101 ways
to deploy k8s

A comprehensive list of 119 ways to deploy Kubernetes!

119 solutions
canonical kubernetes (snap) logo

canonical kubernetes (snap)

Canonical

OSS

Kubernetes distribution packaged as a snap for easy installation on Ubuntu

local development beginner-friendly
colima logo

colima

OSS

Container runtime with Kubernetes support for macOS and Linux

Based on:

lima-vm
local development macos
26.7k
GitHub
crc (openshift 4 on a desktop) logo

crc (openshift 4 on a desktop)

Openshift

OSS

Local OpenShift 4 cluster for development on a workstation

Based on:

Openshift / OKD
local development openshift
Desktop-Kubernetes logo

Desktop-Kubernetes

OSS

Automated tool for deploying production-like Kubernetes clusters on desktop VMs

local development production
Docker desktop logo

Docker desktop

Docker (Mirantis)

Docker Desktop's built-in Kubernetes cluster for local development

Based on:

kubeadm kind
local development container-based
Proprietary
Link
k3d logo

k3d

Rancher

OSS

Lightweight Kubernetes clusters in Docker for local development and testing

Based on:

k3s
local development lightweight
kind logo

kind

OSS

Kubernetes in Docker - tool for running local Kubernetes clusters using Docker containers

Based on:

kubeadm
local development container-based
K

kubefire

Abandoned
OSS

Multi-distribution Kubernetes cluster manager using firecracker microVMs

Based on:

kubeadm k3s rke2 k0s
local development
lima-vm logo

lima-vm

OSS

Linux virtual machines with Kubernetes support for macOS

Based on:

kubeadm k3s rke2
local development macos
microk8s logo

microk8s

Canonical

OSS

Low-ops, minimal production Kubernetes for clusters, workstations, edge and IoT

local development lightweight
Minikube logo

Minikube

OSS

Local Kubernetes cluster for development and testing on various platforms

Based on:

kubeadm
local development
Minishift logo

Minishift

Red Hat

Abandoned
OSS

Tool for running OpenShift 3.x locally using a single-node cluster

Based on:

Openshift / OKD
local development openshift
mykube logo

mykube

OSS

Lightweight local Kubernetes cluster manager for development

Based on:

kubeadm
local development lightweight
Oracle Cloud Native Environment logo

Oracle Cloud Native Environment

Oracle

OSS

Integrated operating environment for developing cloud-native applications with Kubernetes

local development
Orbstack logo

Orbstack

Orbital Stack

Fast, lightweight container runtime and Kubernetes for macOS

local development lightweight
Proprietary
Link
Podman Desktop logo

Podman Desktop

Podman Desktop

OSS

Container and Kubernetes management tool with desktop interface for Podman

Based on:

kind minikube
local development container-based
Rancher Desktop logo

Rancher Desktop

Rancher

OSS

Container management and Kubernetes on the desktop with choice of runtime

Based on:

LimaVM k3s
local development rancher
vind logo

vind

loft.sh

OSS

vCluster in Docker. Run Kubernetes clusters as Docker containers

Based on:

vcluster
local development container-based
aks-engine logo

aks-engine

Azure

Abandoned
OSS

Tool for provisioning self-managed Kubernetes clusters on Azure

automation infrastructure-as-code
Alvistack Ansible logo

Alvistack Ansible

Alvistack

OSS

Ansible collection for Kubernetes deployment and configuration management

Based on:

kubeadm
automation infrastructure-as-code
Alvistack Vagrant-kubernetes logo

Alvistack Vagrant-kubernetes

Alvistack

OSS

Vagrant-based Kubernetes cluster provisioning for development environments

Based on:

kubeadm
automation infrastructure-as-code
Crossplane logo

Crossplane

OSS
Prod Ready

Universal control plane for cloud infrastructure and services via Kubernetes API

automation infrastructure-as-code
Cybozu Kubernetes Engine (CKE) logo

Cybozu Kubernetes Engine (CKE)

