# Buildah vs Rancher

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Buildah

| Attribute | Buildah | Rancher |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 62.8 (59% (medium)) | 44.6 (51% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 84 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 321 | 96 |
| adoption.github_stars | 8,995 | 25,872 |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | An open-source utility for building OCI-compliant container images from Dockerfiles or from scratch, maintained by the containers organization. | A management platform that helps teams deploy and operate Kubernetes instances across diverse infrastructure—from on-premises data centers to public clouds and edge environments. It centralizes administrative controls and operational tools. |
| features.capabilities | `{"rootless":true,"oci_compliant":true}` | `{"hosting":"both","gui_dashboard":true,"orchestration":"kubernetes"}` |
| language.primary | Go | Go |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"DE","primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://buildah.io/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T23:01:29.635Z"}` | `{"type":"quote","sourceUrl":"https://rancher.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T13:44:48.664Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | open_source | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | unknown |
| pricing.transparent | - | no |
| release.cadence_days | 7 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.45.0","date":"2026-07-30T17:44:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.45.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.44.1","date":"2026-07-21T17:36:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.44.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.43.2","date":"2026-06-08T19:32:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.43.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.44.0","date":"2026-05-27T21:40:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.44.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.39.9","date":"2026-05-13T14:11:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.39.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.29.8","date":"2026-05-07T20:13:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.29.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.33.15","date":"2026-05-04T22:32:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.26.11","date":"2026-05-06T17:50:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.26.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.41.9","date":"2026-04-17T18:46:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.41.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.43.1","date":"2026-04-08T18:08:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.43.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.43.0","date":"2026-02-06T13:48:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.43.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.21.6","date":"2026-01-22T20:16:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.21.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.29.7","date":"2026-01-15T23:49:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.29.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.39.8","date":"2026-01-08T21:47:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.39.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.37.8","date":"2026-01-08T21:30:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.37.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.33.14","date":"2026-01-08T21:32:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.41.8","date":"2026-01-06T19:39:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.41.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.41.7","date":"2025-12-13T01:37:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.41.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.39.7","date":"2025-12-13T01:28:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.39.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/buildah/releases/tag/v1.33.13","date":"2025-12-11T18:46:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.13"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.14.5-rc1","date":"2026-08-25T22:54:12Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.14.5-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.13.9-rc1","date":"2026-08-25T22:22:07Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.13.9-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.12.13-rc1","date":"2026-08-25T20:28:06Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.12.13-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.11.17-rc1","date":"2026-08-25T20:27:57Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.11.17-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.15.1-rc1","date":"2026-08-25T21:41:26Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.1-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.14.5-alpha1","date":"2026-08-19T14:30:23Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.14.5-alpha1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.13.9-alpha1","date":"2026-08-19T14:38:34Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.13.9-alpha1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.12.13-alpha1","date":"2026-08-19T14:38:30Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.12.13-alpha1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.11.17-alpha1","date":"2026-08-19T14:38:27Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.11.17-alpha1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.15.1-alpha1","date":"2026-08-18T23:32:09Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.1-alpha1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.15.0","date":"2026-07-30T21:51:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.15.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.15.0-rc5","date":"2026-07-30T17:47:39Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.0-rc5"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.14.4","date":"2026-07-30T20:38:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.14.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.14.4-rc1","date":"2026-07-30T16:16:04Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.14.4-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.13.8","date":"2026-07-30T22:37:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.13.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.13.8-rc1","date":"2026-07-30T17:47:27Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.13.8-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.12.12","date":"2026-07-30T22:37:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.12.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.12.12-rc1","date":"2026-07-30T17:47:30Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.12.12-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.11.16","date":"2026-07-30T22:37:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.11.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.11.16-rc1","date":"2026-07-30T17:47:34Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.11.16-rc1"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 7.6 | 6.7 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":9,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fcontainers%2Fbuildah&per_page=100","last_12m":1,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Francher%2Francher%2Fpkg%2Fapis&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | Buildah | Rancher |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | - | Kubernetes |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | - | 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 | - | - |
| **UX** |  |  |
| GUI dashboard | - | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:35:55.142Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*