# Headlamp vs K9s

| Attribute | Headlamp | K9s |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 48.9 (33% (low)) | 44.7 (34% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 32 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 0 | 4 |
| adoption.github_stars | 7,451 | 34,818 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A Kubernetes management dashboard combining core resource viewing and administration features with extensibility for customization. It is indexed under Kubernetes Management.","source":"https://headlamp.dev","question":"What is Headlamp?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Headlamp 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://headlamp.dev","question":"Is Headlamp free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Headlamp supports the web, Windows and Linux. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://headlamp.dev","question":"What platforms does Headlamp support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Headlamp can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://headlamp.dev","question":"Can Headlamp be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Headlamp 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/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp","question":"Is Headlamp open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"Helps users view and manage Kubernetes clusters through a command-line interface, with real-time resource tracking and interactive management capabilities. It is indexed under Kubernetes Management.","source":"https://k9scli.io","question":"What is K9s?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"K9s 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://k9scli.io","question":"Is K9s free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"K9s 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://k9scli.io","question":"What platforms does K9s support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. K9s 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/derailed/k9s","question":"Is K9s open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A Kubernetes dashboard application that can be deployed as a web interface within clusters or as a standalone desktop application. It provides multi-cluster support, role-based access controls, and extensibility through custom frontend plugins. | A CLI tool that assists with navigating and managing Kubernetes cluster resources and configurations. |
| features.capabilities | `{"pricing_model":"open_source","deployment_model":"self_host","centralized_sso_rbac":true,"multi_cluster_config_sync":true}` | `{"pricing_model":"open_source","cli_shell_access":true,"deployment_model":"desktop"}` |
| integrations.count | 2 | 1 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Backstage","native":true,"direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Docker","native":true}]` | `[{"name":"Kubernetes","native":true,"direction":"bidirectional"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | Go |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"mac":true,"web":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Open source, free to use","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://headlamp.dev","retrievedAt":"2026-08-20T08:21:21.944Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"$5/month","summary":"$5/month sponsorship tier","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":5,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"$10/month","summary":"$10/month sponsorship tier","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":10,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"$25/month","summary":"$25/month sponsorship tier with roadmap advisor status","features":["Roadmap advisor status"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"$50/month","summary":"$50/month sponsorship tier","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":50,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"$100/month","summary":"$100/month sponsorship tier","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"$500/month","summary":"$500/month sponsorship tier","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":500,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"$1,000/month","summary":"$1,000/month sponsorship tier","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":1000,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false}],"summary":"Open source with optional GitHub Sponsors tiers from $5–$1,000/month","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://k9scli.io","retrievedAt":"2026-09-14T18:12:18.561Z","startingPrice":{"amount":5,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.starting_price | - | `{"amount":5,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 5 | 5 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/v0.45.0","date":"2026-08-20T23:55:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.45.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/headlamp-helm-0.45.0","date":"2026-08-20T23:59:14Z","type":"stable","version":"headlamp-helm-0.45.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/v0.44.0","date":"2026-07-29T07:10:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.44.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/headlamp-helm-0.44.0","date":"2026-07-29T07:28:09Z","type":"stable","version":"headlamp-helm-0.44.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/headlamp-helm-0.43.0","date":"2026-06-17T17:30:51Z","type":"stable","version":"headlamp-helm-0.43.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/v0.43.0","date":"2026-06-16T22:41:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.43.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/headlamp-plugin-0.14.0","date":"2026-05-12T09:52:57Z","type":"stable","version":"headlamp-plugin-0.14.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/v0.42.0","date":"2026-05-07T11:45:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.42.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/headlamp-helm-0.42.0","date":"2026-05-07T13:06:54Z","type":"stable","version":"headlamp-helm-0.42.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/headlamp-helm-0.41.0","date":"2026-03-26T06:19:41Z","type":"stable","version":"headlamp-helm-0.41.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/v0.41.0","date":"2026-03-23T19:09:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.41.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/headlamp-helm-0.40.1","date":"2026-03-13T14:31:41Z","type":"stable","version":"headlamp-helm-0.40.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/v0.40.1","date":"2026-02-10T18:33:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.40.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/v0.40.0","date":"2026-02-05T16:58:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.40.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/headlamp-helm-0.40.0","date":"2026-02-05T17:34:21Z","type":"stable","version":"headlamp-helm-0.40.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/headlamp-helm-0.39.0","date":"2025-12-18T14:45:34Z","type":"stable","version":"headlamp-helm-0.39.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/v0.39.0","date":"2025-12-17T13:45:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.39.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/headlamp-plugin-0.13.0","date":"2025-11-27T21:17:28Z","type":"stable","version":"headlamp-plugin-0.13.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/v0.38.0","date":"2025-11-11T19:45:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/headlamp/releases/tag/headlamp-helm-0.38.0","date":"2025-11-11T20:06:17Z","type":"stable","version":"headlamp-helm-0.38.0"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.51.0","date":"2026-06-06T14:13:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.51.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.18","date":"2026-01-11T20:19:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.17","date":"2026-01-11T19:44:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.16","date":"2025-10-19T16:01:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.15","date":"2025-10-07T13:34:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.14","date":"2025-10-07T00:33:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.13","date":"2025-09-27T15:44:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.12","date":"2025-09-19T14:53:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.11","date":"2025-09-18T15:43:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.10","date":"2025-09-17T23:13:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.9","date":"2025-07-19T15:42:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.8","date":"2025-07-15T15:10:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.7","date":"2025-07-05T17:49:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.6","date":"2025-05-12T05:30:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.5","date":"2025-05-08T05:42:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.4","date":"2025-04-19T18:27:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.3","date":"2025-04-14T00:36:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.2","date":"2025-04-10T15:47:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.1","date":"2025-04-10T06:13:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.0","date":"2025-04-09T06:01:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.0"}]` |
| security.scorecard | 7.3 | 4.4 |
| security.trust_center | https://headlamp.dev/blog/tags/security | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fkubernetes-sigs%2Fheadlamp%2Fbackend&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fderailed%2Fk9s&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Kubernetes Management)

| Capability | Headlamp | K9s |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Deployment model | Self host | Desktop |
| Eks gke aks lifecycle | - | - |
| Bare metal vsphere provisioning | - | - |
| Centralized SSO RBAC | ✓ | - |
| Multi cluster config sync | ✓ | - |
| Bundled observability stack | - | - |
| Bundled service mesh | - | - |
| Edge iot scale capable | - | - |
| Cost management module | - | - |
| CLI shell access | - | ✓ |
| SOC2 type ii | - | - |
| ISO 27001 | - | - |
| Pricing model | Open source | Open source |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:59:34.537Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*