Cybozu

OSS

Automated Kubernetes cluster management tool for on-premises infrastructure

automation infrastructure-as-code
Kube-hetzner logo

Kube-hetzner

OSS

Automated Kubernetes deployment on Hetzner Cloud with Terraform / Opentofu

Based on:

Terraform / OpenTofu
automation infrastructure-as-code
3.7k
GitHub
Kubeasz (Chinese documentation only) logo

Kubeasz (Chinese documentation only)

EaszLab

OSS

Kubernetes cluster deployment tool (Chinese documentation only)

automation infrastructure-as-code
Kubernetes ClusterAPI logo

Kubernetes ClusterAPI

OSS
Prod Ready

Declarative Kubernetes-style APIs for cluster lifecycle management

automation infrastructure-as-code
Kubespray logo

Kubespray

OSS
Prod Ready

Production-ready Kubernetes cluster deployment using Ansible

Based on:

kubeadm
automation infrastructure-as-code
OpenTofu logo

OpenTofu

OSS
Prod Ready

Open-source infrastructure as code tool, fork of Terraform

automation infrastructure-as-code
27.8k
GitHub
Pulumi logo

Pulumi

Pulumi Services

OSS
Prod Ready

Infrastructure as code platform with Kubernetes support across multiple clouds

automation infrastructure-as-code
Puppet logo

Puppet

Perforce Software

OSS

Configuration management tool with Kubernetes cluster provisioning capabilities

Based on:

kubeadm
automation infrastructure-as-code
Terraform logo

Terraform

HashiCorp

Prod Ready

Infrastructure as code tool for building, changing, and versioning infrastructure

automation infrastructure-as-code
47.6k
GitHub
typhoon logo

typhoon

OSS
Prod Ready

Minimal and free Kubernetes distribution with Terraform / Opentofu

Based on:

Terraform / OpenTofu
automation infrastructure-as-code lightweight
2k
GitHub
k3k logo

k3k

Rancher

OSS

Kubernetes-in-Kubernetes deployment using k3s for control plane isolation

Based on:

k3s
multi-tenancy virtualization
vcluster logo

vcluster

loft.sh

OSS
Prod Ready

Virtual Kubernetes clusters that run inside regular namespaces

Based on:

kubeadm k3s k0s
multi-tenancy virtualization
elemental (ex k3os) logo

elemental (ex k3os)

Rancher

OSS

Immutable Linux OS for running Kubernetes with declarative fleet management

immutable production declarative
Kairos Linux logo

Kairos Linux

Spectro cloud

OSS
Prod Ready

Immutable Linux OS for edge and cloud with Kubernetes support

immutable production edge
RKE logo

RKE

Rancher

Abandoned
OSS

CNCF-certified Kubernetes distribution that runs entirely within Docker containers

immutable production
Talos Linux logo

Talos Linux

SideroLabs

OSS
Prod Ready

Secure, immutable, and minimal Linux OS designed for Kubernetes

immutable production lightweight
AKS logo

AKS

Azure

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on Microsoft Azure

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Alibaba Cloud Container Service for Kubernetes (ACK) logo

Alibaba Cloud Container Service for Kubernetes (ACK)

Alibaba Cloud

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on Alibaba Cloud

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Civo logo

Civo

Civo

Prod Ready

Fast and simple managed Kubernetes cloud provider

Based on:

k3s Talos Linux
cloud managed beginner-friendly
Cloud
Link
Clever Kubernetes Engine (CKE) logo

Clever Kubernetes Engine (CKE)

Clever Cloud

Managed Kubernetes service on Clever Cloud

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
CoreWeave Kubernetes Service (CKS) logo

CoreWeave Kubernetes Service (CKS)

CoreWeave

Prod Ready

GPU-accelerated managed Kubernetes service

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
DOKS logo

DOKS

Digital Ocean

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on DigitalOcean

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Elastx Private Kubernetes logo

Elastx Private Kubernetes

Elastx

Prod Ready

Private managed Kubernetes service on Elastx cloud

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
EKS logo

EKS

AWS

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on Amazon Web Services

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Gcore Managed Kubernetes logo

