Comparison

CNCF Distribution vs GitHub Container Registry

On the evidence we track, CNCF Distribution leads this comparison with a composite score of 58/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

CNCF Distribution full profile →GitHub Container Registry full profile →

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★CNCF Distribution58

GitHub Container Registry32

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	CNCF DistributionLeader	GitHub Container Registry
Vioscale score	58 / 100medium · 66%	32 / 100low · 38%
Pricing
Modelpricing.model	open_source	commercial
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	-
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	-	2
Security
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	-

Score

Vioscale score

CNCF Distribution58 / 100medium · 66%

GitHub Container Registry32 / 100low · 38%

Pricing

Model

CNCF Distributionopen_source

GitHub Container Registrycommercial

Price level

CNCF Distributionfree

GitHub Container Registry–

Integrations

Count

CNCF Distribution–

GitHub Container Registry2

Security

Scorecard

CNCF Distribution7.9

GitHub Container Registry–

Vulnerabilities

CNCF 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

GitHub Container Registry–

Reliability

Status page

CNCF Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

CNCF Distribution2,403

GitHub Container Registry–

Github stars

CNCF Distribution10,582

GitHub Container Registry–

Activity

Commits last 30d

CNCF Distribution8

GitHub Container Registry–

Release

Cadence days

CNCF Distribution55

GitHub Container Registry–

History

CNCF Distribution20 items

GitHub Container Registry–

License

Spdx

CNCF DistributionApache-2.0

GitHub Container Registry–

Language

Primary

CNCF DistributionGo

GitHub Container Registry–

Capabilities

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

Capability comparison for Container Registries
Capability	CNCF Distribution	GitHub Container Registry
Deployment
Hosting	Self-hosted only	-
Standards
OCI Distribution Spec compliant	✓	-
Scope
Artifact types	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

CNCF DistributionSelf-hosted only

GitHub Container Registry-

Standards

OCI Distribution Spec compliant

CNCF Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry-

Scope

Artifact types

CNCF DistributionContainer images only

GitHub Container Registry-

Security

Built-in vulnerability scanning

CNCF Distribution-

GitHub Container Registry-

Image signing (Cosign/Notation)

CNCF Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry-

SBOM generation / storage

CNCF Distribution-

GitHub Container Registry-

Access

Fine-grained RBAC / robot accounts

CNCF Distribution-

GitHub Container Registry-

Private repositories

CNCF Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry-

Distribution

Geo-replication / mirroring

CNCF Distribution-

GitHub Container Registry-

Pull-through cache / proxy

CNCF Distribution-

GitHub Container Registry-

Integration

Native cloud IAM integration

CNCF Distribution-

GitHub Container Registry-

Pricing

Pull-rate limits

CNCF Distribution-

GitHub Container Registry-

Web UI / console

CNCF Distribution-

GitHub Container Registry✓

Ops

High-availability deployment

CNCF Distribution-

GitHub Container Registry-

What each one is

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

CNCF Distribution

Leader

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.

Independently observed

GitHub Container Registry

A workflow automation platform that builds, tests, and deploys code with hosted runners supporting multiple operating systems and languages. Includes built-in secret management, live logging, matrix builds across multiple configurations, and integration with external tools and services.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

CNCF Distribution

Leader

Open source

as of 2026-08-13verify ↗

GitHub Container Registry

Pricing not documented yet.

Platform & deployment

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

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

Platforms

Web

CNCF Distribution–

GitHub Container Registry✓

CLI

CNCF Distribution–

GitHub Container Registry✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

CNCF Distribution✗

GitHub Container Registry✓

Self-hosted

CNCF Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry✓

On-premise

CNCF Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

CNCF Distribution

Leader

Not documented yet.

GitHub Container Registry

2 total

Jira
npm

Independently observed

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