---
title: 'Top 10 Docker Containers Every Homelab Should Run in 2026'
url: 'http://itlad.uk/blog/top-docker-containers-homelab'
markdown: 'http://itlad.uk/blog/top-docker-containers-homelab.md'
date: '2026-05-16'
description: 'The 10 best Docker containers to run in your homelab in 2026 — media servers, monitoring, password managers and network tools.'
taxonomy:
  category:
    - homelab
  tag:
    - docker
    - homelab
    - self-hosting
    - containers
---

[ Home ](http://itlad.uk/)     [ Blog ](http://itlad.uk/blog)      Top 10 Docker Containers Every Homelab Should Run in 2026    

# [Top 10 Docker Containers Every Homelab Should Run in 2026](http://itlad.uk/blog/top-docker-containers-homelab)

 By [IT Lad](http://itlad.uk/about) 16 May 2026 

  [docker](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:docker#body-wrapper) [homelab](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:homelab#body-wrapper) [self-hosting](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:self-hosting#body-wrapper) [containers](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:containers#body-wrapper)  

You already have Docker running. Now fill it with something useful.

These are the containers I actually keep running — no "install 47 things" lists, just the ones that earn their CPU cycles.

## 1. Portainer

Manage all your containers from a browser. Portainer gives you a clean UI for starting, stopping, inspecting and updating containers without touching a terminal every time.

```
docker run -d -p 9000:9000 --restart always \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  portainer/portainer-ce
```

## 2. Nginx Proxy Manager

Reverse proxy with a GUI and automatic Let's Encrypt certificates. Point your domain subdomains at internal services without editing nginx config files by hand.

## 3. Uptime Kuma

Self-hosted status monitoring for all your services. You get ping checks, HTTP checks, port checks and push notifications to Telegram, Discord or email when something goes down.

## 4. Vaultwarden

An unofficial Bitwarden-compatible server written in Rust. Runs on a Raspberry Pi. Sync passwords across every device without sending your vault to someone else's cloud.

## 5. Jellyfin

Open-source media server. Stream your own movies, TV shows and music to any device on your network — or outside it with a reverse proxy. No licensing fees, no tracking.

## 6. Netdata

Real-time performance monitoring with 1-second granularity. CPU, RAM, disk I/O, network throughput — all in a browser dashboard that updates live.

## 7. Wireguard Easy (wg-easy)

WireGuard VPN with a web UI. Set up a VPN back into your homelab in about ten minutes. The UI lets you add and revoke peers without touching wg-quick configs.

## 8. Immich

Self-hosted photo and video backup — Google Photos without the Google. Your phone uploads automatically, faces get recognized, and you search by location or date. Runs well on a mini PC with a decent GPU.

## 9. Heimdall

Application dashboard for your homelab. One page with links and live status for every service you run. Beats bookmarks.

## 10. Semaphore (AWX alternative)

A clean UI for running Ansible playbooks. If you manage more than two machines, you want this instead of running playbooks from the terminal every time.

---

## The Hardware Under All This

If you're shopping for a mini PC or SSD to run these on, these are the two I use:

- [Mini PC with 16GB RAM — what I run my Docker host on](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mini%2Bpc%2Bn100%2B16gb%2Bdocker%2Bhomelab&tag=itlad-21)
- [Samsung 870 EVO 1TB SSD](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=samsung%2B870%2Bevo%2B1tb%2Bssd&tag=itlad-21)

Start with Portainer, Nginx Proxy Manager, and Uptime Kuma. You'll add the rest once you see how little resources they actually use.

---

*As an Amazon Associate, IT Lad earns from qualifying purchases made through links on this page. [Read the full affiliate disclosure](http://itlad.uk/affiliate-disclosure).*

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---

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