# Colima vs k0s

**Leader by Vioscale score:** k0s

| Attribute | Colima | k0s |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 46.8 (78% (high)) | 52.9 (45% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 5 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 4 | 1 |
| adoption.github_stars | 30,524 | 6,452 |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"air_gapped":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Colima provides a lightweight way to run container runtimes locally on macOS and Linux machines, enabling Docker, Kubernetes, Containerd, and Incus workloads with low overhead. It supports multiple isolated instances, customizable resource allocation, and GPU acceleration for machine learning workloads on Apple Silicon. | An open-source Kubernetes distribution packaged as a single binary with minimal dependencies, designed to run on any infrastructure including bare metal, cloud platforms, and edge environments with simple configuration. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"self","arm_support":true,"oci_compliant":true,"orchestration":"single_host","gpu_scheduling":true,"k8s_conformant":true,"stateful_workloads":true}` | `{"hosting":"both","arm_support":true,"cncf_maturity":"graduated","gui_dashboard":false,"orchestration":"kubernetes","k8s_conformant":true,"stateful_workloads":true,"managed_control_plane":false,"built_in_networking_cni":true}` |
| integrations.count | 9 | 2 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"k3s"},{"name":"Containerd"},{"name":"nerdctl"},{"name":"Incus"},{"name":"Ollama"},{"name":"HuggingFace"},{"name":"Docker AI Registry"}]` | `[{"name":"Kube-Router"},{"name":"Calico"}]` |
| language.primary | Go | Go |
| license.spdx | MIT | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true}` | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://colima.run/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T23:02:15.232Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"k0s","description":"100% open source & free for personal or commercial use"}],"summary":"100% open source & free","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://k0sproject.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T14:26:13.706Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 10 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.10.3","date":"2026-06-04T17:14:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.10.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.10.2","date":"2026-06-03T13:35:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.10.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.10.1","date":"2026-02-22T07:55:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.10.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.10.0","date":"2026-02-10T20:11:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.9.1","date":"2025-09-25T11:07:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.9.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.9.0","date":"2025-09-24T09:50:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.8.4","date":"2025-08-06T16:08:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.8.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.8.3","date":"2025-08-05T13:21:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.8.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.8.2","date":"2025-07-31T22:53:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.8.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.8.1","date":"2024-12-16T10:30:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.8.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.8.0","date":"2024-11-08T03:40:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.6","date":"2024-10-30T10:33:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.5","date":"2024-08-26T16:40:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.4","date":"2024-08-25T10:31:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.3","date":"2024-08-13T11:10:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.2","date":"2024-08-13T08:22:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.1","date":"2024-08-10T07:57:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.7.0","date":"2024-07-30T09:01:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.6.10","date":"2024-07-20T20:05:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.6.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/releases/tag/v0.6.9","date":"2024-05-18T05:52:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.6.9"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.36.3%2Bk0s.2","date":"2026-08-12T10:59:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.3+k0s.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.36.3%2Bk0s.1","date":"2026-08-07T13:05:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.3+k0s.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.36.3%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-07-27T14:22:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.3+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.35.7%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-07-27T14:15:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.7+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.34.10%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-07-27T14:11:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.10+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.33.13%2Bk0s.1","date":"2026-07-27T08:36:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.13+k0s.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.37.0-alpha.1%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-30T14:23:55Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-alpha.1+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.36.2%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-30T11:27:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.2+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.35.6%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-29T13:32:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.6+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.34.9%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-29T13:30:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.9+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.33.13%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-29T13:26:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.13+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.35.5%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-16T13:06:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.5+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.34.8%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-16T09:43:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.8+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.33.12%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-16T07:11:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.12+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.36.1%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-14T13:05:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.1+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.33.11%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-05-13T13:31:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.11+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.35.4%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-05-13T14:36:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.4+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.34.7%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-05-13T13:34:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.7+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.35.3%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-04-08T14:03:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.3+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.34.6%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-04-08T13:59:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.6+k0s.0"}]` |
| security.scorecard | 5.6 | 5.9 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fabiosoft%2Fcolima&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fk0sproject%2Fk0s&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | Colima | k0s |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | None / single-host | Kubernetes |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Self-hosted only | 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 | - | Graduated |
| **UX** |  |  |
| GUI dashboard | - | ✗ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:05:48.823Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*