# Helm vs Kubernetes

| Attribute | Helm | Kubernetes |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 60.8 (41% (low)) | 63.3 (30% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 5,000 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 30,234 | 126,872 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Helm provides a templated configuration system and package manager for Kubernetes applications, allowing users to define complex multi-component deployments as reusable, versioned, and shareable packages. It is indexed under Container Orchestration Tools.","source":"https://helm.sh","question":"What is Helm?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Helm is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://helm.sh","question":"Is Helm free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Helm supports Windows, macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://helm.sh","question":"What platforms does Helm support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Helm can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://helm.sh","question":"Can Helm be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Helm is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/helm/helm","question":"Is Helm open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"A platform for orchestrating containerized applications across clusters of computers, automatically handling deployment, scaling, and updates based on decades of production experience at Google and community best practices. It is indexed under Container Orchestration Tools.","source":"https://kubernetes.io","question":"What is Kubernetes?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Kubernetes is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://kubernetes.io","question":"Is Kubernetes free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Kubernetes supports a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://kubernetes.io","question":"What platforms does Kubernetes support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Kubernetes can be deployed cloud / SaaS, hybrid, on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://kubernetes.io","question":"Can Kubernetes be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Kubernetes is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes","question":"Is Kubernetes open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Helm provides a templated configuration system and package manager for Kubernetes applications, allowing users to define complex multi-component deployments as reusable, versioned, and shareable packages. | A platform for orchestrating containerized applications across clusters of computers, automatically handling deployment, scaling, and updates based on decades of production experience at Google and community best practices. |
| features.capabilities | `{"arm_support":true,"cncf_maturity":"graduated","pricing_model":"free_open_source","architecture_model":"open_source_cli"}` | `{"hosting":"both","orchestration":"kubernetes","k8s_conformant":true,"stateful_workloads":true,"windows_containers":true,"built_in_networking_cni":true}` |
| language.primary | Go | Go |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true}` | `{"cli":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://helm.sh","retrievedAt":"2026-08-21T13:42:13.702Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free and open source","sourceUrl":"https://kubernetes.io","retrievedAt":"2026-09-07T13:11:24.491Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 5 | 1 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v4.3.0","date":"2026-09-09T23:51:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v3.22.0","date":"2026-09-10T00:08:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.22.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v4.3.0-rc.1","date":"2026-08-31T22:09:46Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v4.3.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v3.22.0-rc.1","date":"2026-08-31T22:56:05Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.22.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v4.2.4","date":"2026-08-13T15:33:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v3.21.4","date":"2026-08-14T14:55:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.21.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v4.2.3","date":"2026-07-09T20:56:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v3.21.3","date":"2026-07-09T21:20:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.21.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v3.21.2","date":"2026-06-20T04:36:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.21.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v4.2.2","date":"2026-06-17T20:50:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v4.2.1","date":"2026-06-12T15:06:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v3.21.1","date":"2026-06-12T14:51:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.21.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v4.2.0","date":"2026-05-14T01:13:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v3.21.0","date":"2026-05-14T01:22:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.21.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v4.1.4","date":"2026-04-09T06:01:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v3.20.2","date":"2026-04-09T21:17:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.20.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v4.1.3","date":"2026-03-11T23:01:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v3.20.1","date":"2026-03-12T00:26:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.20.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v4.1.1","date":"2026-02-09T18:33:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v4.1.0","date":"2026-01-21T22:31:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.0"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0","date":"2026-08-26T16:29:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.37.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.36.4","date":"2026-08-20T11:48:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.35.8","date":"2026-08-20T18:59:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.34.11","date":"2026-08-20T18:45:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0-rc.1","date":"2026-08-20T02:44:01Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0-rc.0","date":"2026-08-06T12:04:57Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.36.3","date":"2026-07-23T00:35:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.35.7","date":"2026-07-22T22:28:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.34.10","date":"2026-07-22T22:01:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0-beta.0","date":"2026-07-20T23:21:18Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-beta.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0-alpha.3","date":"2026-07-08T18:11:06Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-alpha.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0-alpha.2","date":"2026-06-25T02:40:51Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-alpha.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.36.2","date":"2026-06-12T11:34:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.35.6","date":"2026-06-12T11:32:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.34.9","date":"2026-06-12T11:30:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.33.13","date":"2026-06-12T11:30:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.37.0-alpha.1","date":"2026-06-11T03:25:52Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-alpha.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.36.1","date":"2026-05-12T16:39:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.35.5","date":"2026-05-12T15:37:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/releases/tag/v1.34.8","date":"2026-05-12T15:35:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.8"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.scorecard | 9.1 | 7.2 |
| security.trust_center | - | https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/security/cloud-native-security/ |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":23,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=helm.sh%2Fhelm%2Fv3&per_page=100","last_12m":1,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` | - |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | Helm | Kubernetes |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | - | Kubernetes |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | - | 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: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-09-21T03:45:41.142Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*