# Colima vs CRI-O

| Attribute | Colima | CRI-O |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 47.6 (55% (medium)) | 55.4 (32% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 6 | 87 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 4 | 61 |
| adoption.github_stars | 31,196 | 5,678 |
| 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":"A runtime implementation that enables Kubernetes to execute and manage containers, supporting OCI-compliant container images from any registry. It is indexed under Container Orchestration Tools.","source":"https://cri-o.io","question":"What is CRI-O?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"CRI-O 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://cri-o.io","question":"Is CRI-O free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"CRI-O supports Linux. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://cri-o.io","question":"What platforms does CRI-O support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. CRI-O can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://cri-o.io","question":"Can CRI-O be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. CRI-O 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/cri-o/cri-o","question":"Is CRI-O open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"on_prem":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. | CRI-O is an open-source container runtime that implements the Kubernetes Container Runtime Interface, allowing Kubernetes clusters to launch and manage containerized workloads on Linux infrastructure. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"self","arm_support":true,"oci_compliant":true,"orchestration":"single_host","gpu_scheduling":true,"k8s_conformant":true,"stateful_workloads":true}` | `{"hosting":"self","arm_support":true,"oci_compliant":true,"orchestration":"kubernetes","k8s_conformant":true,"built_in_networking_cni":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}` | `{"linux":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://colima.run/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T23:02:15.232Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://cri-o.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T22:25:33.464Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | open_source | commercial |
| 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/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.37.2","date":"2026-10-02T00:39:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.37.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.36.7","date":"2026-10-02T00:40:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.35.10","date":"2026-10-02T00:40:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.34.15","date":"2026-10-02T00:40:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.37.1","date":"2026-09-21T15:53:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.37.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.36.6","date":"2026-09-21T15:54:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.35.9","date":"2026-09-21T15:54:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.34.14","date":"2026-09-21T15:54:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.37.0","date":"2026-09-15T12:50:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.37.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.36.5","date":"2026-09-02T08:50:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.35.8","date":"2026-09-02T08:49:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.34.13","date":"2026-09-02T08:49:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.36.4","date":"2026-08-24T16:56:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.35.7","date":"2026-08-24T17:02:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.34.12","date":"2026-08-24T17:05:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.36.3","date":"2026-08-04T00:43:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.35.6","date":"2026-08-04T00:46:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.34.11","date":"2026-08-04T00:45:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.36.2","date":"2026-07-02T00:58:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.35.5","date":"2026-07-02T12:07:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.5"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 5.8 | 8.4 |
| 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":13,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fcri-o%2Fcri-o&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | Colima | CRI-O |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | None / single-host | Kubernetes |
| **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 | - | - |
| **UX** |  |  |
| GUI dashboard | - | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:04:35.851Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*