Comparison

Azure Container Registry vs Distribution

On the evidence we track, Azure Container Registry leads this comparison with a composite score of 65/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Azure Container Registry full profile →Distribution full profile →

Machine formatsJSON Markdown GraphQLor send Accept: application/json

★Azure Container Registry65

Distribution59

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Azure Container RegistryLeader	Distribution
Vioscale score	65 / 100medium · 53%	59 / 100medium · 67%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	commercial	open_source
Price levelpricing.price_level	low	free
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Security
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	✓	-
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	-	7.9
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.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
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	✓	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	-	2,403
Github starsadoption.github_stars	-	10,582
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	-	8
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	-	55
Historyrelease.history	-	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	-	Apache-2.0
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	-	Go
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide · HQ US	-

Score

Vioscale score

Azure Container Registry65 / 100medium · 53%

Distribution59 / 100medium · 67%

Pricing

Free tier

Azure Container Registry✓

Distribution✓

Model

Azure Container Registrycommercial

Distributionopen_source

Price level

Azure Container Registrylow

Distributionfree

Transparent

Azure Container Registry✓

Distribution✓

Security

Gdpr

Azure Container Registry✓

Distribution–

Scorecard

Azure Container Registry–

Distribution7.9

Vulnerabilities

Azure Container Registry–

DistributionCount: 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

Reliability

Status page

Azure Container Registry✓

Distribution✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

Azure Container Registry–

Distribution2,403

Github stars

Azure Container Registry–

Distribution10,582

Activity

Commits last 30d

Azure Container Registry–

Distribution8

Release

Cadence days

Azure Container Registry–

Distribution55

History

Azure Container Registry–

Distribution20 items

License

Spdx

Azure Container Registry–

DistributionApache-2.0

Language

Primary

Azure Container Registry–

DistributionGo

Market

Availability

Azure Container RegistryAvailable worldwide · HQ US

Distribution–

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for container registries. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for Container Registries
Capability	Azure 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	-	✓

Deployment

Hosting

Azure Container RegistryCloud only

DistributionSelf-hosted only

Standards

OCI Distribution Spec compliant

Azure Container Registry✓

Distribution✓

Scope

Artifact types

Azure Container RegistryContainer images only

DistributionContainer images only

Security

Built-in vulnerability scanning

Azure Container Registry-

Distribution✗

Image signing (Cosign/Notation)

Azure Container Registry-

Distribution✓

SBOM generation / storage

Azure Container Registry-

Distribution✗

Access

Fine-grained RBAC / robot accounts

Azure Container Registry-

Distribution-

Private repositories

Azure Container Registry✓

Distribution✓

Distribution

Geo-replication / mirroring

Azure Container Registry-

Distribution-

Pull-through cache / proxy

Azure Container Registry-

Distribution-

Integration

Native cloud IAM integration

Azure Container Registry-

Distribution✗

Pricing

Pull-rate limits

Azure Container Registry-

Distribution-

Web UI / console

Azure Container Registry✓

Distribution✗

Ops

High-availability deployment

Azure Container Registry-

Distribution✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Azure Container Registry

Leader

A cloud-based registry for Docker and Open Container Initiative images, supporting all OCI artifacts for container storage and distribution.

Independently observed

Distribution

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.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Azure Container Registry

Leader

Usage-basedFree tier

as of 2026-08-05verify ↗

Distribution

Open sourceFree tier

Open source under Apache license

as of 2026-08-13verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Azure Container Registry	Distribution
WebPlatforms	✓	✗
LinuxPlatforms	✗	✓
CLIPlatforms	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✗	✓
On-premiseDeployment	✗	✓

Platforms

Web

Azure Container Registry✓

Distribution✗

Linux

Azure Container Registry✗

Distribution✓

CLI

Azure Container Registry✓

Distribution✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

Azure Container Registry✓

Distribution✓

Self-hosted

Azure Container Registry✗

Distribution✓

On-premise

Azure Container Registry✗

Distribution✓

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.