Gcore Managed Kubernetes

Gcore

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on Gcore cloud platform

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
GKE logo

GKE

Google Cloud Platform

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on Google Cloud Platform

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Gridscale Managed Kubernetes (GSK) logo

Gridscale Managed Kubernetes (GSK)

Gridscale

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on gridscale infrastructure

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
IBM Cloud (IKS) logo

IBM Cloud (IKS)

IBM Cloud

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on IBM Cloud

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
IONOS Kubernetes Service logo

IONOS Kubernetes Service

IONOS

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on IONOS cloud

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Kapsule logo

Kapsule

Scaleway

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on Scaleway

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Kosmos logo

Kosmos

Scaleway

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service for multi-cloud deployments (bring your own nodes)

cloud managed multi-cloud
Cloud
Link
LeafCloud logo

LeafCloud

LeafCloud

Prod Ready

Sustainable managed Kubernetes service powered by renewable energy

Based on:

Gardener
cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Linode Kubernetes Engine (LKE) logo

Linode Kubernetes Engine (LKE)

Linode

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on Linode infrastructure

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Metal Stack Cloud Kubernetes logo

Metal Stack Cloud Kubernetes

Metal Stack

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes on bare-metal infrastructure

cloud managed bare-metal
Cloud
Link
MetaKube logo

MetaKube

SysEleven

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service built on Kubermatic

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
MKS logo

MKS

OVHcloud

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on OVHcloud infrastructure

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Orka logo

Orka

MacStadium

Prod Ready

Kubernetes-based orchestration platform for macOS build infrastructure

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Container Engine for Kubernetes (OKE) logo

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Container Engine for Kubernetes (OKE)

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on Oracle Cloud

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Redhat Openshift cloud logo

Redhat Openshift cloud

Red Hat

Prod Ready

Managed OpenShift Kubernetes service across multiple clouds

Based on:

Openshift / OKD
cloud managed openshift
Cloud
Link
SKS logo

SKS

Exoscale

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on Exoscale cloud

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
STACKIT Kubernetes Engine (SKE) logo

STACKIT Kubernetes Engine (SKE)

STACKIT

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on STACKIT cloud

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
StarlingX logo

StarlingX

Prod Ready

Edge computing platform with integrated Kubernetes for industrial IoT

cloud managed edge
Cloud
Link
Tencent Kubernetes Engine (TKE) logo

Tencent Kubernetes Engine (TKE)

Tencent Cloud

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on Tencent Cloud

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
UpCloud Managed Kubernetes (UKS) logo

UpCloud Managed Kubernetes (UKS)

UpCloud

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on UpCloud

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
VKE logo

VKE

Vultr

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on Vultr cloud

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Volcengine Kubernetes Engine (VKE) logo

Volcengine Kubernetes Engine (VKE)

ByteDance

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service on ByteDance's Volcengine cloud

cloud managed
Cloud
Link
Gardener logo

Gardener

OSS
Prod Ready

Multi-cloud Kubernetes management solution that manages thousands of clusters

multi-cluster enterprise multi-cloud
hypershift logo

hypershift

Red Hat

OSS

Hosted control planes for OpenShift enabling multi-tenant cluster management

Based on:

Openshift / OKD
multi-cluster enterprise openshift
k0rdent logo

k0rdent

Mirantis

OSS

Kubernetes-based platform for managing infrastructure and applications

Based on:

k0smotron Cluster API
multi-cluster enterprise
Kamaji logo

Kamaji

Clastix

OSS
Prod Ready

Kubernetes control plane manager for building multi-tenant clusters

Based on:

kubeadm Cluster API
multi-cluster enterprise
KubeClipper logo

KubeClipper

OSS

Web-based Kubernetes multi-cluster management platform

Based on:

kubeadm
multi-cluster enterprise gui
Kubermatic Kubernetes Platform logo

Kubermatic Kubernetes Platform

Kubermatic

OSS
Prod Ready

Multi-cloud and on-premises Kubernetes cluster automation platform

multi-cluster enterprise multi-cloud
Omni logo

Omni

SideroLabs

Prod Ready

SaaS platform for managing Kubernetes clusters on any infrastructure with Talos Linux

