# Lens vs Portainer

| Attribute | Lens | Portainer |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 39.7 (62% (medium)) | 56 (32% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 0 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 2 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 23,228 | - |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 12 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":true,"air_gapped":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"air_gapped":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Lens is a desktop application that provides a graphical interface for developers and operators to manage multiple Kubernetes clusters, visualize metrics and logs, and troubleshoot cloud-native workloads. It integrates with AI coding assistants and cloud platforms, designed to reduce the complexity of working with Kubernetes. | A container orchestration management platform that provides centralized governance, deployment automation, and operational control across multi-cluster Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, and edge environments. It enables IT and operations teams to manage containerized applications at scale with simplified workflows, role-based access control, and GitOps integration. |
| features.capabilities | `{"gui_dashboard":true}` | `{"hosting":"self","gui_dashboard":true,"orchestration":"kubernetes","windows_containers":true}` |
| integrations.count | 6 | 18 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"AWS EKS"},{"name":"Helm"},{"name":"Claude (Anthropic)"},{"name":"GitHub Copilot"},{"name":"Codex"},{"name":"kubectl"}]` | `[{"name":"Active Directory"},{"name":"LDAP"},{"name":"OAuth"},{"name":"Helm"},{"name":"Git repositories"},{"name":"Kubernetes (EKS, AKS, GKE)"},{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"Swarm"},{"name":"Podman"},{"name":"Talos"},{"name":"Omni"},{"name":"S3-compatible storage"},{"name":"OPC connectivity"},{"name":"MQTT"},{"name":"Argo"},{"name":"Flux"},{"name":"Docker Hub"},{"name":"Matomo Analytics"}]` |
| license.spdx | MIT | - |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":["US","EU"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"NZ","primaryMarkets":["US","EU"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Personal","summary":"Free for personal use","features":["Multiple cluster management","Metrics and logs visualization","Helm chart support","Smart terminal","Port forwarding","Community support"],"description":"Individual use, free for personal projects","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Plus","summary":"$25/month","features":["Everything in Personal","AWS EKS integration","CVE reporting","Hotbar for cluster switching","Commercial support"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For individual professionals using Lens in production","contactSales":false},{"free":true,"name":"Team","summary":"Free for small teams","features":["Full Lens Desktop functionality","Community support","Team collaboration"],"description":"For small teams getting started with Kubernetes","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$25/user/month","features":["Everything in Team","AWS EKS integration","CVE reporting","Hotbar","Secure cluster discovery and remote access","Commercial support"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"user","amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For production teams needing secure remote access and collaboration","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"$50/user/month","features":["Everything in Pro","Offline/air-gapped mode","VDI support","Central configuration management","Single Sign-On (SSO)","SCIM provisioning","Priority enterprise support","Security compliance assistance"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"user","amount":50,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For enterprises with strict compliance and operational requirements","contactSales":false}],"summary":"Free for individuals and small teams. From $25/user/month for production use.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://lenshq.io/blog/lens-plans-and-pricing-update/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:38:14.422Z","startingPrice":{"amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Starter","summary":"$105/month or $1045/year, annual commitment. Limited to organizations ≤$50M revenue.","features":["Community support","Max 16 vCPUs per node","Online purchase only"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":105,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"kind":"fixed","amount":1045,"period":"year","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Small teams getting started with container management","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"max_vCPUs_per_node":"16"}},{"free":false,"name":"Scale","summary":"$209/month or $2095/year, annual commitment. Limited to organizations ≤$100M revenue.","features":["9x5 next business day support","Vendor onboarding","Reseller purchases","Max 24 vCPUs per node"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":209,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"kind":"fixed","amount":2095,"period":"year","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Growing teams requiring higher performance and team support","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"max_vCPUs_per_node":"24"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing via contact sales","features":["Prioritized 9x5 support","Production/Non-production node options","Customizable license agreement","Assigned support engineer","Security assessment report","TAA compliance certificate","Managed platform services option","24/7 support option"],"description":"Business-critical deployments with priority support and compliance coverage","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"max_vCPUs_per_node":"32 to unlimited"}}],"summary":"From $105/month. Business Edition free for 3 nodes. Annual commitment required.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.portainer.io/business-iiot-pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T22:39:31.629Z","startingPrice":{"amount":105,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | mid | high |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2024.1.300751-latest","date":"2024-01-31T07:25:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v2024.1.300751-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2024.1.170738-latest","date":"2024-01-25T15:52:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v2024.1.170738-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2023.12.281947-latest","date":"2024-01-25T15:51:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v2023.12.281947-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2023.12.80831-latest","date":"2024-01-25T15:49:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v2023.12.80831-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2023.11.241450-latest","date":"2024-01-25T15:48:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v2023.11.241450-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2023.11.131420-latest","date":"2024-01-25T15:47:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v2023.11.131420-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2023.11.81519-latest","date":"2024-01-25T15:46:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v2023.11.81519-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2023.10.181418-latest","date":"2024-01-25T15:45:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v2023.10.181418-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2023.10.122002-latest","date":"2024-01-25T15:44:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v2023.10.122002-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2023.9.290703-latest","date":"2024-01-25T15:43:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v2023.9.290703-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2023.9.190000-latest","date":"2024-01-25T15:41:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v2023.9.190000-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2023.8.231521-latest","date":"2024-01-25T15:34:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v2023.8.231521-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2023.8.31525-latest","date":"2024-01-25T15:34:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v2023.8.31525-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v2023.5.310801-latest","date":"2024-01-25T15:22:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v2023.5.310801-latest"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v6.5.2","date":"2023-05-30T15:40:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v6.5.1","date":"2023-05-29T12:59:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v6.5.0","date":"2023-05-26T18:02:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v6.5.0-alpha.16","date":"2023-05-25T13:59:25Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v6.5.0-alpha.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v6.5.0-alpha.15","date":"2023-05-23T19:35:19Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v6.5.0-alpha.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/lensapp/lens/releases/tag/v6.5.0-alpha.14","date":"2023-05-23T15:36:33Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v6.5.0-alpha.14"}]` | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 4.2 | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=%40k8slens%2Flegacy-global-di&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (Container Orchestration Tools)

| Capability | Lens | Portainer |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Orchestration scope | - | Kubernetes |
| **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 | - | - |
| **UX** |  |  |
| GUI dashboard | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:18:15.576Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*