# Colima vs Podman

| Attribute | Colima | Podman |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 47.6 (55% (medium)) | 52.2 (45% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 6 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 4 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 31,196 | 32,890 |
| 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 container management utility that enables users to create, run, build, and manage containers and pods through both command-line and graphical interfaces, with native Kubernetes integration for local and remote deployments. It is indexed under Container Orchestration Tools.","source":"https://podman.io","question":"What is Podman?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Podman 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://podman.io","question":"Is Podman free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Podman supports Windows, macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://podman.io","question":"What platforms does Podman support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Podman can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://podman.io","question":"Can Podman be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 17 integrations for Podman, including Kubernetes, Docker Compose, systemd, Red Hat OpenShift, netavark, crun, conmon and Visual Studio Code, plus 9 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://podman.io","question":"What does Podman integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Podman 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/podman-container-tools/podman","question":"Is Podman 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. | A runtime system for executing containers with support for rootless operation and Kubernetes compatibility across Linux and Windows platforms. |
| 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,"gui_dashboard":true,"oci_compliant":true,"orchestration":"single_host","stateful_workloads":true,"built_in_networking_cni":true}` |
| integrations.count | 7 | 8 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"k3s"},{"name":"Containerd"},{"name":"nerdctl"},{"name":"Incus"},{"name":"Ollama"},{"name":"HuggingFace"},{"name":"Docker AI Registry"}]` | `[{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"Docker Compose"},{"name":"systemd"},{"name":"Red Hat OpenShift"},{"name":"netavark"},{"name":"crun"},{"name":"conmon"},{"name":"Visual Studio Code","native":true},{"name":"GitHub Actions","native":true},{"name":"Cirrus CI","native":true},{"name":"Kind","native":true},{"name":"Docker","native":true},{"name":"Buildah","native":true},{"name":"Skopeo","native":true},{"name":"Red Hat OpenShift Developer Sandbox","native":true},{"name":"Lima","native":true},{"name":"Docker Hub","native":true},{"name":"Quay","native":true},{"name":"Cirrus CLI","native":true}]` |
| 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://podman.io","retrievedAt":"2026-09-02T12:00:23.442Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 10 | 12 |
| 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/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v5.8.7","date":"2026-09-16T18:13:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.8.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v6.1.2","date":"2026-09-16T00:07:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v6.1.1","date":"2026-09-02T16:35:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v5.8.6","date":"2026-08-13T21:11:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.8.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v6.1.0","date":"2026-08-12T20:12:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v6.1.0-rc1","date":"2026-07-31T18:07:18Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v6.1.0-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v6.0.2","date":"2026-07-22T03:02:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v6.0.1","date":"2026-07-08T20:15:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v5.8.5","date":"2026-07-08T18:46:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.8.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v5.8.4","date":"2026-06-26T15:37:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.8.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v6.0.0","date":"2026-06-24T17:38:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v6.0.0-rc1","date":"2026-06-12T19:48:42Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v6.0.0-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v5.8.3","date":"2026-06-12T17:58:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.8.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v5.8.2","date":"2026-04-14T17:56:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.8.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v5.8.1","date":"2026-03-11T20:03:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.8.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v5.8.0","date":"2026-02-12T18:58:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v5.8.0-rc1","date":"2026-02-10T20:34:44Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v5.8.0-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v5.7.1","date":"2025-12-10T16:38:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v5.7.0","date":"2025-11-11T19:04:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/releases/tag/v5.7.0-rc3","date":"2025-11-05T16:45:42Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v5.7.0-rc3"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 5.8 | - |
| 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":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=go.podman.io%2Fpodman%2Fv6&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | Colima | Podman |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **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 | - | - |
| **UX** |  |  |
| GUI dashboard | - | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T18:56:47.415Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*