# Distribution vs IBM Cloud Container Registry

| Attribute | Distribution | IBM Cloud Container Registry |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 59.4 (67% (medium)) | 55 (47% (low)) |
| 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. | Fully managed private registry service for storing and distributing container images with built-in security vulnerability scanning and compliance checks. |
| 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","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,"linux":true}` | `{"cli":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":"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 | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | free |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | 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 | 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 2026-09-01T14:44:39.070Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*