Docker vs Podman, Explained 🐳 The whole difference is the daemon. Docker runs a background service that handles every container and runs as root. Podman drops it and talks to tools like crun directly, which is why it's called daemonless. This one explains it with a real example: if the Docker daemon crashes you lose control of every container at once, while Podman has no central process to fail and runs rootless, so a compromised container has far less reach. Docker on your laptop or Podman on