A Dockerfile is a simple text file that contains the commands a user could call to assemble an image whereas Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications.
Docker Compose define the services that make up your app in docker-compose.yml so they can be run together in an isolated environment. It get an app running in one command by just running docker-compose up.Docker compose uses the Dockerfile if one add the build command to your project's docker-compose.yml. Your Docker workflow should be to build a suitable Dockerfile for each image you wish to create, then use compose to assemble the images using the build command.