# k0s vs Podman

**Leader by Vioscale score:** k0s

| Attribute | k0s | Podman |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 52.9 (45% (low)) | 42.6 (50% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 1 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 6,452 | 10 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"air_gapped":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | An open-source Kubernetes distribution packaged as a single binary with minimal dependencies, designed to run on any infrastructure including bare metal, cloud platforms, and edge environments with simple configuration. | 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 | `{"hosting":"both","arm_support":true,"cncf_maturity":"graduated","gui_dashboard":false,"orchestration":"kubernetes","k8s_conformant":true,"stateful_workloads":true,"managed_control_plane":false,"built_in_networking_cni":true}` | `{"hosting":"self","rootless":true,"oci_compliant":true,"orchestration":"single_host","stateful_workloads":true,"built_in_networking_cni":true}` |
| integrations.count | 2 | 7 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Kube-Router"},{"name":"Calico"}]` | `[{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"Docker Compose"},{"name":"systemd"},{"name":"Red Hat OpenShift"},{"name":"netavark"},{"name":"crun"},{"name":"conmon"}]` |
| language.primary | Go | Go |
| license.spdx | - | MIT |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"k0s","description":"100% open source & free for personal or commercial use"}],"summary":"100% open source & free","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://k0sproject.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T14:26:13.706Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://podman.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T23:01:43.753Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | - | 1 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.36.3%2Bk0s.2","date":"2026-08-12T10:59:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.3+k0s.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.36.3%2Bk0s.1","date":"2026-08-07T13:05:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.3+k0s.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.36.3%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-07-27T14:22:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.3+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.35.7%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-07-27T14:15:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.7+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.34.10%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-07-27T14:11:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.10+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.33.13%2Bk0s.1","date":"2026-07-27T08:36:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.13+k0s.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.37.0-alpha.1%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-30T14:23:55Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.37.0-alpha.1+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.36.2%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-30T11:27:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.2+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.35.6%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-29T13:32:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.6+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.34.9%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-29T13:30:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.9+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.33.13%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-29T13:26:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.13+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.35.5%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-16T13:06:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.5+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.34.8%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-16T09:43:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.8+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.33.12%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-16T07:11:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.12+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.36.1%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-06-14T13:05:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.36.1+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.33.11%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-05-13T13:31:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.33.11+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.35.4%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-05-13T14:36:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.4+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.34.7%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-05-13T13:34:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.7+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.35.3%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-04-08T14:03:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.35.3+k0s.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/tag/v1.34.6%2Bk0s.0","date":"2026-04-08T13:59:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.34.6+k0s.0"}]` | `[{"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.scorecard | 5.9 | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fk0sproject%2Fk0s&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"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 | k0s | Podman |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | Kubernetes | None / single-host |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | 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 2026-09-01T14:44:48.169Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*