# Azure Container Registry vs Distribution

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Azure Container Registry

| Attribute | Azure Container Registry | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 64.6 (53% (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 | A cloud-based registry for Docker and Open Container Initiative images, supporting all OCI artifacts for container storage and distribution. | 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 | `{"web_ui":true,"hosting":"cloud","oci_compliant":true,"private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"images"}` | `{"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}` |
| language.primary | - | Go |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"linux":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/container-registry","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T13:20:02.479Z"}` | `{"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 | commercial | 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.gdpr | 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 | Azure Container Registry | Distribution |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud only | Self-hosted only |
| **Standards** |  |  |
| OCI Distribution Spec compliant | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Scope** |  |  |
| Artifact types | Container images only | 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 | - | - |
| **UX** |  |  |
| Web UI / console | ✓ | ✗ |
| **Ops** |  |  |
| High-availability deployment | - | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T14:59:32.806Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*