Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes: Which is Better in 2025?

Container orchestration is one of the important topics in DevOps, and the market in this is getting bigger daily. Let us look into Docker swarm and Kubernetes in detail, their differences, and most importantly when to use them. In this article, you will learn what containers are and then move on to what Kubernetes is and why we need them. 

This article will also explore Docker swarm vs Kubernetes and take you through the similarities and differences between Docker swarm and Kubernetes and, finally, which container orchestration needs to be used and when. If you are preparing for DevOps certification, do checkout  Docker Kubernetes certification.

Kubernetes vs Docker Swarm: Head-to-Head Comparison

This Kubernetes vs Docker Swarm head-to-head comparison explores their features, installation, and differences to help you choose the best solution for your needs.

Point of comparison	Kubernetes	Docker Swarm
1. Installation	Complex	Comparatively simple
2. Learning curve	Heavy	Lightweight
3. GUI	Detailed view	No GUI, needs third party
4. Cluster setup	Easy	Easy
5. Availability features	multiple	minimal
6. Scalability	All-in-one scaling based on traffic	Values scaling quickly (approx. 5x faster than K8s) over scaling automatically
7. Horizontal auto-scaling	Yes	No
8. Monitoring capabilities	Yes, built-in	No, needs third party
9. Load balancing	No built-in internal auto load balancing	Internal load balancing
10. Security features	Supports multiple security features	Supports multiple security features
11. CLI	Needs a separate CLI	CLI is out of the box
12. Community	Active	Active

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What is Kubernetes?

Kubernetes simplifies managing complex applications across multiple machines. Imagine running an application locally - you don't worry about specific hardware details. Kubernetes operates similarly for your data center, treating a group of machines as a single unit. You tell Kubernetes what you need (e.g., number of application replicas, resource requirements), and it handles the deployment and management.

The powerful Kubernetes API lets you declare your desired state without needing to know the exact implementation details. You don't specify individual machines for application instances. Instead, you define resource needs, and Kubernetes takes care of placement and scaling. It even handles application restarts, resource control, and efficient resource utilization.

Beyond deployment, Kubernetes offers additional features: load balancing traffic across application replicas, enabling external accessibility, providing configuration secrets, and scheduling one-off tasks. In essence, Kubernetes automates complex system management, ensuring reliability and smooth operation. While it can handle various workloads, it's most commonly used for managing containerized applications.

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What is Docker Swarm?

Docker swarm is a container orchestration tool that allows a user to manage multiple containers deployed across multiple host machines. Docker swarm has different components which help it to manage the swarm effectively. Let us have a look at the architecture to understand how it works:

Docker Swarm Architecture

A worker node is something on which tasks are created by the manager. It will have services running on it to maintain the state defined in the YAML file. In this architecture, there is only one YAML file and this is the power of YAML file. A stack of services is created and deployed on each worker node using the YAML file.

Building Blocks of Docker Swarm

A swarm cluster can have the following components:

• Node: The node is the host machine. A machine can act as a worker, manager, or both. We can have a swarm with one node as well. 
• Stack: A set of services combined is called a stack. Stack and Compose work somewhat similarly, except, there are some commands which will be ignored by Docker-compose in a non-swarm mode such as, when we want to deploy our whole project which is a collection of services (like web server, database, and maybe a task queue) in a single command; we declare all the services in a YAML file, and that YAML file is now a stack of services for the swarm manager. The swarm manager will deploy the stack and maintain the desired states of services defined in the YAML file.
• Service: A service is the definition of the tasks to execute on the manager or worker nodes. It is the central structure of the swarm system and the primary root of user interaction with the swarm. When you create a service, you specify which container image to use and which commands to execute inside running containers. 
• Task: Task is responsible for maintaining the desired replica set of the service. To deploy a service on a worker node, the swarm manager creates a task and starts a container in

Swarm as an Orchestrator

On the orchestration front, Swarm exposes a rich API that allows you to deploy and manage complex microservices apps with ease. You can define your apps in declarative manifest files and deploy them to the Swarm with native Docker commands. You can even perform rolling updates, rollbacks, and scaling operations with simple commands.

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Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes: Detailed Comparison

Let's delve into a detailed comparison or differences between Docker Swarm and Kubernetes, exploring their features, ease of use, scalability, and performance to help you choose the right container orchestration tool for your needs.

1. Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes: Installation and Setup 

Docker Swarm: Setting up Docker Swarm is straightforward, when someone especially familiar with Docker. The process involves enabling Swarm mode on Docker nodes and joining them to a cluster. The Docker CLI manages Swarm commands, eliminating the need for additional tools. This minimalistic approach enables developers to quickly establish a Swarm cluster with fewer steps. 

