diff --git a/src/@utils/docker.ts b/src/@utils/docker.ts
index a94dd0a6b..cf514f746 100644
--- a/src/@utils/docker.ts
+++ b/src/@utils/docker.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,21 @@
 import { LoggerInstance } from '@oceanprotocol/lib'
 import axios from 'axios'
+import isUrl from 'is-url-superb'
 import { toast } from 'react-toastify'
 
-export async function getContainerChecksum(
+export interface dockerContainerInfo {
+  exists: boolean
+  checksum: string
+}
+
+async function getDockerHubImageChecksum(
   image: string,
   tag: string
-): Promise<string> {
+): Promise<dockerContainerInfo> {
+  const containerInfo: dockerContainerInfo = {
+    exists: false,
+    checksum: null
+  }
   try {
     const response = await axios.post(
       `https://dockerhub-proxy.oceanprotocol.com`,
@@ -20,16 +30,54 @@ export async function getContainerChecksum(
       response.data.status !== 'success'
     ) {
       toast.error(
-        'Could not fetch docker hub image info. Please input the container checksum manually'
+        'Could not fetch docker hub image info. Please check container image and tag and try again'
       )
-      return null
+      return containerInfo
     }
-    return response.data.result.checksum
+    containerInfo.exists = true
+    containerInfo.checksum = response.data.result.checksum
+    return containerInfo
   } catch (error) {
     LoggerInstance.error(error.message)
     toast.error(
-      'Could not fetch docker hub image info. Please input the container checksum manually'
+      'Could not fetch docker hub image info. Please check container image and tag and try again'
     )
-    return null
+    return containerInfo
   }
 }
+
+async function validateContainerImageUrl(
+  imageURL: string
+): Promise<dockerContainerInfo> {
+  const containerInfo: dockerContainerInfo = {
+    exists: false,
+    checksum: null
+  }
+  try {
+    const response = await axios.head(imageURL)
+    if (!response || response.status !== 200) {
+      toast.error(
+        'Could not fetch docker image info. Please check URL and try again'
+      )
+      return containerInfo
+    }
+    containerInfo.exists = true
+    return containerInfo
+  } catch (error) {
+    LoggerInstance.error(error.message)
+    toast.error(
+      'Could not fetch docker image info. Please check URL and try again'
+    )
+    return containerInfo
+  }
+}
+
+export async function getContainerChecksum(
+  dockerImage: string,
+  tag: string
+): Promise<dockerContainerInfo> {
+  const isValid = isUrl(dockerImage)
+    ? await validateContainerImageUrl(dockerImage)
+    : await getDockerHubImageChecksum(dockerImage, tag)
+  return isValid
+}
diff --git a/src/components/@shared/FormFields/ContainerInput/index.tsx b/src/components/@shared/FormFields/ContainerInput/index.tsx
index 379d66cc3..5c93e1056 100644
--- a/src/components/@shared/FormFields/ContainerInput/index.tsx
+++ b/src/components/@shared/FormFields/ContainerInput/index.tsx
@@ -26,16 +26,21 @@ export default function ContainerInput(props: InputProps): ReactElement {
       const parsedContainerValue = container?.split(':')
       const imageNname = parsedContainerValue?.slice(0, -1).join(':')
       const tag =
-        parsedContainerValue.length > 1 ? parsedContainerValue?.at(-1) : ''
-      setFieldValue('metadata.dockerImageCustom', imageNname)
-      setFieldValue('metadata.dockerImageCustomTag', tag)
-      const checksum = await getContainerChecksum(imageNname, tag)
-      if (checksum) {
-        setFieldValue('metadata.dockerImageCustomChecksum', checksum)
-        helpersChecksum.setTouched(false)
-        setIsValid(true)
+        parsedContainerValue?.length > 1 ? parsedContainerValue?.at(-1) : ''
+      const containerInfo = await getContainerChecksum(imageNname, tag)
+      if (containerInfo.exists) {
+        setFieldValue('metadata.dockerImageCustom', imageNname)
+        setFieldValue('metadata.dockerImageCustomTag', tag)
+        setChecked(true)
+        if (containerInfo.checksum) {
+          setFieldValue(
+            'metadata.dockerImageCustomChecksum',
+            containerInfo.checksum
+          )
+          helpersChecksum.setTouched(false)
+          setIsValid(true)
+        }
       }
-      setChecked(true)
     } catch (error) {
       setFieldError(`${field.name}[0].url`, error.message)
       LoggerInstance.error(error.message)
diff --git a/src/components/Publish/_utils.ts b/src/components/Publish/_utils.ts
index cca072b60..77c53b0fc 100644
--- a/src/components/Publish/_utils.ts
+++ b/src/components/Publish/_utils.ts
@@ -41,7 +41,9 @@ async function getAlgorithmContainerPreset(
   const preset = algorithmContainerPresets.find(
     (preset) => `${preset.image}:${preset.tag}` === dockerImage
   )
-  preset.checksum = await getContainerChecksum(preset.image, preset.tag)
+  preset.checksum = await (
+    await getContainerChecksum(preset.image, preset.tag)
+  ).checksum
   return preset
 }