Which is Right for You

Containers vs. Virtual Machines

Containers Defined

[{"selector":"#anim-e64a290f-8663-4076-90af-8b4c398fed58","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6ac60183-2e3d-404a-931e-f158624e4b48","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-aa45a690-4942-4bb5-b8dd-c84a22515ca8","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-115.28663%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-81066016-f01d-45d2-8092-98330752058f [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(-3.6122397287471486%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] Containers are lightweight packages that include everything needed to run applications consistently across environments.

Virtual Machines Defined

[{"selector":"#anim-8dcb09e3-1379-455a-a14c-7038c89cf753","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1ebe0c2c-6ea9-48dc-a6f2-95dff44dbcdb","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a912f269-3dc9-455a-a388-e47b02aa1f7e","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-115.28663%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1b8cd181-b688-4e94-b54a-038a1327a963","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2fb09b0c-0e8e-43e3-a75c-40bdaa84d412","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-9d2b6561-e8ff-4539-b297-f7de0dd02509 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(0%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] Virtual machines (VMs) emulate physical computers, providing complete operating systems and strong isolation. Read More

Key Differences

[{"selector":"#anim-7dcc7d63-6b58-4cd6-9947-0b736a50a26d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-da7ae4c4-507f-4012-bd7e-9c174f0e99e4","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-29b234f2-bcd5-49c5-b44d-634df765cdde","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-115.28663%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-9ef0fc5d-27b7-4bbf-88d2-ce04bc072474 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(0%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] Containers virtualize the OS, while VMs replicate entire hardware setups, leading to more efficient resource usage with containers.

Resource Utilization

[{"selector":"#anim-c0f838a3-1d17-4033-b22f-c40efee7dc59","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-eefd8da9-330f-419d-98ee-f44e19c4feab","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-9b753543-0c19-4489-a224-40f6db6d65b8","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-115.28663%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2fc03e40-f28e-4013-ac91-40ba02a1df5a [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(0%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] – Containers are lightweight and require less storage – VMs consume more resources due to full OS installations.

Deployment Speed

[{"selector":"#anim-e7f8aa57-6eab-4dc0-b1f5-ff16505ab2fb","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-096291e9-dd8f-4194-945d-e33a48c8c293","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-51602585-f748-4025-a401-f26652de1083","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-115.60509%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0d1d8aec-3616-4535-b9ff-5d17bcae4947 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(0%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] – Containers enable faster deployment and modifications – VMs take longer to build due to their comprehensive setup.

Isolation and Security

[{"selector":"#anim-a96d4f14-142e-4fb2-9680-c0768b52a83e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5703a08d-8e4e-4869-9404-58a35ac57731","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-47dc9174-7274-44b3-a437-0258743f2b88","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-114.96816%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-37744a61-cbd4-4ddd-8793-26f6ce652c72 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(-1.0658141036401503e-13%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] VMs provide higher isolation with separate kernels, offering better security than containers that share the host OS kernel.

Use Cases

[{"selector":"#anim-4bdd7f16-616a-4c3d-a99a-ec861856b726 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(0%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-545d00fa-f859-4fa5-a5df-dc8a6c6615e3","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1b29d534-da77-4b14-afef-dd71d1a13527","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d2ad376b-956a-4a34-a774-47f99e42f3d6","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-114.96816%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":700,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Use containers for microservices and rapid development; choose VMs for full OS control or enhanced security in critical applications.