# Brume vs Portainer

> Portainer is a mature manager for many Docker and Kubernetes environments. Brume does less: it builds and deploys your apps on one server, with the panel off the internet and away from Docker.

Alpha 0.1 · in progress. This is https://brume.dev/vs/portainer in Markdown, for agents and terminals.

|  | Brume | Portainer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Admin panel | On your tailnet only | [Public on port 9443, over HTTPS](https://docs.portainer.io/start/install-ce/server/docker/linux) |
| Docker access | Only a separate agent, which listens on nothing | [Docker socket mounted in the UI's container](https://docs.portainer.io/start/install-ce/server/docker/linux) |
| If the panel is hacked | Nothing without your session | [Near root-level control of your infrastructure](https://www.portainer.io/how-to/how-to-correctly-secure-portainer-when-presented-on-the-internet) |
| Inbound ports | None, through Cloudflare Tunnel | [9443, plus 8000 for Edge agents](https://docs.portainer.io/start/install-ce/server/docker/linux) |
| Install | One command on Debian or Ubuntu | [One docker run command](https://docs.portainer.io/start/install-ce/server/docker/linux) |
| AI agents | A CLI and a local MCP server. Irreversible actions wait for your approval | [No CLI. An MCP gateway in Business Edition](https://github.com/portainer/portainer-mcp) |
| Backups | Encrypted dumps on your S3, full restore of the server | [Its own config only, not your apps' data](https://docs.portainer.io/admin/settings/general) |
| Several servers | One server in alpha 0.1, more planned | [Docker, Swarm, Podman, Kubernetes and ACI environments](https://github.com/portainer/portainer) |
| License | Free and open source (FSL-1.1-ALv2, Apache 2.0 after two years) | [zlib (CE). Business Edition free for 3 nodes](https://github.com/portainer/portainer) |
| Maturity | Alpha 0.1, in progress | [Releases since 2016, 38k GitHub stars](https://github.com/portainer/portainer/releases) |

Facts checked on November 1, 2026 in each project's official docs. "If the panel is hacked" is our reading of them. Brume is shown in its recommended modes: Cloudflare Tunnel and Tailscale.

## Where Brume is different

- Push your code: Brume builds it, ships it and puts it online.
- The panel has no Docker socket. A separate agent holds it.
- Database backups are on by default, encrypted to your S3.

## Where Portainer is better today

- One UI for many hosts and Kubernetes clusters, its core use case.
- Edge agents manage remote hosts with no inbound ports.
- Ten years of releases, LDAP and OAuth sign-in, and paid support.

**Pick Portainer if…** You manage many hosts or Kubernetes clusters and want one container UI.

**Pick Brume if…** You want to push code to one server and keep its panel off the internet.

## Install

```sh
curl -sSL https://brume.dev/install.sh | bash
```

Needs a fresh Debian or Ubuntu VPS and an S3-compatible bucket. Cloudflare and Tailscale recommended.

## Other comparisons

- [Brume vs Coolify](https://brume.dev/vs/coolify)
- [Brume vs Dokploy](https://brume.dev/vs/dokploy)
- [Brume vs CapRover](https://brume.dev/vs/caprover)
- [Brume vs Kamal](https://brume.dev/vs/kamal)
- [Brume vs Dokku](https://brume.dev/vs/dokku)
- [Brume vs Easypanel](https://brume.dev/vs/easypanel)

---

## More from brume.dev

Every page in Markdown. The whole site in one file: https://brume.dev/llms-full.txt. The index: https://brume.dev/llms.txt

- [Home](https://brume.dev/index.md)
- [Architecture](https://brume.dev/architecture/index.md)
- [Roadmap](https://brume.dev/roadmap/index.md)
- [Compare](https://brume.dev/vs/index.md)
- Brume vs [Coolify](https://brume.dev/vs/coolify/index.md), [Dokploy](https://brume.dev/vs/dokploy/index.md), [CapRover](https://brume.dev/vs/caprover/index.md), [Portainer](https://brume.dev/vs/portainer/index.md), [Kamal](https://brume.dev/vs/kamal/index.md), [Dokku](https://brume.dev/vs/dokku/index.md), [Easypanel](https://brume.dev/vs/easypanel/index.md), [Railway](https://brume.dev/vs/railway/index.md), [Render](https://brume.dev/vs/render/index.md), [Fly.io](https://brume.dev/vs/fly/index.md), [Vercel](https://brume.dev/vs/vercel/index.md), [Heroku](https://brume.dev/vs/heroku/index.md)