# Amazon ECR vs Distribution

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Distribution

| Attribute | Amazon ECR | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 48.8 (73% (medium)) | 59.4 (67% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 8 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 2,403 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 10,582 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Amazon ECR is a managed service that stores Docker container images and OCI artifacts with high availability. It integrates with AWS compute services, offers both private and public repositories, and includes built-in encryption, access controls via IAM, and vulnerability scanning through Amazon Inspector. | Open-source registry implementing OCI Distribution Spec version 1.0.1 that enables you to store and distribute container images with full control over your distribution pipeline. |
| features.capabilities | `{"rbac":true,"web_ui":true,"hosting":"cloud","image_signing":true,"oci_compliant":true,"private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"images_helm","cloud_iam_native":true,"pull_rate_limits":"tiered","high_availability":true,"pull_through_cache":true,"replication_mirroring":true,"vulnerability_scanning":true}` | `{"web_ui":false,"hosting":"self","sbom_support":false,"image_signing":true,"oci_compliant":true,"private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"images","cloud_iam_native":false,"high_availability":true,"vulnerability_scanning":false}` |
| integrations.count | 10 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Amazon ECS"},{"name":"Amazon EKS"},{"name":"Amazon EC2"},{"name":"AWS Lambda"},{"name":"AWS Fargate"},{"name":"AWS App Runner"},{"name":"Amazon Inspector"},{"name":"AWS Marketplace"},{"name":"Docker CLI"},{"name":"Helm"}]` | - |
| language.primary | - | Go |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"linux":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Private Repository Storage","summary":"$0.10 per GB per month","features":["Private repository storage"],"components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"gb"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.1,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Storage for private container repositories","contactSales":false},{"free":true,"name":"Public Repository (Always Free)","summary":"Always free","features":["50 GB/month storage included","500 GB/month anonymous data transfer","5 TB/month data transfer with AWS account"],"description":"Always-free storage and transfer for public repositories","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"50 GB/month","anonymous_transfer":"500 GB/month","authenticated_transfer":"5 TB/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Data Transfer (Beyond Free Limits)","summary":"Tiered starting at $0.09 per GB","features":["Tiered outbound data transfer pricing"],"components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"gb"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.09,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Pay for outbound data transfer beyond free tier limits","contactSales":false}],"summary":"Free: 50 GB/month public storage always-free, 500 MB/month private for 1 year. Paid: $0.10/GB for private storage, tiered data transfer charges.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://aws.amazon.com/ecr/pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T11:06:02.938Z","startingPrice":{"amount":0.09,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Open source under Apache license","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://distribution.github.io/distribution/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T20:46:36.181Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | low | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 55 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.1.1","date":"2026-05-01T15:51:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.1.0","date":"2026-04-06T17:09:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0","date":"2025-04-03T06:25:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0-rc.4","date":"2025-03-22T14:59:29Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-rc.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0-rc.3","date":"2025-02-11T16:21:07Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-rc.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0-rc.2","date":"2024-12-18T15:23:19Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0-rc.1","date":"2024-11-07T21:04:41Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0-beta.1","date":"2024-07-10T13:22:40Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-beta.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v3.0.0-alpha.1","date":"2023-12-19T16:03:36Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.0.0-alpha.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.3","date":"2023-10-02T18:23:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.8.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.2","date":"2023-05-11T10:47:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.8.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.2-beta.2","date":"2023-05-09T23:32:56Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.8.2-beta.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.2-beta.1","date":"2023-05-09T22:42:12Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.8.2-beta.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.1","date":"2022-03-08T18:19:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.8.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.0","date":"2022-02-07T15:53:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.8.0-beta.1","date":"2022-01-21T16:49:13Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.8.0-beta.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.7.1","date":"2019-01-17T23:22:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.7.0","date":"2018-12-04T00:20:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.7.0-rc.0","date":"2018-09-28T23:23:36Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.7.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/distribution/distribution/releases/tag/v2.6.2","date":"2017-07-20T21:20:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.6.2"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | - | 7.9 |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":4,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fdistribution%2Fdistribution%2Fv3&per_page=100","last_12m":3,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Container Registries)

| Capability | Amazon ECR | Distribution |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud only | Self-hosted only |
| **Standards** |  |  |
| OCI Distribution Spec compliant | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Scope** |  |  |
| Artifact types | Images + Helm/OCI artifacts | Container images only |
| **Security** |  |  |
| Built-in vulnerability scanning | ✓ | ✗ |
| Image signing (Cosign/Notation) | ✓ | ✓ |
| SBOM generation / storage | - | ✗ |
| **Access** |  |  |
| Fine-grained RBAC / robot accounts | ✓ | - |
| Private repositories | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Distribution** |  |  |
| Geo-replication / mirroring | ✓ | - |
| Pull-through cache / proxy | ✓ | - |
| **Integration** |  |  |
| Native cloud IAM integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| **Pricing** |  |  |
| Pull-rate limits | Tiered by plan | - |
| **UX** |  |  |
| Web UI / console | ✓ | ✗ |
| **Ops** |  |  |
| High-availability deployment | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:54:05.503Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*