vioscale
Comparison

Kubernetes vs Portainer

On the evidence we track, Kubernetes leads this comparison with a composite score of 79/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Kubernetes full profile →Portainer full profile →
Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
★Kubernetes79
Portainer56
Score
Vioscale score
Kubernetes79 / 100low · 38%
Portainer56 / 100low · 32%
Pricing
Free tier
Kubernetes✓
Portainer✓
Model
Kubernetescommercial
Portainerfreemium
Price level
Kubernetesfree
Portainerhigh
Transparent
Kubernetes✓
Portainer✓
Integrations
Count
Kubernetes–
Portainer18
Security
Disclosure policy
Kubernetes✓
Portainer–
Gdpr
Kubernetes–
Portainer✓
Scorecard
Kubernetes7.5
Portainer–
Adoption
Github stars
Kubernetes125,197
Portainer–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Kubernetes83
Portainer–
Release
Cadence days
Kubernetes1
Portainer–
History
Kubernetes20 items
Portainer–
License
Spdx
KubernetesApache-2.0
Portainer–
Language
Primary
KubernetesGo
Portainer–
Market
Availability

Capabilities

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

Core
Orchestration scope
KubernetesKubernetes
PortainerKubernetes
Deployment
Hosting
KubernetesCloud + self-hosted
PortainerSelf-hosted only
Standards
OCI / CRI compliant
Kubernetes-
Portainer-
CNCF Certified Kubernetes conformant
Kubernetes✓
Portainer-
Security
Rootless operation
Kubernetes-
Portainer-
Architecture
Daemonless architecture
Kubernetes-
Portainer-
Platform
Windows containers
Kubernetes✓
Portainer✓
ARM architecture support
Kubernetes-
Portainer-
Workloads
GPU scheduling
Kubernetes-
Portainer-
Stateful workloads
Kubernetes✓
Portainer-
Networking
Built-in networking / CNI
Kubernetes✓
Portainer-
Ops
Vendor-managed control plane
Kubernetes-
Portainer-
Ecosystem
CNCF maturity
Kubernetes-
Portainer-
UX
GUI dashboard
Kubernetes-
Portainer✓

What each one is

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

Kubernetes

Leader

A platform for orchestrating containerized applications across clusters of computers, automatically handling deployment, scaling, and updates based on decades of production experience at Google and community best practices.

Independently observed

Portainer

A container orchestration management platform that provides centralized governance, deployment automation, and operational control across multi-cluster Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, and edge environments. It enables IT and operations teams to manage containerized applications at scale with simplified workflows, role-based access control, and GitOps integration.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

Kubernetes

Leader
Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Portainer

from $105/moSubscriptionFree tier

From $105/month. Business Edition free for 3 nodes. Annual commitment required.

  • Starter$105/month or $1045/year, annual commitment. Limited to organizations ≤$50M revenue.
    • Community support
    • Max 16 vCPUs per node
    • Online purchase only
  • Scale$209/month or $2095/year, annual commitment. Limited to organizations ≤$100M revenue.
    • 9x5 next business day support
    • Vendor onboarding
    • Reseller purchases
    • Max 24 vCPUs per node
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • Prioritized 9x5 support
    • Production/Non-production node options
    • Customizable license agreement
    • Assigned support engineer
    • Security assessment report
    • +3 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
Kubernetes✗
Portainer✓
Windows
Kubernetes✓
Portainer✗
Linux
Kubernetes✓
Portainer✗
CLI
Kubernetes✓
Portainer✗
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Kubernetes✓
Portainer✓
Self-hosted
Kubernetes✓
Portainer✓
On-premise
Kubernetes✗
Portainer✓
Hybrid
Kubernetes✓
Portainer✓
Air-gapped
Kubernetes✗
Portainer✓

Integrations

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

Kubernetes

Leader

Not documented yet.

Portainer

18 total
  • Active Directory
  • LDAP
  • OAuth
  • Helm
  • Git repositories
  • Kubernetes (EKS, AKS, GKE)
  • Docker
  • Swarm
  • Podman
  • Talos
  • Omni
  • S3-compatible storage
  • OPC connectivity
  • MQTT
  • Argo
  • Flux
  • Docker Hub
  • Matomo Analytics
Independently observed

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