# CRI-O vs K3s

**Leader by Vioscale score:** CRI-O

| Attribute | CRI-O | K3s |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 55.5 (48% (low)) | 50.5 (46% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 43 | 32 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 61 | 11 |
| adoption.github_stars | 5,654 | 33,826 |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A runtime implementation that enables Kubernetes to execute and manage containers, supporting OCI-compliant container images from any registry. | K3s is a certified Kubernetes implementation that maintains full conformance while streamlining deployment through bundled components, simplified storage options, and a single-binary installation model suitable for resource-constrained environments and edge computing scenarios. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"self","oci_compliant":true,"orchestration":"kubernetes","k8s_conformant":true,"built_in_networking_cni":false}` | `{"hosting":"self","rootless":true,"arm_support":true,"cncf_maturity":"sandbox","orchestration":"kubernetes","k8s_conformant":true,"stateful_workloads":true,"managed_control_plane":false,"built_in_networking_cni":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 9 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Traefik"},{"name":"CoreDNS"},{"name":"Helm"},{"name":"etcd"},{"name":"Local Path Provisioner"},{"name":"MariaDB"},{"name":"MySQL"},{"name":"PostgreSQL"},{"name":"SQLite"}]` |
| language.primary | Go | Go |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| platform.support | `{"linux":true}` | `{"cli":true,"linux":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://cri-o.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T22:25:33.464Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://k3s.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T14:26:35.599Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.36.4","date":"2026-08-24T16:56:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.35.7","date":"2026-08-24T17:02:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.34.12","date":"2026-08-24T17:05:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.36.3","date":"2026-08-04T00:43:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.35.6","date":"2026-08-04T00:46:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.34.11","date":"2026-08-04T00:45:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.36.2","date":"2026-07-02T00:58:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.35.5","date":"2026-07-02T12:07:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.34.10","date":"2026-07-02T00:57:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.36.1","date":"2026-06-03T01:09:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.35.4","date":"2026-06-03T01:09:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.34.9","date":"2026-06-03T01:09:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.33.13","date":"2026-06-03T01:09:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.35.3","date":"2026-05-05T00:48:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.34.8","date":"2026-05-05T00:47:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.33.12","date":"2026-05-05T00:47:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.36.0","date":"2026-05-05T18:29:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.35.2","date":"2026-04-02T00:36:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.34.7","date":"2026-04-02T00:36:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/releases/tag/v1.33.11","date":"2026-04-02T00:36:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.11"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.36.4-rc1%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-08-21T17:10:45Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.36.4-rc1+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.35.8-rc1%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-08-21T17:04:45Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.35.8-rc1+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.34.11-rc1%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-08-21T17:05:34Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.34.11-rc1+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.36.3%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-08-04T19:42:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.3+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.36.3-rc2%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-07-28T21:33:53Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.36.3-rc2+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.35.7%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-08-04T19:41:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.7+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.35.7-rc2%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-07-28T21:33:58Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.35.7-rc2+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.34.10%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-08-04T19:39:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.10+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.34.10-rc2%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-07-28T21:33:40Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.34.10-rc2+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.33.13%2Bk3s2","date":"2026-08-04T19:40:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.13+k3s2"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.33.13-rc2%2Bk3s2","date":"2026-07-28T21:34:16Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.33.13-rc2+k3s2"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.36.3-rc1%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-07-24T12:58:51Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.36.3-rc1+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.35.7-rc1%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-07-24T12:58:44Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.35.7-rc1+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.34.10-rc1%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-07-24T12:57:43Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.34.10-rc1+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.33.13-rc1%2Bk3s2","date":"2026-07-24T12:58:00Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.33.13-rc1+k3s2"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.36.2%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-06-24T22:57:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.2+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.36.2-rc3%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-06-24T18:29:23Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.36.2-rc3+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.35.6%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-06-24T22:57:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.6+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.35.6-rc3%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-06-24T18:28:55Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.35.6-rc3+k3s1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/tag/v1.34.9%2Bk3s1","date":"2026-06-24T22:57:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.9+k3s1"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 8.4 | 8 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":13,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fcri-o%2Fcri-o&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` | `{"count":3,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fk3s-io%2Fk3s&per_page=100","last_12m":1,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | CRI-O | K3s |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | Kubernetes | Kubernetes |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Self-hosted only | Self-hosted only |
| **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 | - | Sandbox |
| **UX** |  |  |
| GUI dashboard | - | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:40:15.864Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*