Pick Docker if
individual developers who will stay on Personal at $0 while they open a first Containers list, then Pro at $9/user/month yearly ($11 monthly) when they need commercial / advanced Desktop features.
Read the Docker pageDocker vs Pulumi
Our take
Pick Docker if individual developers who will stay on Personal at $0 while they open a first Containers list, then Pro at $9/user/month yearly ($11 monthly) when they need commercial / advanced Desktop features. Pick Pulumi if individual operators who will stay on Free at $0 (1 user) while they open a first Resources list, then Essentials at $40/month when the team needs unlimited users / Resource Search — not Pro
Best for
Docker A container table you start at a public $
Pulumi An IaC table you start at a public $
Free plan
Docker $0 · “For individual developers who need the essential tools to build and deploy containers.”
Pulumi $0 · no credit card. 1 user. IaC state management. Pulumi Deployments. Basic Pulumi ESC. Unlimited projects, stacks, environments, updates, and history. Up to 500 workflow minutes. Does not include Neo, Resource Search, or Property Search. Does not cap managed resources
Lowest paid
Docker Hardened Images / extras $5
Pulumi Enterprise $2/mo
Next step up
Docker Pro $9/user/mo
Pulumi Essentials $40/mo
Runs where
Docker Hosted
Pulumi Hosted
Watch out
Docker Personal is the $0 individual tile
Pulumi Free is one user
Last checked
Docker 2026-10-23 · docker.com/pricing
Pulumi 2026-10-23 · pulumi.com/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick Pulumi if
individual operators who will stay on Free at $0 (1 user) while they open a first Resources list, then Essentials at $40/month when the team needs unlimited users / Resource Search — not Pro $400 unless they need SAML / preventative policy.
Read the Pulumi page