# HashiCorp Nomad vs K3s

| Attribute | HashiCorp Nomad | K3s |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 51.3 (67% (medium)) | 51 (44% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 43 | 49 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 1,972 | 11 |
| adoption.github_stars | 17,005 | 34,199 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A simple and flexible scheduler and orchestrator to deploy and manage containers and non-containerized applications across on-prem and clouds at scale It is indexed under Container Orchestration Tools.","source":"https://www.nomadproject.io","question":"What is HashiCorp Nomad?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"HashiCorp Nomad is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.nomadproject.io","question":"Is HashiCorp Nomad free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"HashiCorp Nomad 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://www.nomadproject.io","question":"What platforms does HashiCorp Nomad support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. HashiCorp Nomad can be deployed cloud / SaaS, hybrid, on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.nomadproject.io","question":"Can HashiCorp Nomad be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 6 integrations for HashiCorp Nomad, including Consul, Vault, Docker, Podman, QEMU and Java. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.nomadproject.io","question":"What does HashiCorp Nomad integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2 and ISO 27001 for HashiCorp Nomad. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as HashiCorp Nomad not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.nomadproject.io/security","question":"What security certifications does HashiCorp Nomad have?","confidence":0.7}]` | `[{"answer":"K3s is a certified Kubernetes implementation that maintains full conformance while streamlining deployment through bundled components, simplified storage options, and a single-binary installation model suitable for resource-constrained environments and edge computing scenarios. It is indexed under Container Orchestration Tools.","source":"https://k3s.io","question":"What is K3s?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"K3s 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://k3s.io","question":"Is K3s free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"K3s supports Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://k3s.io","question":"What platforms does K3s support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. K3s can be deployed cloud / SaaS, on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://k3s.io","question":"Can K3s be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 9 integrations for K3s, including Traefik, CoreDNS, Helm, etcd, Local Path Provisioner, MariaDB, MySQL and PostgreSQL, plus 1 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://k3s.io","question":"What does K3s integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. K3s 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/k3s-io/k3s","question":"Is K3s open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Nomad is an orchestration platform for deploying and managing diverse applications—containers, legacy services, and batch jobs—at scale across on-premises and cloud infrastructure. It combines scheduling, resource allocation, and state management into a single self-contained system. | K3s is a minimal Kubernetes distribution designed for production use in resource-constrained environments like edge devices and IoT appliances. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"both","orchestration":"custom","gpu_scheduling":true,"managed_control_plane":false}` | `{"hosting":"self","rootless":true,"arm_support":true,"cncf_maturity":"sandbox","orchestration":"kubernetes","k8s_conformant":true,"stateful_workloads":true,"managed_control_plane":false,"built_in_networking_cni":true}` |
| integrations.count | 3 | 9 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Consul"},{"name":"Vault"},{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"Podman"},{"name":"QEMU"},{"name":"Java"},{"name":"Terraform"}]` | `[{"name":"Traefik"},{"name":"CoreDNS"},{"name":"Helm"},{"name":"etcd"},{"name":"Local Path Provisioner"},{"name":"MariaDB"},{"name":"MySQL"},{"name":"PostgreSQL"},{"name":"SQLite"}]` |
| language.primary | Go | Go |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"linux":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://www.nomadproject.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T21:35:24.024Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://k3s.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T14:26:35.599Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/v2.0.7","date":"2026-09-18T16:18:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/v2.0.6","date":"2026-09-09T19:55:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/v2.0.5","date":"2026-08-13T00:16:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/ent-changelog-1.11.8","date":"2026-07-08T16:53:09Z","type":"stable","version":"ent-changelog-1.11.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/ent-changelog-1.10.14","date":"2026-07-08T16:31:37Z","type":"stable","version":"ent-changelog-1.10.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/v2.0.4","date":"2026-07-07T19:12:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/v2.0.3","date":"2026-06-09T18:40:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/ent-changelog-1.11.7","date":"2026-06-09T20:50:22Z","type":"stable","version":"ent-changelog-1.11.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/ent-changelog-1.10.13","date":"2026-06-09T20:50:39Z","type":"stable","version":"ent-changelog-1.10.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/v2.0.2","date":"2026-05-22T15:44:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/ent-changelog-1.11.6","date":"2026-05-22T18:05:37Z","type":"stable","version":"ent-changelog-1.11.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/ent-changelog-1.10.12","date":"2026-05-22T18:06:10Z","type":"stable","version":"ent-changelog-1.10.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/v2.0.1","date":"2026-05-12T16:18:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/ent-changelog-1.11.5","date":"2026-05-12T19:54:35Z","type":"stable","version":"ent-changelog-1.11.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/ent-changelog-1.10.11","date":"2026-05-12T19:54:17Z","type":"stable","version":"ent-changelog-1.10.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/v2.0.0","date":"2026-04-21T17:52:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/ent-changelog-1.11.4","date":"2026-04-21T21:36:36Z","type":"stable","version":"ent-changelog-1.11.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/ent-changelog-1.10.10","date":"2026-04-21T21:36:19Z","type":"stable","version":"ent-changelog-1.10.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/v2.0.0-rc.1","date":"2026-04-17T13:49:50Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad/releases/tag/v2.0.0-beta.1","date":"2026-03-19T15:04:11Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.0.0-beta.1"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.37.1%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-30T16:10:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.37.1+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.37.1-rc2%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-24T19:02:03Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.1-rc2+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.36.5%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-30T16:10:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.5+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.36.5-rc2%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-24T19:00:17Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.36.5-rc2+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.35.9%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-30T16:09:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.9+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.35.9-rc2%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-24T19:00:13Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.35.9-rc2+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.34.12%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-30T16:09:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.12+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.34.12-rc2%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-24T18:59:34Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.34.12-rc2+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.37.1-rc1%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-24T01:46:13Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.1-rc1+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.36.5-rc1%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-24T01:44:31Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.36.5-rc1+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.35.9-rc1%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-24T01:44:28Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.35.9-rc1+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.34.12-rc1%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-24T01:44:22Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.34.12-rc1+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.37.0%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-14T15:50:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.37.0+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.37.0-rc5%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-11T20:09:46Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-rc5+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.37.0-rc4%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-09T21:09:01Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-rc4+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.37.0-rc3%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-03T18:45:51Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-rc3+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.37.0-rc2%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-02T21:07:12Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-rc2+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.37.0-rc1%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-09-02T17:37:12Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-rc1+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.36.4%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-08-27T15:53:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.4+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.36.4-rc1%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-08-21T17:10:45Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.36.4-rc1+k3s1"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 7.4 | 8 |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fhashicorp%2Fnomad%2Fapi&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":3,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fk3s-io%2Fk3s&per_page=100","last_12m":1,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | HashiCorp Nomad | K3s |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | Custom scheduler | Kubernetes |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | 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 | - | Sandbox |
| **UX** |  |  |
| GUI dashboard | - | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T22:21:51.556Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*