# Colima vs containerd

| Attribute | Colima | containerd |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 47.6 (55% (medium)) | 60.9 (32% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 6 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 4 | 26,380 |
| adoption.github_stars | 31,196 | 21,381 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Colima provides a lightweight way to run container runtimes locally on macOS and Linux machines, enabling Docker, Kubernetes, Containerd, and Incus workloads with low overhead. It supports multiple isolated instances, customizable resource allocation, and GPU acceleration for machine learning workloads on Apple Silicon. It is indexed under Container Orchestration Tools.","source":"https://colima.run/","question":"What is Colima?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Colima is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://colima.run/","question":"Is Colima free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Colima supports macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://colima.run/","question":"What platforms does Colima support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Colima can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://colima.run/","question":"Can Colima be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 8 integrations for Colima, including Docker, Kubernetes, k3s, Containerd, nerdctl, Incus, Ollama and HuggingFace. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://colima.run/","question":"What does Colima integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Colima is published under the MIT 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/abiosoft/colima","question":"Is Colima open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"Open-source daemon software that handles container image storage, retrieval, execution, and networking across Linux and Windows systems. It is indexed under Container Orchestration Tools.","source":"https://containerd.io","question":"What is containerd?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"containerd 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://containerd.io","question":"Is containerd free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"containerd supports Windows, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://containerd.io","question":"What platforms does containerd support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. containerd can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://containerd.io","question":"Can containerd be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. containerd 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/containerd/containerd","question":"Is containerd open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | An open-source tool that provides a unified environment for executing containerized applications using Docker, Containerd, Kubernetes, or Incus runtimes. It includes GPU acceleration and AI model inference support on Apple Silicon devices. | Open-source daemon software that handles container image storage, retrieval, execution, and networking across Linux and Windows systems. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"self","arm_support":true,"oci_compliant":true,"orchestration":"single_host","gpu_scheduling":true,"k8s_conformant":true,"stateful_workloads":true}` | `{"hosting":"self","rootless":true,"cncf_maturity":"graduated","oci_compliant":true,"orchestration":"single_host","windows_containers":true}` |
| integrations.count | 7 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"k3s"},{"name":"Containerd"},{"name":"nerdctl"},{"name":"Incus"},{"name":"Ollama"},{"name":"HuggingFace"},{"name":"Docker AI Registry"}]` | - |
| language.primary | Go | Go |
| license.spdx | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true}` | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://colima.run/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T23:02:15.232Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://containerd.io","retrievedAt":"2026-09-02T11:59:38.080Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.cadence_days | 10 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.10.3","date":"2026-06-04T17:14:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.10.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.10.2","date":"2026-06-03T13:35:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.10.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.10.1","date":"2026-02-22T07:55:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.10.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.10.0","date":"2026-02-10T20:11:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.9.1","date":"2025-09-25T11:07:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.9.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.9.0","date":"2025-09-24T09:50:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.8.4","date":"2025-08-06T16:08:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.8.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.8.3","date":"2025-08-05T13:21:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.8.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.8.2","date":"2025-07-31T22:53:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.8.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.8.1","date":"2024-12-16T10:30:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.8.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.8.0","date":"2024-11-08T03:40:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.6","date":"2024-10-30T10:33:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.5","date":"2024-08-26T16:40:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.4","date":"2024-08-25T10:31:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.3","date":"2024-08-13T11:10:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.2","date":"2024-08-13T08:22:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.1","date":"2024-08-10T07:57:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.0","date":"2024-07-30T09:01:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.6.10","date":"2024-07-20T20:05:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.6.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.6.9","date":"2024-05-18T05:52:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.6.9"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.4.1","date":"2026-09-24T23:40:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.3.6","date":"2026-09-24T23:13:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.3.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.2.9","date":"2026-09-24T23:16:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.2.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.0.13","date":"2026-09-24T23:04:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v1.7.36","date":"2026-09-24T23:43:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.36"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.4.0","date":"2026-09-16T20:08:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/api/v1.12.0","date":"2026-09-16T16:26:55Z","type":"stable","version":"api/v1.12.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.4.0-rc.0","date":"2026-09-15T14:27:33Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.4.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/api/v1.12.0-rc.1","date":"2026-09-15T04:48:49Z","type":"prerelease","version":"api/v1.12.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.3.5","date":"2026-09-04T20:49:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.3.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.2.8","date":"2026-09-04T20:49:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.2.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.0.12","date":"2026-09-04T20:49:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v1.7.35","date":"2026-09-04T21:17:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.35"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/api/v1.12.0-rc.0","date":"2026-08-28T17:59:38Z","type":"prerelease","version":"api/v1.12.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.3.4","date":"2026-08-12T17:59:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.3.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.2.7","date":"2026-08-12T18:02:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.2.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.4.0-beta.0","date":"2026-08-10T16:56:46Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.4.0-beta.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/api/v1.12.0-beta.0","date":"2026-08-05T02:33:29Z","type":"prerelease","version":"api/v1.12.0-beta.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.3.3","date":"2026-07-10T00:04:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.3.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.2.6","date":"2026-07-09T23:57:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.2.6"}]` |
| security.scorecard | 5.8 | 9.1 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fabiosoft%2Fcolima&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":22,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fcontainerd%2Fcontainerd&per_page=100","last_12m":7,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | Colima | containerd |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | None / single-host | None / single-host |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Self-hosted only | Self-hosted only |
| **Standards** |  |  |
| OCI / CRI compliant | ✓ | ✓ |
| CNCF Certified Kubernetes conformant | ✓ | - |
| **Security** |  |  |
| Rootless operation | - | ✓ |
| **Architecture** |  |  |
| Daemonless architecture | - | - |
| **Platform** |  |  |
| Windows containers | - | ✓ |
| ARM architecture support | ✓ | - |
| **Workloads** |  |  |
| GPU scheduling | ✓ | - |
| Stateful workloads | ✓ | - |
| **Networking** |  |  |
| Built-in networking / CNI | - | - |
| **Ops** |  |  |
| Vendor-managed control plane | - | - |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| CNCF maturity | - | Graduated |
| **UX** |  |  |
| GUI dashboard | - | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:15:46.142Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*