# K3s vs kind

| Attribute | K3s | kind |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 51 (44% (low)) | 52.2 (54% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 49 | 24 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 11 | 2,126 |
| adoption.github_stars | 34,199 | 15,550 |
| content.faq | `[{"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}]` | `[{"answer":"kind enables developers to set up isolated Kubernetes clusters locally using Docker for testing, development, and CI/CD purposes. Originally built for testing Kubernetes itself, it provides CNCF-conformant Kubernetes clusters on a single machine. It is indexed under Container Orchestration Tools.","source":"https://kind.sigs.k8s.io","question":"What is kind?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"kind 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://kind.sigs.k8s.io","question":"Is kind free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"kind 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://kind.sigs.k8s.io","question":"What platforms does kind support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. kind can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://kind.sigs.k8s.io","question":"Can kind be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. kind 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/kind","question":"Is kind open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | K3s is a minimal Kubernetes distribution designed for production use in resource-constrained environments like edge devices and IoT appliances. | nerdctl is a command-line tool for managing containers on containerd. It enables Docker Compose workflows, rootless container execution, image encryption, lazy-pulling, and multi-platform builds. |
| features.capabilities | `{"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}` | `{"hosting":"self","rootless":true,"arm_support":true,"gui_dashboard":false,"orchestration":"kubernetes","gpu_scheduling":true,"k8s_conformant":true,"windows_containers":true,"built_in_networking_cni":true}` |
| integrations.count | 9 | 4 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Traefik"},{"name":"CoreDNS"},{"name":"Helm"},{"name":"etcd"},{"name":"Local Path Provisioner"},{"name":"MariaDB"},{"name":"MySQL"},{"name":"PostgreSQL"},{"name":"SQLite"}]` | `[{"name":"Docker Compose"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"IPFS"},{"name":"CNI"}]` |
| language.primary | Go | Go |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"linux":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://k3s.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T14:26:35.599Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://kind.sigs.k8s.io","retrievedAt":"2026-09-11T19:12:06.667Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.cadence_days | - | 85 |
| release.history | `[{"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"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.33.0","date":"2026-08-26T21:58:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.33.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.32.0","date":"2026-06-02T17:34:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.32.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.31.0","date":"2025-12-18T00:56:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.31.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.30.0","date":"2025-08-27T17:45:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.30.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.29.0","date":"2025-05-21T01:54:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.29.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.28.0","date":"2025-05-16T23:36:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.28.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.27.0","date":"2025-02-15T00:54:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.27.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.26.0","date":"2024-12-16T22:02:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.26.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.25.0","date":"2024-11-08T20:37:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.25.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.24.0","date":"2024-08-15T16:39:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.24.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.23.0","date":"2024-05-14T02:02:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.23.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.22.0","date":"2024-02-14T23:30:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.22.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.21.0","date":"2024-02-02T20:31:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.21.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.20.0","date":"2023-06-15T03:18:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.20.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.19.0","date":"2023-05-17T00:46:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.19.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.18.0","date":"2023-03-30T19:33:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.18.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.17.0","date":"2022-10-26T15:53:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.16.0","date":"2022-09-22T19:33:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.15.0","date":"2022-09-02T01:31:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/tag/v0.14.0","date":"2022-05-19T20:58:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.14.0"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 8 | 6.6 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"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"}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=sigs.k8s.io%2Fkind&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | K3s | kind |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | Kubernetes | Kubernetes |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Self-hosted only | 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 2026-10-16T19:03:04.898Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*