Based on:

Talos Linux
multi-cluster enterprise
Palette logo

Palette

Spectro Cloud

Prod Ready

Kubernetes management platform for multi-cluster environments across clouds

Based on:

Cluster API
multi-cluster enterprise
Proprietary
Link
Platform9 logo

Platform9

Platform9

Prod Ready

Managed Kubernetes service for public and private cloud infrastructure

multi-cluster enterprise
Proprietary
Link
Portainer logo

Portainer

Portainer.io

OSS
Prod Ready

Container management platform with web interface for Kubernetes

multi-cluster enterprise
Rafay logo

Rafay

Rafay Systems

Prod Ready

Kubernetes Operations Platform for multi-cluster and multi-cloud environments

multi-cluster enterprise multi-cloud
Proprietary
Link
Rancher logo

Rancher

Rancher

OSS
Prod Ready

Complete container management platform with multi-cluster Kubernetes orchestration

multi-cluster enterprise rancher
Tanzu Kubernetes Grid logo

Tanzu Kubernetes Grid

VMware

Prod Ready

Enterprise-ready Kubernetes runtime by VMware for multi-cloud

multi-cluster enterprise multi-cloud
Proprietary
Link
Tanzu Mission Control logo

Tanzu Mission Control

VMware

Prod Ready

Centralized management platform for Kubernetes clusters across clouds

multi-cluster enterprise
Proprietary
Link
Using containers (manually) logo

Using containers (manually)

OSS

Manual Kubernetes setup running components as containers

learning educational
Using binaries (manually) logo

Using binaries (manually)

OSS

Manual Kubernetes installation using binary distributions

learning educational
Devops playgrounds logo

Devops playgrounds

Interactive learning environments for practicing DevOps and Kubernetes

learning educational
Cloud
Link
The hard way (Kelsey hightower) logo

The hard way (Kelsey hightower)

OSS

Tutorial for manually setting up Kubernetes to understand each component

learning educational
The hard way w/ Terraform (GCP) logo

The hard way w/ Terraform (GCP)

OSS

Automated Kubernetes The Hard Way deployment on GCP using Terraform / Opentofu

Based on:

Terraform / OpenTofu
learning educational
The hard way w/ Terraform (AWS) logo

The hard way w/ Terraform (AWS)

OSS

Automated Kubernetes The Hard Way deployment on AWS using Terraform / Opentofu

Based on:

Terraform / OpenTofu
learning educational
KwoK logo

KwoK

OSS

Kubernetes WithOut Kubelet - simulates thousands of nodes for testing

learning educational
Play with k8s (play with docker) logo

Play with k8s (play with docker)

OSS

Free browser-based Kubernetes playground for experimentation

learning educational
Constellation logo

Constellation

Edgeless Systems

Abandoned
OSS

Confidential Kubernetes platform with always-encrypted cluster infrastructure

on-premise self-hosted secure
EKS Anywhere logo

EKS Anywhere

AWS

OSS

On-premises Kubernetes deployment tool based on Amazon EKS

Based on:

EKS
on-premise self-hosted
Harvester logo

Harvester

Rancher

OSS
Prod Ready

Open-source hyper-converged infrastructure platform built on Kubernetes

on-premise self-hosted
Hepto logo

Hepto

OSS

Lightweight Kubernetes distribution for edge and IoT deployments

on-premise self-hosted lightweight
Juju logo

Juju

Canonical

OSS

Application modeling tool with Kubernetes deployment and lifecycle management

on-premise self-hosted
k0s logo

k0s

Mirantis

OSS
Prod Ready

Zero-friction Kubernetes distribution with single binary installation

on-premise self-hosted
k0smotron logo

k0smotron

Mirantis

OSS

Kubernetes control plane operator for running managed Kubernetes clusters

Based on:

k0s Cluster API
on-premise self-hosted
k3s logo

k3s

Rancher

OSS
Prod Ready

Lightweight certified Kubernetes distribution designed for IoT and edge computing

