# CNCF Distribution vs IBM Cloud Container Registry

| Attribute | CNCF Distribution | IBM Cloud Container Registry |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 57.6 (66% (medium)) | 55 (47% (low)) |
| 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. | Fully managed private registry service for storing and distributing container images with built-in security vulnerability scanning and compliance checks. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"self","image_signing":true,"oci_compliant":true,"private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"images"}` | `{"rbac":true,"web_ui":true,"hosting":"cloud","image_signing":true,"oci_compliant":true,"private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"images","cloud_iam_native":true,"high_availability":true,"vulnerability_scanning":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 5 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service"},{"name":"Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud"},{"name":"IBM Code Engine"},{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"Skopeo"}]` |
| language.primary | Go | - |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | - |
| platform.support | - | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://distribution.github.io/distribution/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T18:17:59.377Z"}` | `{"type":"free","summary":"Free tier available. Promotional offer: 50% savings for 6 months on certain new workloads.","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.ibm.com/products/container-registry","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T18:18:29.823Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | free |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | - | no |
| 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 | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | 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 | IBM Cloud Container Registry |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Self-hosted only | Cloud 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 2026-09-01T16:27:10.394Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*