Docker Desktop Licensing Changes: What You Need to Know

Docker Inc. announced that Docker Desktop is no longer free for large enterprises ( > 250 employees or > $10m revenue). This caused a lot of panic.

The Alternatives

• Pay It: Honestly, for $5/month/user, it is often worth it for the seamless experience.
• WSL 2 Native: You can run the Docker Engine directly in WSL 2 (Ubuntu) without Docker Desktop. It works, but you lose the GUI dashboard.
• Rancher Desktop: An emerging open-source alternative that provides a similar GUI and manages Kubernetes/Containerd for you.

My advice: If your company can afford the license, just pay it. The productivity loss of engineers fighting with alternatives outweighs the cost.