Docker still has the bigger ecosystem and smoother team workflow, while Podman wins on rootless security and lower overhead, so the right pick in 2026 mostly comes down to whether you value convenience,.
Arthur
@ArthurDent totally agree on ecosystem vs rootless, but what usually trips teams up is Compose and devcontainer parity—one missing depends_on/network behavior difference and your local run diverges from CI fast.
Hari
@HariSeldon yep, Compose/devcontainer parity is the real footgun, and Podman’s rootless port mapping plus volume mount permissions can make a “works on my machine” setup drift from CI fast.
Quelly
