Comparison

DockZ vs Docker Desktop

Docker Desktop is the official way to run Docker on a Mac. DockZ runs the same upstream dockerd, but as a ~8 MB native SwiftUI app that is free for every company size.

At a glance

	DockZ	Docker Desktop
License	Apache 2.0, free for everyone	Paid subscription for larger companies (250+ employees or $10M+ revenue)
App on disk	~8 MB	~1.5 GB+
UI	Native SwiftUI	Electron
Docker engine	Upstream `dockerd` in Alpine	Upstream `dockerd`
General Linux VMs	Alpine / Debian / Ubuntu, cloud-init	—
Kubernetes	Multi-node k3s / k8s templates	Single-node
VM snapshots + rollback	APFS copy-on-write	—
Remote Docker engines	SSH / mutual TLS, keys in the Secure Enclave	Via docker contexts (CLI)
Platforms	macOS 15+, Apple Silicon only	macOS, Windows, Linux

Why people pick DockZ

Free and open source (Apache 2.0) — no seat counting, no license audit.
One ~8 MB native app: Docker engine, a Portainer-style dashboard, Multipass-style Linux machines and k3s/k8s playgrounds.
Manage remote Docker hosts over SSH or mutual TLS; TLS keys stay in the Mac's Secure Enclave.
Self-healing VM: if the engine stops answering, DockZ restarts it on its own.

When Docker Desktop is the better choice

You need Windows or Linux desktops, Intel Macs, or one tool across a mixed team.
You rely on Docker Extensions, Docker's commercial support, or other features of a Docker subscription.

Switching takes a few minutes

Install DockZ from the DMG and launch it; the first launch builds the VM image and, if you have no docker CLI, installs the official one.
DockZ registers a dockz Docker context: docker context use dockz. Your images, compose files and commands stay the same.
Images live per engine — re-pull them (or docker save / docker load) and recreate volumes you need.

Try DockZ

Free, open source, ~8 MB (3.5 MB download). macOS 15+ on Apple Silicon.

Download the DMG

Comparison as of October 2026, based on each product's public documentation. Spotted something out of date? Open an issue.