# CNCF Distribution vs Google Artifact Registry

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Google Artifact Registry

| Attribute | CNCF Distribution | Google Artifact Registry |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 56.7 (66% (medium)) | 65.9 (54% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 8 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 2,403 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 10,582 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | Open-source implementation of the OCI Distribution Specification for storing and distributing container images. Enables organizations to tightly control their image storage and distribution pipeline with full ownership of their distribution infrastructure. | A cloud-based package manager that stores, secures, and distributes various types of build artifacts, including container images and language-specific packages, with support for multiple package formats and registries. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"self","image_signing":true,"oci_compliant":true,"private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"images"}` | `{"rbac":true,"web_ui":true,"hosting":"cloud","private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"universal","cloud_iam_native":true}` |
| language.primary | Go | - |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | - |
| market.availability | - | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | - | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://distribution.github.io/distribution/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T18:17:59.377Z"}` | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Storage","summary":"Free 0–0.5 GiB/mo; $0.000136986/GiB/hr above","features":["Regional repositories","Multi-regional repositories","Standard and remote repositories"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"gibibyte"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.000136986,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"At-rest artifact storage","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"0.5 GiB/month free"}},{"free":true,"name":"Data Transfer","summary":"$0–$0.15/GiB depending on region; free within same location/continent","features":["Free same-location transfers","Free same-continent transfers","Metered cross-region pricing"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"gibibyte"},"kind":"metered","note":"US/Canada inter-region","amount":0.01,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"gibibyte"},"kind":"metered","note":"Europe inter-region","amount":0.02,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"gibibyte"},"kind":"metered","note":"Asia inter-region","amount":0.05,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"gibibyte"},"kind":"metered","note":"Cross-continent","amount":0.08,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"gibibyte"},"kind":"metered","note":"Oceania","amount":0.15,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Outbound traffic from repositories","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"data_transfer_free":"Same location, same continent"}},{"free":false,"name":"Vulnerability Scanning","summary":"See Artifact Analysis pricing documentation","features":["Automatic vulnerability scanning","On-Demand Scanning"],"commitment":"monthly","description":"Automatic and on-demand container scanning","contactSales":false}],"summary":"Usage-based. Free tier: 0.5 GiB storage/month. Metered storage $0.000136986/GiB/hr, data transfer $0–$0.15/GiB, vulnerability scanning per Artifact Analysis docs.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://cloud.google.com/artifact-registry","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T13:22:08.459Z","billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | free |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | - | 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.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 | CNCF Distribution | Google Artifact Registry |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Self-hosted only | Cloud only |
| **Standards** |  |  |
| OCI Distribution Spec compliant | ✓ | - |
| **Scope** |  |  |
| Artifact types | Container images only | Universal (images + language packages) |
| **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 2026-09-01T17:40:40.075Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*