Depot
Portainer
| Feature | Depot | Portainer |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $20/mo | Free / from $12/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | engineering-teams, ci-cd-pipelines, monorepo-teams, docker-heavy-teams | devops-engineers, system-admins, small-teams, docker-users |
| Founded | 2022 | 2017 |
| Fast Builds | ✓ | ✗ |
| Remote Caching | ✓ | ✗ |
| Github Actions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi Platform Builds | ✓ | ✗ |
| Buildkit Compatible | ✓ | ✗ |
| Build Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Container Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Stack Deployment | ✗ | ✓ |
| User Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Registry Access | ✗ | ✓ |
| Monitoring | ✗ | ✓ |
| Edge Computing | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Depot Pros
- Dramatically faster Docker builds
- Drop-in replacement for docker build
- Native layer caching
- GitHub Actions integration
✗ Depot Cons
- Only for container builds
- Costs scale with usage
- Newer platform
✓ Portainer Pros
- Visual UI for Docker/K8s management
- Free for up to 5 environments
- Simplifies container deployment
- Role-based access control
✗ Portainer Cons
- Enterprise features are paid
- Can lag behind Docker CLI capabilities
- Limited CI/CD features
The Verdict
Depot is built for engineering teams and ci cd pipelines, with a focus on fast-builds and remote-caching. Portainer targets devops engineers and system admins and leads with container-management and stack-deployment.
On pricing, Portainer is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $12/mo compared to $20/mo for Depot. That $8/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.