# k0s vs Red Hat OpenShift

| Attribute | k0s | Red Hat OpenShift |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 52.9 (45% (low)) | 55.7 (64% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 1 | 983 |
| adoption.github_stars | 6,452 | 8,680 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"air_gapped":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":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. | An enterprise container application platform built on Kubernetes that enables organizations to build, deploy, and manage modern applications with a consistent experience across self-managed and managed cloud services. |
| 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":"both","gui_dashboard":true,"orchestration":"kubernetes","managed_control_plane":true}` |
| integrations.count | 2 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Kube-Router"},{"name":"Calico"}]` | - |
| language.primary | Go | Go |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":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"}` | `{"summary":"Free Developer Sandbox available; enterprise deployment via self-managed or managed cloud services","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.redhat.com/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T13:41:09.992Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| release.cadence_days | - | 25 |
| 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/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.11.0","date":"2018-10-11T15:53:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.11.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.10.0","date":"2018-08-03T02:42:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.10.0-rc.0","date":"2018-06-20T01:41:51Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.10.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.9.0","date":"2018-03-30T23:30:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.7.2","date":"2018-03-16T19:56:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.7.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.9.0-alpha.3","date":"2018-02-08T01:57:01Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.9.0-alpha.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.7.1","date":"2018-01-16T17:48:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.7.0","date":"2017-11-29T19:35:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.7.0-rc.0","date":"2017-10-27T16:44:39Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.7.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.6.1","date":"2017-10-25T19:54:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.7.0-alpha.1","date":"2017-08-30T21:45:18Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.7.0-alpha.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.6.0","date":"2017-07-31T05:25:09Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.6.0-rc.0","date":"2017-07-14T02:40:42Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.6.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.6.0-alpha.2","date":"2017-06-08T05:04:38Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.6.0-alpha.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v1.5.1","date":"2017-05-16T20:58:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v1.5.0","date":"2017-04-21T18:53:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.6.0-alpha.1","date":"2017-04-12T18:05:45Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.6.0-alpha.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v3.6.0-alpha.0","date":"2017-03-22T01:48:40Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v3.6.0-alpha.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v1.5.0-rc.0","date":"2017-03-09T22:53:44Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.5.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/openshift/origin/releases/tag/v1.5.0-alpha.3","date":"2017-02-20T21:32:22Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.5.0-alpha.3"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 5.9 | 5.7 |
| 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":3,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fopenshift%2Forigin&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | k0s | Red Hat OpenShift |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | Kubernetes | Kubernetes |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | 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: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:46:14.359Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*