# Alibaba Cloud Container Registry vs CNCF Distribution

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** CNCF Distribution

| Attribute | Alibaba Cloud Container Registry | CNCF Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 45.3 (74% (medium)) | 66.3 (66% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 63 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 2,403 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 10,646 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A container image registry platform integrated with Alibaba Cloud's DevOps tools that automates application deployment from code submission through deployment. It includes private image storage, built-in security vulnerability scanning, and multi-region image distribution. It is indexed under Container Registries.","source":"https://www.alibabacloud.com/product/container-registry","question":"What is Alibaba Cloud Container Registry?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Alibaba Cloud Container Registry offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.alibabacloud.com/product/container-registry","question":"Is Alibaba Cloud Container Registry free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Alibaba Cloud Container Registry. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.alibabacloud.com/product/container-registry","question":"What platforms does Alibaba Cloud Container Registry support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Alibaba Cloud Container Registry, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.alibabacloud.com/product/container-registry","question":"Can Alibaba Cloud Container Registry be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Alibaba Cloud Container Registry is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in China.","source":"https://www.alibabacloud.com/product/container-registry","question":"Where is Alibaba Cloud Container Registry available?","confidence":0.75}]` | `[{"answer":"Open-source implementation of the OCI Distribution Specification for storing and distributing container images. Enables organizations to tightly control their image storage and distribution pipeline with full ownership of their distribution infrastructure. It is indexed under Container Registries.","source":"https://distribution.github.io/distribution/","question":"What is CNCF Distribution?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"CNCF Distribution is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://distribution.github.io/distribution/","question":"Is CNCF Distribution free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. CNCF Distribution can be deployed on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://distribution.github.io/distribution/","question":"Can CNCF Distribution be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. CNCF Distribution is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution","question":"Is CNCF Distribution open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A cloud-based container image management platform that provides security scanning, automated building across multiple regions, permission controls, and integrates with container orchestration and CI/CD services to streamline deployment. | Docker Hub enables developers to push, pull, and manage container images with their teams, automate builds and deployments through webhooks, and control access to repositories. |
| features.capabilities | `{"web_ui":true,"hosting":"cloud","private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"images","vulnerability_scanning":true}` | `{"rbac":true,"web_ui":true,"hosting":"self","image_signing":true,"oci_compliant":true,"private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"images","vulnerability_scanning":true}` |
| integrations.count | 2 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Container Service","native":true,"direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"CodePipeline","native":true,"category":"ci/cd","direction":"bidirectional"}]` | - |
| language.primary | - | Go |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"CN","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"free","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.alibabacloud.com/product/container-registry","retrievedAt":"2026-09-18T12:35:51.912Z"}` | `{"type":"subscription","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://distribution.github.io/distribution/","retrievedAt":"2026-09-10T21:11:49.107Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | free | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | no | - |
| release.cadence_days | - | 55 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.1.2","date":"2026-09-24T12:21:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.1.1","date":"2026-05-01T15:51:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.1.0","date":"2026-04-06T17:09:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0","date":"2025-04-03T06:25:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0-rc.4","date":"2025-03-22T14:59:29Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-rc.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0-rc.3","date":"2025-02-11T16:21:07Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-rc.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0-rc.2","date":"2024-12-18T15:23:19Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0-rc.1","date":"2024-11-07T21:04:41Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0-beta.1","date":"2024-07-10T13:22:40Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-beta.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0-alpha.1","date":"2023-12-19T16:03:36Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-alpha.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.3","date":"2023-10-02T18:23:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.8.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.2","date":"2023-05-11T10:47:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.8.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.2-beta.2","date":"2023-05-09T23:32:56Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.8.2-beta.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.2-beta.1","date":"2023-05-09T22:42:12Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.8.2-beta.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.1","date":"2022-03-08T18:19:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.8.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.0","date":"2022-02-07T15:53:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.0-beta.1","date":"2022-01-21T16:49:13Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.8.0-beta.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.7.1","date":"2019-01-17T23:22:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.7.0","date":"2018-12-04T00:20:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.7.0-rc.0","date":"2018-09-28T23:23:36Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.7.0-rc.0"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.scorecard | - | 7.6 |
| security.trust_center | https://www.alibabacloud.com/trust-center | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":4,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fdistribution%2Fdistribution%2Fv3&per_page=100","last_12m":3,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Container Registries)

| Capability | Alibaba Cloud Container Registry | CNCF Distribution |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud only | Self-hosted only |
| **Standards** |  |  |
| OCI Distribution Spec compliant | - | ✓ |
| **Scope** |  |  |
| Artifact types | Container images only | Container images only |
| **Security** |  |  |
| Built-in vulnerability scanning | ✓ | ✓ |
| Image signing (Cosign/Notation) | - | ✓ |
| SBOM generation / storage | - | - |
| **Access** |  |  |
| Fine-grained RBAC / robot accounts | - | ✓ |
| Private repositories | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Distribution** |  |  |
| Geo-replication / mirroring | - | - |
| Pull-through cache / proxy | - | - |
| **Integration** |  |  |
| Native cloud IAM integration | - | - |
| **Pricing** |  |  |
| Pull-rate limits | - | - |
| **UX** |  |  |
| Web UI / console | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Ops** |  |  |
| High-availability deployment | - | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-23T03:54:27.866Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*