Personal
Free
per user per month
Best for: Individuals, education and small businesses under the size limits
- Docker Desktop
- 1 private repo
- 1 Docker Scout repo
- Docker Debug
- 100 pulls per hour
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Pricing guide, Developer Tools
Docker pricing in 2026: plans, seats and the 250-employee rule
Every Docker subscription in plain numbers, the rule on who must pay for Docker Desktop, and the minimums that change the real cost.
The short answer
Docker costs USD 9 per user per month for Pro, USD 15 for Team and USD 24 for Business, billed annually (USD 11, USD 16 and USD 24 monthly). Personal is free for companies under 250 employees and USD 10 million revenue. A 25-developer team pays USD 4,500 a year on Team or USD 7,200 on Business at list price.
- Cheapest paid optionPro at USD 9 per user a month, billed annually, for one developer.
- What growing teams needTeam at USD 15 per user, with audit logs and shared build minutes.
- Biggest hidden costSSO and registry controls are Business only, a 60 percent jump from Team.
- Best way to saveLicense only real Docker Desktop users and commit annually on Team.
Written by Procurement VMS Editorial Team · Reviewed by Michael, Procurement Advisor Expert · Price data dated · 9 minute read
Docker plans and prices
Docker Desktop is free until your company passes 250 employees or USD 10 million in revenue. After that every developer using it commercially needs a paid seat, and the bill arrives all at once.
This guide covers each subscription, the rules on who must pay and the minimums and add-ons that change the real cost, using Docker's official pricing page and FAQ.
Prices below were recorded on 21 September 2026. The headline figure is the lowest price you can get for that plan. Check the official page before you buy, because vendors change prices without notice.
Pro
USD9
per user per month, billed yearly
Billed monthly: USD11
Best for: A single professional developer
- 1 user
- Build Cloud
- 100 Testcontainers Cloud minutes
- unlimited private repos and pulls
- 2 Scout repos
Team
USD15
per user per month, billed yearly
Billed monthly: USD16
Best for: Development teams up to 100 users
- Audit logs
- Docker Hub RBAC
- unlimited Scout repos
- 500 Build Cloud and 500 Testcontainers Cloud minutes per month
Business
USD24
per user per month
Best for: Larger companies with security and IT controls
- SSO
- SCIM
- Hardened Docker Desktop
- Image and Registry Access Management
- 1,500 build minutes
- invoice billing
How billing works
Commercial use of Docker Desktop needs a paid subscription unless the company has fewer than 250 employees and less than USD 10 million in annual revenue, and government entities always pay. New annual Team and Business customers buying through Docker have a 25-seat minimum, and existing annual customers add seats in blocks of at least 10. Extra build minutes are bought as packs, and self-serve plans auto-renew with refunds only inside 15 days.
The tier trap
SSO, SCIM and the controls that lock Docker Desktop to approved registries are Business only. A security team that wants central control moves every developer from USD 15 to USD 24 per user.
Read this first. The pricing page lists Team as up to 100 users, while the FAQ says there is no explicit maximum. We used the pricing page. The 25-seat minimum appears to cover sales-led orders, so confirm it for self-serve purchases. The open source alternatives are free by licence, and we did not fetch their pages.
Docker cost calculator
Move the slider to see what each plan costs at your size. The figures use the list prices on this page and leave out tax, add-ons and any discount you negotiate.
What a team of 25 really pays
Twenty-five developers shows the cost of choosing Business for SSO, and the small premium for paying monthly.
| Scenario | Cost per year | Against the headline |
|---|---|---|
| Team, billed annually (25 users) | USD4,500 | Headline price |
| Security requires SSO, so Business (25 users) | USD7,200 | +USD 2,700 |
| Team paid monthly instead of annually (25 users) | USD4,800 | +USD 300 |
What each Docker plan includes
Compare the plans side by side. Where a cell says Check page, the vendor's pricing page was not specific enough for us to fill it in.
| Feature | Personal | Pro | Team | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Users | 1 | 1 | Up to 100 | Unlimited |
| Private Docker Hub repos | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Docker Scout repos | 1 | 2 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Build Cloud minutes per month | Trial | Included (4 parallel builds) | 500 | 1,500 |
| Testcontainers Cloud minutes per month | Trial | 100 | 500 | 1,500 |
| Support response | Community | 5 business days | 2 business days | 1 business day, 24x5 |
Features we could not place by plan: Audit logs and Hub RBAC, SSO and SCIM, Hardened Docker Desktop, Registry and Image Access Management. Check the official page for which plan includes each one.
Which Docker plan should you pick?
Personal
Pick it for personal projects, or if your company is under 250 employees and USD 10 million revenue.
Pro
Pick it if you are one professional developer who needs unlimited private repos and Build Cloud.
Team
Pick it if you have up to 100 developers and need audit logs, Hub RBAC and shared build minutes.
Business
Pick it if security needs SSO, SCIM or control over which registries and images Desktop can use.
Our view
Docker's per-seat price is modest next to engineering salaries, and Team covers most growing companies well. Business is worth it when security will enforce SSO and registry controls. Otherwise it adds USD 9 per developer per month for features nobody configures.
