Comparison

k0s vs K3s

No clear leader: k0s (52.9) and K3s (50.5) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
k0s53
K3s51
Score
Vioscale score
k0s53 / 100low · 45%
K3s51 / 100low · 46%
Pricing
Free tier
k0s
K3s
Price level
k0sfree
K3sfree
Transparent
k0s
K3s
Integrations
Count
k0s2
K3s9
Adoption
Dependent repos
k0s1
K3s11
Github stars
Activity
Commits last 30d
k0s100
K3s32
Release
History
License
Spdx
k0s
Language
Primary
k0sGo
K3sGo

Capabilities

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

Core
Orchestration scope
k0sKubernetes
K3sKubernetes
Deployment
Hosting
k0sCloud + self-hosted
K3sSelf-hosted only
Standards
OCI / CRI compliant
k0s-
K3s-
CNCF Certified Kubernetes conformant
k0s
K3s
Security
Rootless operation
k0s-
K3s
Architecture
Daemonless architecture
k0s-
K3s-
Platform
Windows containers
k0s-
K3s-
ARM architecture support
k0s
K3s
Workloads
GPU scheduling
k0s-
K3s-
Stateful workloads
k0s
K3s
Networking
Built-in networking / CNI
k0s
K3s
Ops
Vendor-managed control plane
k0s
K3s
Ecosystem
CNCF maturity
k0sGraduated
K3sSandbox
UX
GUI dashboard
k0s
K3s-

What each one is

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

k0s

An open-source Kubernetes distribution packaged as a single binary with minimal dependencies, designed to run on any infrastructure including bare metal, cloud platforms, and edge environments with simple configuration.

Independently observed

K3s

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.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

k0s

Open sourceFree tier

100% open source & free

  • k0sFree
as of verify ↗

K3s

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Windows
k0s
K3s
Linux
k0s
K3s
CLI
k0s
K3s
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
k0s
K3s
Self-hosted
k0s
K3s
On-premise
k0s
K3s
Hybrid
k0s
K3s
Air-gapped
k0s
K3s

Integrations

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

k0s

2 total
  • Kube-Router
  • Calico
Independently observed

K3s

9 total
  • Traefik
  • CoreDNS
  • Helm
  • etcd
  • Local Path Provisioner
  • MariaDB
  • MySQL
  • PostgreSQL
  • SQLite
Independently observed

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