Dockyard vs the alternatives
Sell Docker images like SaaS, without handing over source
You can list software on AWS Marketplace, but it's AMIs and enterprise contracts. You can publish to Docker Hub, but there's no entitlement layer — pay and pull is on you. Dockyard is a self-hosted Docker registry fronted by Stripe: vendors push an image once, customers subscribe through Stripe Checkout, pulls authenticate against their subscription, and every credential is encrypted at rest.
The dimensions that matter
| Option | Pricing model | Scaling | Data residency | Customization | Lock-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dockyard Self-hosted | Flat per-container licence + your Stripe | Any Kubernetes | Your S3-compatible backend | Products, plans, webhooks | Low — standard OCI registry |
| Replicated Enterprise | Enterprise licence | Replicated-managed | Replicated / bring-your-own | Replicated tooling | High |
| Docker Hub (paid plans) SaaS | Per-seat subscription | Managed | Docker Hub | None | High — Hub-first workflow |
| AWS Marketplace Cloud | AWS takes 3%+ | AWS-hosted | AWS | AWS Metering APIs | High — AWS-only buyers |
What each alternative is good at — and where it falls short
Every tool here is excellent. Read the strengths. Then read where it stops fitting your situation.
Replicated
EnterpriseStrength
Category-leading vendor platform for selling on-prem software — robust licensing, embedded Kubernetes, preflight checks.
Where it falls short
Enterprise pricing and enterprise motion — designed for Fortune-500 deals, not self-serve Stripe Checkout. Locks vendors into Replicated's preferred deploy tooling.
Pricing model
Enterprise, contact-sales.
Docker Hub (paid plans)
SaaSStrength
Ubiquitous, fastest way to publish public Docker images with a familiar CLI.
Where it falls short
No self-serve monetization layer — you cannot sell private images with Stripe-gated access. Private repos are a seat/repo feature, not a marketplace.
Pricing model
Per-seat subscription; no revenue-sharing.
AWS Marketplace
CloudStrength
Enterprise-credibility channel; procurement-friendly; reaches AWS-heavy customers.
Where it falls short
Listings are AMIs, EKS charts, or SaaS — not a direct Docker-pull experience. AWS takes its cut, vendors integrate with AWS Metering APIs, and the customer must be on AWS.
Pricing model
Listing free; AWS takes 3%+ of transaction.
For SaaS vendors wanting Stripe-style self-serve billing on Docker pulls without committing to Replicated or AWS Marketplace, Dockyard is the one-image path.
The principles behind self-hosting
These apply across every comparison on this site — not just this one.
Flat-rate cost model
A self-hosted container costs the same whether it processes 100 jobs or 10 million. SaaS and cloud alternatives meter per request, minute, or connection — costs scale linearly with usage.
Your data stays in your VPC
No cross-border data transfer. No vendor data-processing agreements. Compliance, residency, and audit are simpler when data never leaves.
No vendor lock-in
Every service speaks open standards — MQTT 5, OpenAPI, OCI Distribution, Redis protocol, S3 API. Migrating away is a DNS change, not a rewrite.
One contract across your stack
One platform contract. Once your team learns one service, onboarding the next is an afternoon. Compare to mastering AWS IoT and Document Intelligence and MediaConvert separately.
Scale on the boxes you already have
Every service is stateless HTTP plus a worker pool. Helm charts ship with every image. If you have a Kubernetes cluster, you already have the platform.
Extend without asking permission
Need a custom task, a new notification driver, or a bespoke integration? The source is yours to modify. No vendor roadmap. No feature request backlog.
Try Dockyard. See the difference.
One Docker container. One live demo. Five minutes to see it running on your stack.