# Alibaba Cloud Container Registry vs Distribution

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Distribution

| Attribute | Alibaba Cloud Container Registry | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 45.3 (74% (medium)) | 57.9 (78% (high)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 12 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 2,403 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 10,611 |
| 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 registry implementing OCI Distribution Spec version 1.0.1 that enables you to store and distribute container images with full control over your distribution pipeline. It is indexed under Container Registries.","source":"https://distribution.github.io/distribution/","question":"What is Distribution?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"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 Distribution free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Distribution supports Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://distribution.github.io/distribution/","question":"What platforms does Distribution support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Distribution can be deployed cloud / SaaS, 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 Distribution be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. 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 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. | A centralized platform for teams to store and distribute containerized applications as Docker images. Provides access control, automated builds, and development tool integrations to streamline container image management across environments. |
| features.capabilities | `{"web_ui":true,"hosting":"cloud","private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"images","vulnerability_scanning":true}` | `{"rbac":true,"web_ui":true,"hosting":"self","sbom_support":false,"image_signing":true,"oci_compliant":true,"private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"images","cloud_iam_native":false,"high_availability":true,"vulnerability_scanning":true}` |
| integrations.count | 2 | 1 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Container Service","native":true,"direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"CodePipeline","native":true,"category":"ci/cd","direction":"bidirectional"}]` | `[{"name":"GitHub","native":true,"direction":"inbound"}]` |
| 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":"hybrid","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://distribution.github.io/distribution/","retrievedAt":"2026-09-11T16:12:43.477Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | free | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | no | no |
| release.cadence_days | - | 55 |
| release.history | - | `[{"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"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.6.2","date":"2017-07-20T21:20:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.6.2"}]` |
| 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 | 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 2026-10-15T17:51:27.093Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*