Comparison

CNCF Distribution vs GitHub Container Registry

On the evidence we track, CNCF Distribution leads this comparison with a composite score of 66/100. 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 →

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.

★CNCF Distribution66

GitHub Container Registry37

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	CNCF DistributionLeader	GitHub Container Registry
vioscaleAI score	66 / 100medium · 66%	37 / 100medium · 74%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	freemium	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	low	low
Transparentpricing.transparent	-	✗
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	-	2
Security
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	7.6	-
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	10,646	-
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	63	-
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	55	-
Historyrelease.history	20 items	-
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	Apache-2.0	-
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Go	-
Content
Faqcontent.faq	4 items	5 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

CNCF Distribution66 / 100medium · 66%

GitHub Container Registry37 / 100medium · 74%

Pricing

Free tier

CNCF Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry✓

Model

CNCF Distributionfreemium

GitHub Container Registryfreemium

Price level

CNCF Distributionlow

GitHub Container Registrylow

Transparent

CNCF Distribution–

GitHub Container Registry✗

Integrations

Count

CNCF Distribution–

GitHub Container Registry2

Security

Scorecard

CNCF Distribution7.6

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 Distribution10,646

GitHub Container Registry–

Activity

Commits last 30d

CNCF Distribution63

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–

Content

Faq

CNCF Distribution4 items

GitHub Container Registry5 items

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

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.

Independently observed

GitHub Container Registry

A workflow automation platform integrated with GitHub that allows you to automatically build, test, and deploy code directly from your repository. Supports multiple programming languages and execution environments including containers, virtual machines, and various operating systems.

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

SubscriptionFree tier

as of 2026-09-10verify ↗

GitHub Container Registry

HybridFree tier

as of 2026-09-04verify ↗

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	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✗	✓
On-premiseDeployment	✗	✓
HybridDeployment	✗	✓

Platforms

Web

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✓

Hybrid

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

4 total

Jira
npm
GitHub Packages
Docker

Independently observed

Still deciding?

CNCF Distribution or GitHub Container Registry: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

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