for self-hosters.

Use Cases

Choose Docker If…

• You have an existing Docker setup and don’t want to migrate
• You use management tools like Portainer, DIUN, or Dockge that require the Docker socket
• You follow tutorials from the self-hosting community (they’re written for Docker)
• You want the simplest installation and the fewest surprises
• You run apps with complex Docker Compose files (multi-service stacks with custom networks and volumes)
• You don’t want to think about your container engine — you want it to work

Choose Podman If…

• Security is your top priority and you want rootless containers by default
• You run RHEL, Fedora, or CentOS Stream where Podman is native
• You need systemd integration for container lifecycle management (Quadlet is excellent)
• You’re building toward Kubernetes and want native pod support and podman play kube
• You dislike running a privileged daemon and want fork-exec process management
• You’re in an enterprise or compliance environment that prohibits root daemons
• You run single-service containers that don’t need complex orchestration tooling

Final Verdict

Docker is the right choice for most self-hosters. Not because it’s technically better — Podman’s daemonless architecture and rootless-first design are genuinely superior from a security standpoint. Docker wins because the self-hosting ecosystem is built around it. When every tutorial, every management tool, and every troubleshooting guide assumes Docker, swimming against that current costs real time and effort.

Podman is the better engine. No root daemon, native rootless containers, systemd integration, pod support, Kubernetes compatibility — it checks more technical boxes. If you’re starting fresh on Fedora or RHEL, or if rootless containers are a hard requirement, Podman is the stronger pick. The alias docker=podman trick genuinely works for most CLI usage.

The practical recommendation: use Docker today, keep an eye on Podman. As more self-hosting tools add Podman support and podman compose matures, the ecosystem gap will shrink. When it does, Podman becomes the obvious choice. That day isn’t here yet for most setups.

FAQ

Can I migrate from Docker to Podman?

Yes. Since both use OCI images, your containers and images are compatible. Export your Docker images with docker save, import them with podman load. Docker Compose files work with podman-compose or the podman compose plugin with minimal changes. The main migration effort is replacing Docker-socket-dependent tools (Portainer, Watchtower (deprecated)) with Podman-native alternatives or enabling Podman’s compatibility socket with systemctl enable --user podman.socket.

Do Docker Compose files work with Podman?

Mostly. Podman supports Compose files through podman-compose (a Python reimplementation) or the docker-compose plugin running against Podman’s compatibility socket. Simple to moderately complex Compose files work without changes. Edge cases around named volumes, custom network drivers, and build contexts can break. Test your specific stack before committing to the switch.

Is Podman more secure than Docker?

In its default configuration, yes. Podman runs rootless by default — containers execute as your unprivileged user, and there’s no root daemon to exploit. Docker’s daemon runs as root by default, and the Docker socket grants root-equivalent access to anything that can connect to it. Docker does support rootless mode, but it’s opt-in and less mature. If you run Docker with rootless mode enabled, the security gap narrows significantly.

Can I run both Docker and Podman on the same machine?

Yes, but it’s not recommended for production. Both can coexist — they use separate storage and configuration. However, running two container engines doubles your mental overhead, complicates troubleshooting, and can cause port conflicts. Pick one and commit to it. If you need to test Podman while still relying on Docker, run Podman in a VM or use it for non-critical containers during your evaluation period.

Does Podman support Docker Swarm?

No. Podman has no equivalent to Docker Swarm. For orchestration, Podman aligns with Kubernetes — it can generate and consume Kubernetes YAML natively. If you need multi-node orchestration for self-hosting, Docker Swarm is simpler but limited; Kubernetes (via k3s) is more capable but complex. Podman’s pod concept is useful for single-node grouping but doesn’t provide cluster orchestration.

Related

• Podman for Self-Hosting
• Best Docker Management Tools
• How to Self-Host Portainer
• How to Self-Host Dockge
• Docker Compose Basics
• Docker Security