# Distribution vs Google Artifact Registry

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

| Attribute | Distribution | Google Artifact Registry |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 59.4 (67% (medium)) | 70.2 (54% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 8 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 2,403 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 10,582 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | Open-source registry implementing OCI Distribution Spec version 1.0.1 that enables you to store and distribute container images with full control over your distribution pipeline. | 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 | `{"web_ui":false,"hosting":"self","sbom_support":false,"image_signing":true,"oci_compliant":true,"private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"images","cloud_iam_native":false,"high_availability":true,"vulnerability_scanning":false}` | `{"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 | `{"cli":true,"linux":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Open source under Apache license","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://distribution.github.io/distribution/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T20:46:36.181Z"}` | `{"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 | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | free |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | 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 | 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 2026-09-01T15:16:11.590Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*