# Helm vs Podman

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Helm

| Attribute | Helm | Podman |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 66.9 (60% (medium)) | 42.6 (50% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 5,000 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 30,177 | 10 |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":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. | Podman is an open-source tool for creating, configuring, and managing containerized applications on Linux, Windows, and macOS. It supports rootless operation, integrates with systemd and Kubernetes, and provides features for container image handling, volume management, and networking. |
| features.capabilities | `{"arm_support":true,"cncf_maturity":"graduated","pricing_model":"free_open_source","architecture_model":"open_source_cli"}` | `{"hosting":"self","rootless":true,"oci_compliant":true,"orchestration":"single_host","stateful_workloads":true,"built_in_networking_cni":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 7 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"Docker Compose"},{"name":"systemd"},{"name":"Red Hat OpenShift"},{"name":"netavark"},{"name":"crun"},{"name":"conmon"}]` |
| language.primary | Go | Go |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://helm.sh","retrievedAt":"2026-08-21T13:42:13.702Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://podman.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T23:01:43.753Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | 2 | 1 |
| release.history | `[{"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/helm/helm/releases/tag/v3.20.0","date":"2026-01-21T23:27:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.20.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v4.0.5","date":"2026-01-14T23:46:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.0.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v3.19.5","date":"2026-01-15T00:30:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.19.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v4.1.0-rc.1","date":"2026-01-12T19:54:05Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v4.1.0-rc.1"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/LaunchPlatform/oci-hooks-archive-overlay/releases/tag/2.0.4","date":"2023-07-02T23:23:36Z","type":"stable","version":"2.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/LaunchPlatform/oci-hooks-archive-overlay/releases/tag/2.0.2","date":"2023-07-01T05:05:31Z","type":"stable","version":"2.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/LaunchPlatform/oci-hooks-archive-overlay/releases/tag/2.0.1","date":"2023-06-30T21:12:15Z","type":"stable","version":"2.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/LaunchPlatform/oci-hooks-archive-overlay/releases/tag/2.0.0","date":"2023-06-29T18:46:19Z","type":"stable","version":"2.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/LaunchPlatform/oci-hooks-archive-overlay/releases/tag/1.0.2","date":"2023-06-24T21:27:41Z","type":"stable","version":"1.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/LaunchPlatform/oci-hooks-archive-overlay/releases/tag/1.0.1","date":"2023-06-18T02:03:21Z","type":"stable","version":"1.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/LaunchPlatform/oci-hooks-archive-overlay/releases/tag/1.0.0","date":"2023-06-18T01:57:26Z","type":"stable","version":"1.0.0"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 9 | - |
| 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"}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Flaunchplatform%2Foci-hooks-archive-overlay&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | Helm | Podman |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | - | None / single-host |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | - | 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 | Graduated | - |
| **UX** |  |  |
| GUI dashboard | - | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:02:00.867Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*