Comparison

Distribution vs GitHub Container Registry

On the evidence we track, Distribution leads this comparison with a composite score of 59/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Distribution full profile →GitHub Container Registry full profile →

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★Distribution59

GitHub Container Registry32

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	DistributionLeader	GitHub Container Registry
Vioscale score	59 / 100medium · 67%	32 / 100low · 38%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	-
Modelpricing.model	open_source	commercial
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	-
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	-
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	-	2
Security
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	7.9	-
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	10,582	-
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	8	-
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	55	-
Historyrelease.history	20 items	-
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	Apache-2.0	-
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Go	-

Score

Vioscale score

Distribution59 / 100medium · 67%

GitHub Container Registry32 / 100low · 38%

Pricing

Free tier

Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry–

Model

Distributionopen_source

GitHub Container Registrycommercial

Price level

Distributionfree

GitHub Container Registry–

Transparent

Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry–

Integrations

Count

Distribution–

GitHub Container Registry2

Security

Scorecard

Distribution7.9

GitHub Container Registry–

Vulnerabilities

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

Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

Distribution2,403

GitHub Container Registry–

Github stars

Distribution10,582

GitHub Container Registry–

Activity

Commits last 30d

Distribution8

GitHub Container Registry–

Release

Cadence days

Distribution55

GitHub Container Registry–

History

Distribution20 items

GitHub Container Registry–

License

Spdx

DistributionApache-2.0

GitHub Container Registry–

Language

Primary

DistributionGo

GitHub Container Registry–

Capabilities

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

Capability comparison for Container Registries
Capability	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

DistributionSelf-hosted only

GitHub Container Registry-

Standards

OCI Distribution Spec compliant

Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry-

Scope

Artifact types

DistributionContainer images only

GitHub Container Registry-

Security

Built-in vulnerability scanning

Distribution✗

GitHub Container Registry-

Image signing (Cosign/Notation)

Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry-

SBOM generation / storage

Distribution✗

GitHub Container Registry-

Access

Fine-grained RBAC / robot accounts

Distribution-

GitHub Container Registry-

Private repositories

Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry-

Distribution

Geo-replication / mirroring

Distribution-

GitHub Container Registry-

Pull-through cache / proxy

Distribution-

GitHub Container Registry-

Integration

Native cloud IAM integration

Distribution✗

GitHub Container Registry-

Pricing

Pull-rate limits

Distribution-

GitHub Container Registry-

Web UI / console

Distribution✗

GitHub Container Registry✓

Ops

High-availability deployment

Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry-

What each one is

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

Distribution

Leader

Open-source registry implementing OCI Distribution Spec version 1.0.1 that enables you to store and distribute container images with full control over your distribution pipeline.

Independently observed

GitHub Container Registry

A workflow automation platform that builds, tests, and deploys code with hosted runners supporting multiple operating systems and languages. Includes built-in secret management, live logging, matrix builds across multiple configurations, and integration with external tools and services.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

Distribution

Leader

Open sourceFree tier

Open source under Apache license

as of 2026-08-13verify ↗

GitHub Container Registry

Pricing not documented yet.

Platform & deployment

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

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Distribution	GitHub Container Registry
WebPlatforms	✗	✓
LinuxPlatforms	✓	✗
CLIPlatforms	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓
On-premiseDeployment	✓	✓

Platforms

Web

Distribution✗

GitHub Container Registry✓

Linux

Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry✗

CLI

Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry✓

Self-hosted

Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry✓

On-premise

Distribution✓

GitHub Container Registry✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Distribution

Leader

Not documented yet.

GitHub Container Registry

2 total

Jira
npm

Independently observed

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