Docker-compose v Podman-compose
Published: 2023-03-24 11:56:19


## Introduction
Containerization has become the de-facto standard of deploying applications due to its ease of use and portability. As the number of containerization tools increases it can be difficult to choose the best tool that fits your needs. Two of the most popular container orchestration tools are the following

- docker-compose
- podman-compose

Today we'll compare the two of them and help you determine which tool is the best for you so lets start!

## docker-compose
docker-compose lets you easily deploy containerized applications due to its vast community support, extensive range of pre-built images, and great support from multiple platforms. The tool easily lets define and run multi-container application within a single file. Docker-compose uses a `YAML` file to define the services that make up an application, their dependencies, and how they communicate with each other. Docker-compose also allows you to configure the containers' networking, volumes, and environment variables. Once you have defined your application, you can start it with a single command.

Although docker-compose gives us alot of benefits it has a few setbacks such as
- It relies on the Docker engine to run the containers.
- The Docker engine requires root privileges to run.
- Docker-compose may not be the best tool for running containers on non-Linux systems.

Now moving onto podman-compose

## podman-compose
Podman-compose is an open-source tool that provides a docker-compose like interface without the need of the Docker engine and root privileges to run. Furthermore, it uses the same `YAML` syntax as Docker Compose to define the containers, services, and networks that make up an application also it is compatible with the Open Container Initiative (OCI) specification.

Podman-compose offers many benefits such as 
- It does not rely on the Docker engine.
- It can run containers on non-Linux systems.
- It has a modular architecture, which allows it to be more easily integrated with other tools

## Comparison
Now that we have covered the basics of the two lets compare them in terms of features, ease of use, and performance.

### Features
Both offer similar features, such as defining containers, services, networks, and volumes using `YAML` files. However, Docker Compose has a more extensive ecosystem, with more pre-built images and integrations with other tools.

### Performance
In terms of performance, podman-compose is faster than docker-compose since it does not require a daemon to run the containers. podman-compose uses the user's session to run the containers, which allows it to take advantage of the user's Linux kernel. However, docker-compose has better resource utilization since it can use Docker's container caching and image layering features.

### Ease of use
Both are straightforward to use. Although, docker-compose has a more significant learning curve since it has more features and a more extensive ecosystem. Podman-compose is more user-friendly and can be learned quickly by anyone familiar with docker-compose.

### Conclusion
Podman-compose and Docker Compose are both superior container orchestration solutions, to sum up. The more established tool, docker-compose, has a larger ecosystem, but it has certain limitations, including the need for root rights to operate and incompatibility with non-Linux systems. A more recent tool, podman-compose, offers a docker-compose-like experience without depending on the Docker engine.