on-premise self-hosted lightweight
k3sup logo

k3sup

OSS

CLI tool to bootstrap Kubernetes clusters with k3s over SSH

Based on:

k3s
on-premise self-hosted
k8e - Kubernetes easy engine logo

k8e - Kubernetes easy engine

OSS

Simplified Kubernetes distribution for easy deployment

Based on:

k3s
on-premise self-hosted beginner-friendly
K8S The Easy way logo

K8S The Easy way

OSS

Automated tool for deploying single-node or multi-node Kubernetes clusters

on-premise self-hosted
Kops logo

Kops

OSS
Prod Ready

Production-grade Kubernetes installation, upgrade and management tool

Based on:

kubeadm
on-premise self-hosted production
kubeadm logo

kubeadm

OSS
Prod Ready

Bootstrap Kubernetes clusters using kubeadm command-line interface or declarative config files

on-premise self-hosted declarative
Kubean logo

Kubean

OSS

Cluster lifecycle management tool built on kubeadm and Kubespray

Based on:

Kubespray
on-premise self-hosted
KubeKey logo

KubeKey

KubeSphere

OSS
Prod Ready

Kubernetes and cloud-native addon installer with simple CLI

Based on:

kubeadm k3s
on-premise self-hosted beginner-friendly
KubeMarine logo

KubeMarine

OSS

Kubernetes cluster deployment and management tool for bare-metal and VMs

Based on:

kubeadm
on-premise self-hosted bare-metal
KubeOne logo

KubeOne

Kubermatic

OSS
Prod Ready

Lifecycle management tool for Kubernetes clusters on any infrastructure

Based on:

Kubeadm ClusterAPI
on-premise self-hosted
KubeSolo logo

KubeSolo

portainer.io

OSS

Single-node Kubernetes cluster for local development on macOS

Based on:

k3s
on-premise self-hosted
Kurl logo

Kurl

ReplicatedHQ

OSS
Prod Ready

Kubernetes installer for air-gapped and online environments

Based on:

kubeadm
on-premise self-hosted
Magnum logo

Magnum

OpenStack

OSS

OpenStack service for deploying and managing container orchestration engines

Based on:

Cluster API
on-premise self-hosted
MKE (Mirantis Kubernetes Engine) logo

MKE (Mirantis Kubernetes Engine)

Mirantis

Prod Ready

Enterprise Kubernetes platform for production workloads on any infrastructure

Based on:

k0s
on-premise self-hosted production
Proprietary
Link
NKP (Nutanix Kubernetes Platform) logo

NKP (Nutanix Kubernetes Platform)

Nutanix

Enterprise Kubernetes platform for Nutanix infrastructure

on-premise self-hosted enterprise
Proprietary
Link
OKD (open source openshift) logo

OKD (open source openshift)

Red Hat

OSS
Prod Ready

Community distribution of Kubernetes that powers OpenShift

on-premise self-hosted openshift
OneKE logo

OneKE

OpenNebula

OSS

Kubernetes Engine with one-click deployment and management

Based on:

rke2
on-premise self-hosted
Red Hat Build of Microshift logo

Red Hat Build of Microshift

Red Hat

OSS

Lightweight Kubernetes optimized for edge devices by Red Hat

Based on:

Openshift / OKD
on-premise self-hosted lightweight
RKE2 logo

RKE2

Rancher

OSS
Prod Ready

Kubernetes distribution focused on security and compliance for government use

Based on:

k3s RKE
on-premise self-hosted secure
SIGHUP logo

SIGHUP

OSS

Enterprise Kubernetes platform with pre-configured security and monitoring

on-premise self-hosted secure
TALM logo

TALM

Cozystack

OSS

Topology Aware Lifecycle Manager for managing OpenShift cluster upgrades

Based on:

Talos Linux
on-premise self-hosted openshift
tarook logo

tarook

OSS

Kubernetes deployment tool for on-premises and cloud infrastructure

Based on:

Terraform / Opentofu
on-premise self-hosted