Are you in search of a Docker alternative and considering a transition to ServBay? ServBay distinguishes itself with several advantages over Docker, including a more user-friendly interface, wider support for programming languages and databases, and a range of built-in functionalities. This comparison will highlight why ServBay is a preferable option for many users.
| Features\Products | ServBay | ServBay Pro | Docker | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||||
| Pricing | Free | $59 ($29 for Edu) | Free | |
| Free version | 5 hosts, Ulimited functions | / | / | |
| Free trial | / | / | / | |
| Functions | ||||
| macOS support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| Native macOS App | Swift + SwiftUI | Swift + SwiftUI | / | |
| Install package size | 50 MB | 50 MB | N/A | |
| Package upgradeable | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Security updates | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Oprating System | ||||
| Non-intrusive | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| Launch at login | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Start with system | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| CLI support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| APP GUI | ||||
| Newbie friendly | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Quick control/Menubar | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Service control panel | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Multilingual | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Easy to use APP | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Configurable via GUI | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Easy backup | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Hosts / Websites | ||||
| Configurable via GUI | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Multiple Hosts | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| Max Hosts | 5 | unlimited | unlimited | |
| Custom domains | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Custom TLDs | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Multiple Domains/Alias | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| SSL support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Free private/self-sign SSL | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Local private/self-sign CA | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Selectable PHP Version | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Static Web Support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Reverse Proxy | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Docker/Node.js Proxy | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Redirection(301/302) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Programing Languages | ||||
| PHP support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Multiple PHP versions | 5.6 - 8.5 | 5.6 - 8.5 | 5.4 - 8.3 | |
| PHP 8.4 | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| PHP 8.5 | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| Multiple PHP instances | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| Instantly switch PHP versions | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| Node.js support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Node.js 22 | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| Node.js 23 | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| Multiple Node.js versions | 12 - 23 | 12 - 23 | 12 - 22 | |
| Instantly switch Node.js versions | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Web Servers | ||||
| Apache HTTPd | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| NGINX | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Caddy | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Databases | ||||
| MySQL support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Multiple MySQL versions | 5.1 - 9.1 | 5.1 - 9.1 | ❗️manual | |
| Instantly switch MySQL versions | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| MariaDB support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Multiple MariaDB versions | 10.4 - 11.8 | 10.4 - 11.8 | ✅ Yes | |
| Instantly switch MariaDB versions | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| PostgreSQL support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Multiple PostgreSQL versions | 10 - 17 | 10 - 17 | ✅ Yes | |
| Instantly switch PostgreSQL versions | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| MongoDB support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Multiple MongoDB versions | 5.0 - 8.0 | 5.0 - 8.0 | / | |
| Instantly switch MongoDB versions | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Redis support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Memcached support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| SQLite 3 | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Tools | ||||
| phpMyAdmin | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Adminer | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| OpenSSL | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Composer | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| cURL | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| npm | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| pnpm | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | N/A | |
| yarn | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | N/A | |
| Mail Server | ||||
| Built-in Mail Server | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| DNS | ||||
| Built-in DNS Server | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Custom domains | 5 | unlimited | ❌ No | |
| hosts file manage GUI | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| host domain resolution via /etc/hosts | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| host domain resolution via local Built-in DNS Server | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Common PHP Modules | ||||
| APC/APCu | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| xDebug | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| opcache | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| IMAP | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| gd | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| cURL | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| OpenLDAP | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| mysql | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| pgsql | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| sqlite | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| pdo-* | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| sodium | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| MongoDB | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| redis | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| memcache | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| memcached | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| imagick | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Phalcon | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Swoole | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Tunnels/Reverse Proxy | ||||
| Cloudflared | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| frpc | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Ngrok | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❗️manual | |
| Development tools | ||||
| Development Library | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | / | |
| Re-Compile support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Additional PHP Extensions Compile | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | N/A | |
| Support | ||||
| Documents | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Community | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | |
| ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ||
| Pay support | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | |
| Discord/Telegram | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | N/A | |
| WeChat Group | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | N/A | |
ServBay triumphs with its intuitive and user-friendly application interface. It supports 11 languages, offers quick control through a menubar, and features a newbie-friendly service control panel, all accessible via a graphical user interface. In contrast, Docker relies more on manual configurations and CLI operations, lacking an easy-to-use, multilingual UI. ServBay also excels in system integration with features like non-intrusive operation, launch at login, and starting with the system.
ServBay offers a more seamless hosting experience. It supports multiple hosts (up to 5 for free, unlimited in the paid version) and allows for easy configuration of custom domains and SSL support. Docker, while supporting multiple hosts, requires manual configuration for each, which can be cumbersome. Furthermore, ServBay’s unique features like custom PHP version support, static web support, and built-in Docker/Node.js proxy are more streamlined compared to Docker's manual configuration approach.
ServBay provides extensive support for programming languages. It supports multiple PHP versions (from 5.6 to 8.4) and Node.js versions (from 12 to 22) with the ability to switch instantly, a convenience not fully matched by Docker. Additionally, ServBay’s database support is superior, offering MariaDB, PostgreSQL , Redis , and SQLite 3 with the ability to switch versions instantly. Docker, while supporting these databases, often requires manual installation and configuration.
ServBay includes an array of built-in tools such as phpMyAdmin, Adminer, OpenSSL, Composer, and npm, which are readily available and easy to configure. Docker, in contrast, requires manual installation and configuration for these tools. ServBay’s built-in mail server and DNS server, along with support for common PHP modules like APC/APCu, xDebug, opcache, and others, further highlight its comprehensive feature set compared to Docker.
ServBay ensures robust support with comprehensive documentation, active community engagement, email support, and paid support options, offering a more supportive environment for users. Docker, while having a strong community, lacks in areas like dedicated email support and extensive documentation.
In conclusion, ServBay offers a more integrated, user-friendly, and feature-rich development environment compared to Docker. Its ease of use, combined with powerful hosting capabilities, extensive programming language support, and a wide array of built-in tools and features, makes ServBay an ideal choice for users seeking a comprehensive, efficient, and versatile software development toolkit.