# K9s vs Nirmata

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Nirmata

| Attribute | K9s | Nirmata |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 51.8 (21% (low)) | 66.3 (56% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 30 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 4 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 34,445 | - |
| deployment.options | - | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Helps users view and manage Kubernetes clusters through a command-line interface, with real-time resource tracking and interactive management capabilities. | Platform that provides centralized visibility, policy enforcement, and automated remediation across Kubernetes clusters, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud resources. Built on top of the open-source Kyverno policy engine, it uses AI agents to detect misconfigurations and automatically generate fixes for compliance and security standards. |
| features.capabilities | - | `{"iso_27001":true,"soc2_type_ii":true,"cli_shell_access":true,"deployment_model":"saas","bundled_service_mesh":false,"centralized_sso_rbac":true,"eks_gke_aks_lifecycle":true,"cost_management_module":false,"edge_iot_scale_capable":false,"multi_cluster_config_sync":true,"bundled_observability_stack":false,"bare_metal_vsphere_provisioning":false}` |
| integrations.count | - | 14 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"GitLab"},{"name":"Bitbucket"},{"name":"Argo"},{"name":"Flux"},{"name":"Amazon EKS"},{"name":"Azure AKS"},{"name":"Google GKE"},{"name":"Rancher"},{"name":"OpenShift"},{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"Okta"},{"name":"Terraform"},{"name":"Dockerfile"}]` |
| language.primary | Go | - |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | - |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free, open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://k9scli.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-20T12:20:04.345Z"}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Essentials","summary":"$1,800/month, includes 20 clusters or 250 nodes","features":["Centralized Reporting","Kyverno Engine Health","Shift-Left Enforcement","AI Platform Assistant"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":1800,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Centralized visibility and control for Kubernetes policy enforcement","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"clusters":"20 or 250 nodes"}},{"free":false,"name":"Advanced","summary":"$4,500/month, includes 20 clusters or 250 nodes","features":["Everything in Essentials","Centralized Policy Sets","Automated Violation Assignment","Self-Service Exceptions","Compliance Automation","Managed Agents"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":4500,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Enterprise-grade governance with automated policy management","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"clusters":"20 or 250 nodes"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing for enterprise deployments","features":["Everything in Advanced","Remediation Service Agent","GitHub / GitLab integration","Auto identity management (SCIM)","Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) AI","Air-gapped options"],"description":"Custom governance solution for large-scale deployments","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"clusters":"20 or 250 nodes base, additional consumption-based"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise Kyverno","summary":"$1,250/month for managed Kyverno distribution","features":["0-CVE images","18 month patch support","Long term version compatibility"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":1250,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Trusted distribution of Kyverno with enterprise support","contactSales":false}],"summary":"From $1,800/month. 15-day free trial. All plans include 20 clusters or 250 nodes; additional resources billed on consumption.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://nirmata.com/pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-25T12:14:30.209Z","freeTrialDays":15,"startingPrice":{"amount":1250,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | high |
| pricing.starting_price | - | `{"amount":1250,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 5 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.51.0","date":"2026-06-06T14:13:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.51.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.18","date":"2026-01-11T20:19:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.17","date":"2026-01-11T19:44:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.16","date":"2025-10-19T16:01:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.15","date":"2025-10-07T13:34:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.14","date":"2025-10-07T00:33:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.13","date":"2025-09-27T15:44:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.12","date":"2025-09-19T14:53:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.11","date":"2025-09-18T15:43:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.10","date":"2025-09-17T23:13:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.9","date":"2025-07-19T15:42:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.8","date":"2025-07-15T15:10:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.7","date":"2025-07-05T17:49:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.6","date":"2025-05-12T05:30:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.5","date":"2025-05-08T05:42:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.4","date":"2025-04-19T18:27:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.3","date":"2025-04-14T00:36:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.2","date":"2025-04-10T15:47:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.1","date":"2025-04-10T06:13:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/derailed/k9s/releases/tag/v0.50.0","date":"2025-04-09T06:01:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.50.0"}]` | - |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 4.6 | - |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fderailed%2Fk9s&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (Kubernetes Management)

| Capability | K9s | Nirmata |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Deployment model | - | Saas |
| Eks gke aks lifecycle | - | ✓ |
| Bare metal vsphere provisioning | - | ✗ |
| Centralized SSO RBAC | - | ✓ |
| Multi cluster config sync | - | ✓ |
| Bundled observability stack | - | ✗ |
| Bundled service mesh | - | ✗ |
| Edge iot scale capable | - | ✗ |
| Cost management module | - | ✗ |
| CLI shell access | - | ✓ |
| SOC2 type ii | - | ✓ |
| ISO 27001 | - | ✓ |
| Pricing model | - | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T14:46:12.789Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*