# K3s vs Minikube

| Attribute | K3s | Minikube |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 51 (44% (low)) | 49.5 (54% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 49 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 11 | 4 |
| adoption.github_stars | 34,199 | 32,192 |
| 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":"Minikube enables developers to run a local Kubernetes cluster on their machine for development and testing. It supports multiple operating systems and container runtimes, with GPU acceleration for AI workloads. It is indexed under Container Orchestration Tools.","source":"https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io","question":"What is Minikube?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Minikube 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://minikube.sigs.k8s.io","question":"Is Minikube free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Minikube supports the web, Windows, macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io","question":"What platforms does Minikube support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Minikube can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io","question":"Can Minikube be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Minikube 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/minikube","question":"Is Minikube 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. | Enables local development and testing of Kubernetes applications by running a Kubernetes cluster on your computer |
| 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":"both","gui_dashboard":true,"orchestration":"kubernetes","gpu_scheduling":true,"k8s_conformant":true,"stateful_workloads":true,"managed_control_plane":false,"built_in_networking_cni":true}` |
| integrations.count | 9 | 5 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Traefik"},{"name":"CoreDNS"},{"name":"Helm"},{"name":"etcd"},{"name":"Local Path Provisioner"},{"name":"MariaDB"},{"name":"MySQL"},{"name":"PostgreSQL"},{"name":"SQLite"}]` | `[{"name":"Google Cloud Build"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"CRI-O"},{"name":"containerd"},{"name":"NVIDIA"},{"name":"AMD"}]` |
| language.primary | Go | Go |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| 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","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io","retrievedAt":"2026-09-13T19:34:10.079Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.cadence_days | - | 72 |
| 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/minikube/releases/tag/v1.39.0","date":"2026-09-02T21:09:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.39.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.38.1","date":"2026-02-19T19:41:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.38.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.38.0","date":"2026-01-29T07:22:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.38.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.37.0","date":"2025-09-09T21:54:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.37.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.36.0","date":"2025-05-22T18:26:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.35.0","date":"2025-01-16T01:12:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.34.0","date":"2024-09-09T18:48:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.33.1","date":"2024-05-13T21:35:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.33.0","date":"2024-04-19T23:21:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.33.0-beta.0","date":"2024-03-26T16:39:49Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.33.0-beta.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.32.0","date":"2023-11-08T17:21:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.32.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.32.0-beta.0","date":"2023-10-28T01:28:10Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.32.0-beta.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.31.2","date":"2023-08-16T22:32:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.31.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.31.1","date":"2023-07-20T17:46:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.31.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.31.0","date":"2023-07-18T17:25:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.31.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.30.1","date":"2023-04-04T22:19:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.30.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.30.0","date":"2023-04-03T18:11:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.30.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.29.0","date":"2023-01-27T19:37:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.29.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.28.0","date":"2022-11-04T20:54:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.28.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/releases/tag/v1.27.1","date":"2022-10-08T03:28:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.27.1"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 8 | 4.8 |
| 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":1,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=k8s.io%2Fminikube&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | K3s | Minikube |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | Kubernetes | Kubernetes |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Self-hosted only | Cloud + self-hosted |
| **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 2026-10-16T20:04:44.010Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*