# Kubernetes vs Rancher

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Kubernetes

| Attribute | Kubernetes | Rancher |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 78.5 (38% (low)) | 44.6 (51% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 83 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 96 |
| adoption.github_stars | 125,197 | 25,872 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | A management platform that helps teams deploy and operate Kubernetes instances across diverse infrastructure—from on-premises data centers to public clouds and edge environments. It centralizes administrative controls and operational tools. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"both","orchestration":"kubernetes","k8s_conformant":true,"stateful_workloads":true,"windows_containers":true,"built_in_networking_cni":true}` | `{"hosting":"both","gui_dashboard":true,"orchestration":"kubernetes"}` |
| language.primary | Go | Go |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"DE","primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://kubernetes.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T13:42:16.309Z"}` | `{"type":"quote","sourceUrl":"https://rancher.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T13:44:48.664Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | unknown |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| release.cadence_days | 1 | - |
| release.history | `[{"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"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.14.5-rc1","date":"2026-08-25T22:54:12Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.14.5-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.13.9-rc1","date":"2026-08-25T22:22:07Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.13.9-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.12.13-rc1","date":"2026-08-25T20:28:06Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.12.13-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.11.17-rc1","date":"2026-08-25T20:27:57Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.11.17-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.15.1-rc1","date":"2026-08-25T21:41:26Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.1-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.14.5-alpha1","date":"2026-08-19T14:30:23Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.14.5-alpha1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.13.9-alpha1","date":"2026-08-19T14:38:34Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.13.9-alpha1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.12.13-alpha1","date":"2026-08-19T14:38:30Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.12.13-alpha1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.11.17-alpha1","date":"2026-08-19T14:38:27Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.11.17-alpha1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.15.1-alpha1","date":"2026-08-18T23:32:09Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.1-alpha1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.15.0","date":"2026-07-30T21:51:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.15.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.15.0-rc5","date":"2026-07-30T17:47:39Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.0-rc5"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.14.4","date":"2026-07-30T20:38:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.14.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.14.4-rc1","date":"2026-07-30T16:16:04Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.14.4-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.13.8","date":"2026-07-30T22:37:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.13.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.13.8-rc1","date":"2026-07-30T17:47:27Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.13.8-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.12.12","date":"2026-07-30T22:37:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.12.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.12.12-rc1","date":"2026-07-30T17:47:30Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.12.12-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.11.16","date":"2026-07-30T22:37:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.11.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/rancher/rancher/releases/tag/v2.11.16-rc1","date":"2026-07-30T17:47:34Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.11.16-rc1"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 7.5 | 6.7 |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Francher%2Francher%2Fpkg%2Fapis&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | Kubernetes | Rancher |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **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 | - | - |
| **UX** |  |  |
| GUI dashboard | - | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:18:32.009Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*