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Kubernetes ManagementUnclaimed

K9s

Terminal-based interface for Kubernetes cluster management

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Also known as
k9s

Available worldwide · Popular in: US

What is K9s?

A CLI tool that assists with navigating and managing Kubernetes cluster resources and configurations.

Independently observed

K9s pricing

Plans, per-tier features and add-ons, dated and linked to live pricing. Pricing changes often; always verify at source before you rely on it.

Pricing as of verify at live pricing ↗Independently observed
from $5/moOpen sourceFree tier

Open source with optional GitHub Sponsors tiers from $5–$1,000/month

$5/month

$5/month sponsorship tier

$10/month

$10/month sponsorship tier

$25/month

$25/month sponsorship tier with roadmap advisor status
  • Roadmap advisor status

$50/month

$50/month sponsorship tier

$100/month

$100/month sponsorship tier

$500/month

$500/month sponsorship tier

$1,000/month

$1,000/month sponsorship tier

What K9s does

The capabilities that matter for kubernetes management, normalised so it lines up with every alternative. “-” means we haven't confirmed it, not that it's missing.

Capabilities
Deployment model
Desktop
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
Open source
Independently observed

Platform & deployment

Independently observed
Platforms
  • CLI
  • macOS
  • Linux
  • Windows
Deployment
  • Self-hosted

Integrations (1)

Independently observed
  • Kubernetes⇄•

Security & compliance

Known vulnerabilities: 0 (0 in the last 12 months) sourcea count reflects scale & disclosure, not quality

K9s FAQ

Common questions about K9s, answered from independent, dated evidence.

What is K9s?

Helps users view and manage Kubernetes clusters through a command-line interface, with real-time resource tracking and interactive management capabilities. It is indexed under Kubernetes Management.

Source: https://k9scli.io

Is K9s free to use?

K9s is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.

Source: https://k9scli.io

What platforms does K9s support?

K9s supports Windows, macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.

Source: https://k9scli.io

Is K9s open source?

Yes. K9s is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.

Source: https://github.com/derailed/k9s

K9s alternatives

Other kubernetes management we track, ranked by the same independent score.

All K9s alternatives, ranked →

Compare K9s

Side by side against other kubernetes management, attribute by attribute, with a source on every value.

Independent · unbought · dated

The vioscaleAI score: one lens on the evidence

Not user reviews and not a paid placement: a confidence-weighted blend of the independent signals below (adoption, activity, security posture, and more), which you can sort and re-weight yourself. Vendors can correct their listing but can never move their rank, and stars are weighted low as a vanity metric. It is one way to read the evidence for K9s, not the verdict.

Balanced composite 45 / 100
low · 34%
Signal contributions to the composite score
SignalScoreWeightContributionEvidence
Release cadence970.055.1✓
Development activity480.094.5✓
Stars860.032.2✓
Capabilities290.061.8✓
Security score440.041.8✓
Dependent projects120.060.7✓
Integrations90.070.6✓
Security posture00.120.0-
Package downloads00.140.0-
Developer Q&A activity00.060.0-

Computed . Re-weight it by intent, or see the full method.

All data & sourcesshow ↓

Every value we hold, with its source, retrieval date, and confidence. This is the evidence behind the score: don't trust it, verify it.

Activity

AttributeValueEvidence
Commits last 30d32mediumsource · 2026-10-15 · 65%

Adoption

AttributeValueEvidence
Github stars34,818highsource · 2026-10-15 · 90%
Dependent repos4highsource · 2026-10-15 · 85%

Content

AttributeValueEvidence
Faq4 itemsmediumsource · 2026-09-10 · 69%

Features

AttributeValueEvidence
CapabilitiesPricing model: open_source · Cli shell access: Yes · Deployment model: desktopmediumsource · 2026-10-15 · 60%

Integrations

AttributeValueEvidence
Count1mediumsource · 2026-10-15 · 60%

Language

AttributeValueEvidence
PrimaryGohighsource · 2026-10-15 · 90%

License

AttributeValueEvidence
SpdxApache-2.0highsource · 2026-10-15 · 95%

Market

AttributeValueEvidence
AvailabilityPrimaryMarkets: … · AvailabilityScope: global · AvailableCountries: … · NotAvailableCountries: …mediumsource · 2026-09-14 · 50%

Pricing

AttributeValueEvidence
TransparentYesmediumsource · 2026-10-15 · 60%
Free tierYesmediumsource · 2026-09-14 · 60%
Modelopen_sourcemediumsource · 2026-10-15 · 60%
Price levelfreemediumsource · 2026-10-15 · 60%
Starting priceAmount: 5 · Currency: USDmediumsource · 2026-09-14 · 60%

Release

AttributeValueEvidence
Cadence days5mediumsource · 2026-10-15 · 70%
History20 itemsmediumsource · 2026-10-15 · 70%

Security

AttributeValueEvidence
Scorecard4.4highsource · 2026-10-15 · 90%
VulnerabilitiesCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fderailed%2Fk9s&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0highsource · 2026-10-15 · 90%
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Last updated . Canonical URI: https://www.vioscale.ai/software/k9s.