Containerisation is one of those topics where the tooling has outpaced the understanding. Most startups should be using Docker. Most startups should not be running their own Kubernetes cluster. Here's why.
Start With Docker
Docker solves a real problem: "it works on my machine." By packaging your app and its dependencies into a container image, you get consistent environments from development to production. Your CI pipeline builds the same image that runs in prod. No more environment-specific bugs.
Docker Compose for Local Development
A docker-compose.yml that spins up your app, database, and Redis with a single command is one of the highest-leverage things you can add to a project. New developers are productive in minutes, not hours.
When to Add Kubernetes
Kubernetes makes sense when you have multiple services that need to scale independently, when you need zero-downtime deployments across many instances, or when you have a dedicated platform team. For most startups, that's not day one — or even year one.
The Middle Ground: Managed Services
AWS ECS, Google Cloud Run, and Railway give you container orchestration without the Kubernetes complexity. You get auto-scaling, rolling deployments, and health checks — without managing control planes. This is where most of our clients start.
Our Recommendation
Dockerise everything from day one. Use Docker Compose locally. Deploy to a managed container service. Add Kubernetes when you have the scale and the team to justify it — not before.