You may be overpaying if
You license every engineer when only some run Docker Desktop, you bought Business without configuring SSO or Registry Access Management, or you buy build minute packs every month instead of right-sizing the plan.
How to pay less for Docker
Count real Desktop users
Licenses are needed for commercial Docker Desktop use. Check who actually runs it before renewing seats.
Commit annually on Team
Team drops from USD 16 to USD 15 per user per month on annual billing. Business costs the same either way, so negotiate term instead.
Buy Business only for its controls
If SSO, SCIM and Registry Access Management will not be configured, Team is USD 9 per user per month cheaper.
Right-size build minutes
Compare minute packs with the next tier. Team includes 500 per month and Business 1,500.
Plan for the 25-seat minimum
If you are near 25 developers, time the move to a sales-led annual contract to match real headcount.
Price open source options
Podman Desktop and Rancher Desktop are free, which is useful bargaining power if you only need a local container runtime.
Price changes we know of
- 10 December 2024: Docker introduced new subscription pricing for new customers, applied to existing customers at their next renewal after 9 December 2024.
Renewal email you can copy
Fill in the brackets and send it about 90 days before the renewal date. It works best next to your renewal tracker.
Subject: Docker renewal on [renewal date] Hi [account manager], Our Docker [plan] subscription renews on [renewal date]. Over the last 90 days, [active users] of the [paid users] we pay for used it. We would like to renew with [target users] on a [term] term. Before we sign, please send: 1. The current list price and the price you are offering us, line by line. 2. The cap on any price increase at the next renewal. 3. The notice period if we want to cut users or move to another plan. We are comparing this against [alternative] and plan to decide by [decision date]. If you can offer [target discount] percent off list, or a lower price for a longer term, we are ready to talk this week. Thank you, [name] [company]
Free PDF and Excel
Docker pricing sheet and cost model
A one page summary of every plan, plus an Excel model that adds up your own seat count.
- All plans and prices on one page
- Excel model with your seat count and yearly cost
- Renewal checklist and the email above, ready to edit
- Date of the price data and the source links
Docker alternatives and what they cost
If this vendor does not fit, these are the closest options and what they charge.
| Alternative | Starting price | Pick it when |
|---|---|---|
| Podman Desktop | USD0 (open source) | Developers only need a local container runtime and you want no license fees |
| Rancher Desktop | USD0 (open source) | You want free local Kubernetes and containers on Mac, Windows and Linux |
| Colima | USD0 (open source) | Mac developers are comfortable with a command-line runtime |
Keeping Docker spend under control
Developer tooling is bought team by team and counted by nobody. A company crosses the 250-employee line and discovers that years of free Docker Desktop installs now need licenses.
- Set budgets and alerts. Usage bills grow without anyone signing anything. Set a monthly budget and an alert at 80 percent of it.
- Tag cost to a team. Give every project an owner so a bill can be traced. Our spend management software guide covers the controls to look for.
- Review commitments before renewal. Committed spend discounts only pay off if you use the commitment. Compare 12 months of real use with the plan before you renew, using a renewal tracker.
- Count the full cost, not the list price. Support, egress, extra seats and add-ons change the real figure. Our total cost of ownership guide shows how to add it up.
Bottom line. Team covers most engineering organizations, and Business pays off only when security will configure SSO and registry controls. Count real Desktop users and build minutes before every renewal.
Docker pricing questions
How much does Docker cost per user?
Docker Pro costs USD 9 per user per month billed annually or USD 11 monthly. Team costs USD 15 annually or USD 16 monthly, and Business costs USD 24 per user per month on either cycle. Personal is free for eligible users and small companies.
Is Docker Desktop free for companies?
Only for small companies. Docker Desktop stays free for businesses with fewer than 250 employees and less than USD 10 million in annual revenue. Larger companies, and all government entities, need a paid Pro, Team or Business subscription for commercial use.
How much is Docker Business?
Docker Business costs USD 24 per user per month whether billed annually or monthly. New annual customers buying through Docker's sales team have a 25-seat minimum, so the smallest sales-led Business order is USD 7,200 a year.
Can you get a discount on Docker?
Docker publishes an annual billing discount on Pro and Team but not on Business. Beyond that, the biggest savings come from licensing only real Docker Desktop users, avoiding Business if you will not use its controls and negotiating term on sales-led deals.
Is Docker cheaper billed annually?
Yes for Pro and Team. Pro drops from USD 11 to USD 9 and Team from USD 16 to USD 15 per user per month. Business is USD 24 either way. For 25 Team users, annual billing saves USD 300 a year.
What is the cheapest alternative to Docker Desktop?
Podman Desktop and Rancher Desktop are free and open source, and Colima is a free option for Mac. They suit developers who only need a local container runtime, but they do not replace Docker Hub, Scout or Build Cloud.
How we put this page together
We start from the vendor pricing page and note the date. Where a figure comes from a third party instead, we say so on the page. Procurement VMS is a ratings and comparison site, not a software vendor, and nobody paid for a place in this guide. Spot a number that has changed? Tell us on the contact page and we will check it.
Take the Docker cost model to your renewal meeting
You get a one page PDF and an Excel model with your seat count, the plans above and a renewal checklist.
Choosing software instead of renewing? See the ranked procurement software list.