Comparison

CRI-O vs Helm

On the evidence we track, Helm leads this comparison with a composite score of 67/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

CRI-O full profile →Helm full profile →

Machine formatsJSON Markdown GraphQLor send Accept: application/json

CRI-O56

★Helm67

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	CRI-O	HelmLeader
Vioscale score	56 / 100low · 48%	67 / 100medium · 60%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	-	✓
Modelpricing.model	commercial	open_source
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	free
Transparentpricing.transparent	-	✓
Security
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	-	✓
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	8.4	9
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	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	Count: 23 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=helm.sh%2Fhelm%2Fv3&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 1 · Max severity: HIGH
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	✓	-
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	61	5,000
Github starsadoption.github_stars	5,654	30,177
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	43	100
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	-	2
Historyrelease.history	20 items	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	Apache-2.0	Apache-2.0
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Go	Go
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	-	Available worldwide

Score

Vioscale score

CRI-O56 / 100low · 48%

Helm67 / 100medium · 60%

Pricing

Free tier

CRI-O–

Helm✓

Model

CRI-Ocommercial

Helmopen_source

Price level

CRI-Ofree

Helmfree

Transparent

CRI-O–

Helm✓

Security

Disclosure policy

CRI-O–

Helm✓

Scorecard

CRI-O8.4

Helm9

Vulnerabilities

CRI-OCount: 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

HelmCount: 23 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=helm.sh%2Fhelm%2Fv3&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 1 · Max severity: HIGH

Reliability

Status page

CRI-O✓

Helm–

Adoption

Dependent repos

CRI-O61

Helm5,000

Github stars

CRI-O5,654

Helm30,177

Activity

Commits last 30d

CRI-O43

Helm100

Release

Cadence days

CRI-O–

Helm2

History

CRI-O20 items

Helm20 items

License

Spdx

CRI-OApache-2.0

HelmApache-2.0

Language

Primary

CRI-OGo

HelmGo

Market

Availability

CRI-O–

HelmAvailable worldwide

Capabilities

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

Capability comparison for Container Orchestration Tools
Capability	CRI-O	Helm
Core
Orchestration scope	Kubernetes	-
Deployment
Hosting	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	-	-

Core

Orchestration scope

CRI-OKubernetes

Helm-

Deployment

Hosting

CRI-OSelf-hosted only

Helm-

Standards

OCI / CRI compliant

CRI-O✓

Helm-

CNCF Certified Kubernetes conformant

CRI-O✓

Helm-

Security

Rootless operation

CRI-O-

Helm-

Architecture

Daemonless architecture

CRI-O-

Helm-

Platform

Windows containers

CRI-O-

Helm-

ARM architecture support

CRI-O-

Helm✓

Workloads

GPU scheduling

CRI-O-

Helm-

Stateful workloads

CRI-O-

Helm-

Networking

Built-in networking / CNI

CRI-O✗

Helm-

Ops

Vendor-managed control plane

CRI-O-

Helm-

Ecosystem

CNCF maturity

CRI-O-

HelmGraduated

GUI dashboard

CRI-O-

Helm-

What each one is

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

CRI-O

A runtime implementation that enables Kubernetes to execute and manage containers, supporting OCI-compliant container images from any registry.

Independently observed

Helm

Leader

Helm provides a templated configuration system and package manager for Kubernetes applications, allowing users to define complex multi-component deployments as reusable, versioned, and shareable packages.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

CRI-O

Open source

as of 2026-08-13verify ↗

Helm

Leader

Open sourceFree tier

as of 2026-08-21verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	CRI-O	Helm
macOSPlatforms	✗	✓
WindowsPlatforms	✗	✓
LinuxPlatforms	✓	✓
CLIPlatforms	✗	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓

Platforms

macOS

CRI-O✗

Helm✓

Windows

CRI-O✗

Helm✓

Linux

CRI-O✓

Helm✓

CLI

CRI-O✗

Helm✓

Deployment

Self-hosted

CRI-O✓

Helm✓

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