| Virtual Machine | Docker Container |
|---|---|
| Hardware-level process isolation | OS level process isolation |
| Each VM has a separate OS | Each container can share OS |
| Boots in minutes | Boots in seconds |
| VMs are of few GBs | Containers are lightweight (KBs/MBs) |
| Ready-made VMs are difficult to find | Pre-built docker containers are easily available |
| VMs can move to new host easily | Containers are destroyed and re-created rather than moving |
| Creating VM takes a relatively longer time | Containers can be created in seconds |
| More resource usage | Less resource usage |