Kubernetes: In contrast, Kubernetes installation is more complex due to its extensive feature set. Setting up Kubernetes requires configuring multiple components, including the kube-apiserver, kube-scheduler, kube-controller-manager, and etcd for state management. Tools like kubeadm, Minikube, or managed services (e.g., Google Kubernetes Engine, Amazon EKS) can streamline the process, but the steep learning curve and extensive configuration can be challenging for beginners. 

2. Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes: Load Balancing

Docker Swarm: Swarm includes built-in load balancing using an ingress network to distribute traffic across services. It uses a round-robin algorithm to balance the load among containers running the same service. While Swarm's load balancing is straightforward, it lacks advanced features, making it suitable for simpler use cases. 

Kubernetes: Kubernetes offers more advanced load balancing through its Service abstraction, supporting various traffic routing methods (e.g., ClusterIP, NodePort, LoadBalancer). Additionally, Kubernetes supports ingress controllers for advanced load balancing, traffic management, and SSL termination, making it ideal for complex application requirements. 

3. Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes: Scalability 

Docker Swarm: Swarm scales services by adding or removing containers. It can handle large numbers of containers but is more limited in scaling compared to Kubernetes. Swarm's simplicity benefits smaller deployments, but it may struggle with the complexity and scale of enterprise-level applications. 

Kubernetes: Kubernetes excels in scalability, supporting thousands of nodes and containers. Its architecture, designed for high availability and robustness, ensures seamless application scaling. Features like horizontal pod autoscaling and cluster autoscaling make Kubernetes suitable for dynamic, large-scale deployments. 

4. Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes: Networking 

Docker Swarm: Swarm networking relies on Docker’s built-in networking features, including overlay networks for multi-host connectivity. It provides automatic service discovery and load balancing within the Swarm cluster. While adequate for many use cases, it lacks the advanced networking capabilities of Kubernetes. 

Kubernetes: Kubernetes networking is more advanced and flexible, supporting multiple network plugins (e.g., Flannel, Calico, Weave) via the Container Network Interface (CNI) standard. Kubernetes’ network model offers a flat network space for pods, simplifying communication and better suiting complex networking scenarios. 

5. Kubernetes vs Docker Swarm: High Availability 

Docker Swarm: Swarm ensures high availability by replicating services across multiple nodes and rescheduling containers if a node fails. However, it doesn’t match Kubernetes' robustness in handling node failures and ensuring stateful application availability. 

Kubernetes: Kubernetes provides superior high availability features, supporting multi-master setups and distributing critical components across nodes to ensure cluster resilience. Stateful Sets and persistent volumes enhance Kubernetes' ability to reliably manage stateful applications. 

6. Kubernetes vs Docker Swarm: Performance 

Docker Swarm: Swarm's performance is generally good for smaller clusters and less complex applications due to its simplicity and lower overhead. However, it may face challenges in optimizing resource utilization and maintaining performance at larger scales. 

Kubernetes: Kubernetes is designed for high performance at scale, with advanced scheduling and resource management capabilities ensuring efficient cluster resource utilization. The trade-off is the higher overhead and complexity associated with managing a Kubernetes cluster. 

7. Docker Swarm versus Kubernetes: DNS-based Service Discovery 

Docker Swarm: Swarm offers basic DNS-based service discovery using its built-in DNS server. Each service is assigned a DNS name, enabling containers to discover and communicate with services within the cluster.  

Kubernetes: Kubernetes provides a robust DNS-based service discovery mechanism via the kube-dns or CoreDNS add-ons. Each service receives a DNS name, ensuring reliable and scalable service discovery. Kubernetes' advanced DNS capabilities and integration with other features make it ideal for complex microservices architectures. 

Which Container Orchestration Tool is Right for You?

Kubernetes vs Docker Swarm are the most popular container orchestration tools available today. These tools can be used to deploy and manage containers on your own infrastructure, but they also provide a way to run your own container services in the cloud.

Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestrator and scheduler built by Google to manage containerized applications and services. It was designed to be easy to use, fast, reliable and secure from the ground up.

Docker Swarm is also an open-source project that aims to provide a simple, yet powerful cluster manager to run your containers at scale. It offers you a lot of features like load balancing, service discovery, high availability etc.

Conclusion

It can be said that Docker Swarm is easier to pick up than Kubernetes. Even teams with less technical skill can pick up Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes. But the thing with Kubernetes is it offers faster and more secure clusters than Docker Swarm. One thing to understand is Kubernetes cannot be learned before learning Docker. The technology involved in Docker is used to build containers to deploy inside the Kubernetes cluster. You can take Docker and Kubernetes certification training on KnowledgeHut.