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It's a split decision.
Choose Docker for building and running containerized applications, or for isolating AI agent sessions with local and cloud sandboxes. Choose Pulumi to define and manage cloud infrastructure in TypeScript, Python, Go, .NET, Java, YAML, or HCL. They address different layers of a stack, not competing ways to provision the same resource: Docker handles containers and agent execution, while Pulumi manages infrastructure and its policies. Teams may use both, with Pulumi provisioning infrastructure that runs Docker workloads.
01Side by side
| Docker | Pulumi | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per-user plans; DHI Select starts at $5,000 per repo | Free, $40 Essentials, $400 Pro; Enterprise custom |
| Free tier | Personal: one user, 100 Hub pulls/hour, one private repo | One user, 500 workflow minutes, 25 secrets, 10K API calls |
| Open source and licence | Vendor doesn't publish open-source status or licence | Open source; licence not specified |
| Self-hosting | Vendor doesn't publish a self-hosting option | Enterprise plan offers self-hosting |
| CLI and docs | Homepage shows docker agent run; docs details not listed | Documentation, API references, CLI installation and Registry |
| Integrations | Existing images, registries, CI, Claude, MCP and OCI | Vault, cloud secret stores, OIDC, npm, PyPI and NuGet |
| Deployment model | Run agents locally or in Cloud Sandboxes | Manage cloud infrastructure through its platform |
| Platforms | Mac, Windows and Linux | Web platform |
| Limits and scaling | Business has no user cap; plan limits vary | Enterprise offers unlimited users and concurrent stack updates |
Docker Choose Docker if
- Choose Docker if you need container development across Mac, Windows or Linux.
- Choose Docker if agent sessions need local or cloud microVM isolation.
- Choose Docker if you want to extend existing images, registries and CI.
Pulumi Choose Pulumi if
- Choose Pulumi if you want to define infrastructure in general-purpose languages.
- Choose Pulumi if you need policy, secrets and infrastructure governance together.
- Choose Pulumi if your team needs Enterprise self-hosting or Terraform and HCL support.
02Pricing at real usage
Docker Personal is free for one user and includes 100 Docker Hub pulls per hour and one private repository. Pro costs $11 per user monthly or $9 billed annually; Team is $16 or $15, and Business is $24 either way. Those plans add features and Testcontainers Cloud runtime minutes; extra minutes cost $3 per 100, or $4 per 100 on demand. Docker DHI Select starts at $5,000 per repository.
Pulumi Free includes one user, 500 workflow minutes, 25 secrets and 10,000 API calls per month. Essentials costs $40 monthly and Pro $400, with included Pulumi Credits and managed-resource limits. A credit costs $1; additional usage draws from credits and is billed in arrears. Managed resources, secrets, discovered resources and workflow minutes can add charges, so estimate resource-hours and workflow use before choosing a paid tier.
03API, SDKs and integration
Docker centers on container workflows and agent isolation: its homepage shows a docker agent run command and says teams can use existing images, registries and CI. It names Claude, MCP and OCI compliance, and describes local and cloud sandboxes. The published product details do not establish a Docker API or SDK language matrix, so check the vendor’s documentation if an application needs to call Docker programmatically.
Pulumi defines infrastructure as code in TypeScript, Python, Go, .NET, Java, YAML and HCL. Teams can package reusable components and share them through npm, PyPI and NuGet. Its site points developers to documentation, API references, tutorials and a Registry of providers and packages. Integration points include Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault and OIDC. Pulumi also advertises native Terraform and HCL support. That makes Pulumi the more directly code-oriented interface for provisioning; Docker fits container build and runtime workflows.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Pulumi identifies its product as open source, but the licence is not specified on the vendor's site. Its Enterprise plan offers self-hosting; the other listed plan details do not. Docker’s open-source status and self-hosting option are not published on the vendor's site. Docker does say it is OCI-compliant and platform-independent, and points to existing images, registries and CI as part of its stack.
Those interfaces give teams familiar migration paths, but they are not a guarantee that every policy, agent sandbox or managed workflow transfers unchanged. Pulumi supports Terraform and HCL, and its infrastructure is defined in code; check provider and state migration requirements before changing tools. Neither vendor publishes an explicit data-export guarantee. Ask about export formats, retention, and how to move audit logs, secrets and managed state before committing to either platform.
Questions people ask
Are Docker and Pulumi alternatives?
Not usually. Docker builds and runs containers and provides isolation and governance for AI agents. Pulumi defines and manages cloud infrastructure as code, with configuration, secrets and policy features. A team can use Pulumi to provision infrastructure and Docker to build or run containerized workloads on it.
Which is cheaper, Docker or Pulumi?
Both have free plans, but the included resources differ. Docker Pro starts at $9 per user per month with annual billing, or $11 monthly. Pulumi Essentials costs $40 per month and includes 40 Pulumi Credits; additional usage draws from credits at $1 each and is billed in arrears.
Can Pulumi manage Docker?
The published Pulumi product details list cloud infrastructure languages, providers and packages, but do not specify a Docker integration. Confirm provider support and the resources it manages with Pulumi’s Registry before planning a workflow that provisions or configures Docker through Pulumi.
Can I self-host Docker or Pulumi?
Pulumi lists self-hosting as an Enterprise feature. Docker’s product details do not publish a self-hosting option. If self-hosting is a requirement, confirm deployment architecture, upgrade responsibilities and support terms with Docker; for Pulumi, confirm Enterprise hosting requirements with its sales team.