List of the Top 22 Free Container Orchestration Software in 2025

Google Cloud Platform provides Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), a fully managed solution designed for container orchestration. GKE streamlines the oversight of Kubernetes clusters by automating essential tasks like scaling, load balancing, and conducting rolling updates. New users can take advantage of $300 in free credits to experiment with, test, and deploy their containerized applications on GCP, allowing them to gain hands-on experience with container orchestration while keeping initial expenses low. The service is also well-integrated with GCP’s monitoring and logging capabilities, offering comprehensive insights into application health and performance. Furthermore, GKE facilitates multi-cluster management, enabling organizations to deploy containerized applications seamlessly across various regions. This orchestration platform is perfect for businesses aiming to expand their containerized applications globally without sacrificing reliability or security.

Kasm Workspaces enables you to access your work environment seamlessly through your web browser, regardless of the device or location you are in. This innovative platform is transforming the delivery of digital workspaces for organizations by utilizing open-source, web-native container streaming technology, which allows for a contemporary approach to Desktop as a Service, application streaming, and secure browser isolation. Beyond just a service, Kasm functions as a versatile platform equipped with a powerful API that can be tailored to suit your specific requirements, accommodating any scale of operation. Workspaces can be implemented wherever necessary, whether on-premise—including in Air-Gapped Networks—within cloud environments (both public and private), or through a hybrid approach that combines elements of both. Additionally, Kasm's flexibility ensures that it can adapt to the evolving needs of modern businesses.

Kubernetes lays a strong groundwork for innovative concepts, allowing developers to accelerate their project delivery through a top-tier hybrid cloud and enterprise container platform. Red Hat OpenShift enhances this experience by automating installations, updates, and providing extensive lifecycle management for the entire container environment, which includes the operating system, Kubernetes, cluster services, and applications across various cloud platforms. As a result, teams can work with increased speed, adaptability, reliability, and a multitude of options available to them. By enabling coding in production mode at the developer's preferred location, it encourages a return to impactful work. With a focus on security integrated throughout the container framework and application lifecycle, Red Hat OpenShift delivers strong, long-term enterprise support from a key player in the Kubernetes and open-source arena. It is equipped to manage even the most intensive workloads, such as AI/ML, Java, data analytics, and databases, among others. Additionally, it facilitates deployment and lifecycle management through a diverse range of technology partners, ensuring that operational requirements are effortlessly met. This blend of capabilities cultivates a setting where innovation can flourish without any constraints, empowering teams to push the boundaries of what is possible. In such an environment, the potential for groundbreaking advancements becomes limitless.

Appvia Wayfinder offers an innovative solution for managing your cloud infrastructure efficiently. It empowers developers with self-service capabilities, enabling them to seamlessly manage and provision cloud resources. At the heart of Wayfinder lies a security-first approach, founded on the principles of least privilege and isolation, ensuring that your resources remain protected. Platform teams will appreciate the centralized control, which allows for guidance and adherence to organizational standards. Moreover, Wayfinder enhances visibility by providing a unified view of your clusters, applications, and resources across all three major cloud providers. By adopting Appvia Wayfinder, you can join the ranks of top engineering teams around the globe that trust it for their cloud deployments. Don't fall behind your competitors; harness the power of Wayfinder and witness a significant boost in your team's efficiency and productivity. With its comprehensive features, Wayfinder is not just a tool; it’s a game changer for cloud management.

Portainer Business simplifies the management of containers across various environments, from data centers to edge locations, and is compatible with Docker, Swarm, and Kubernetes, earning the trust of over 500,000 users. Its user-friendly graphical interface and robust Kube-compatible API empower anyone to easily deploy and manage containerized applications, troubleshoot container issues, establish automated Git workflows, and create user-friendly CaaS environments. The platform is compatible with all Kubernetes distributions and can be deployed either on-premises or in the cloud, making it ideal for collaborative settings with multiple users and clusters. Designed with a suite of security features, including RBAC, OAuth integration, and comprehensive logging, it is well-suited for large-scale, complex production environments. For platform managers aiming to provide a self-service CaaS environment, Portainer offers a range of tools to regulate user permissions effectively and mitigate risks associated with container deployment in production. Additionally, Portainer Business comes with full support and a detailed onboarding process that ensures seamless implementation and fast-tracks your operational readiness. This commitment to user experience and security makes it a preferred choice for organizations looking to streamline their container management.

Ambassador Edge Stack serves as a Kubernetes-native API Gateway that delivers ease of use, robust security, and the capability to scale for extensive Kubernetes environments globally. It simplifies the process of securing microservices by offering a comprehensive suite of security features, which encompass automatic TLS, authentication, and rate limiting, along with optional WAF integration. Additionally, it facilitates fine-grained access control, allowing for precise management of user permissions. This API Gateway functions as an ingress controller based on Kubernetes, and it accommodates an extensive array of protocols, such as gRPC, gRPC Web, and TLS termination, while also providing traffic management controls that help maintain resource availability and optimize performance. Overall, Ambassador Edge Stack is designed to meet the complex needs of modern cloud-native applications.

Presenting a comprehensive networking solution that combines connectivity, security, and adaptability at a significantly lower cost. You can effortlessly deploy a VNS3 image through numerous public cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, and GCP. Moreover, we offer an uncomplicated method for sharing private images, and we are readily available to share a private image with your account upon request. In addition, we can provide a VDI/VDK file that you can easily integrate into your chosen environment, be it VMWare or a secured cloud infrastructure. Our committed support team at Cohesive Networks can deliver a license within minutes, guaranteeing a hassle-free experience. Upgrading your VNS3 controller license is an easy process that can be executed through the VNS3 console or via the API. An optional enhancement, the VNS3 Overlay Network, further optimizes your setup by delivering end-to-end encryption, superior performance in most cloud environments, and enhanced IP address mobility across different regions and cloud providers. This overlay network operates atop the existing networking layers, ensuring functionality independent of the underlying hardware and software, while still depending on those native networking layers. To conclude, this innovative solution not only simplifies your networking requirements but also provides you with unmatched flexibility and robust security, making it an ideal choice for modern enterprises.

You have the option to utilize your preferred debugging software to address issues with your Kubernetes services on a local level. Telepresence, an open-source solution, facilitates the execution of a single service locally while maintaining a connection to a remote Kubernetes cluster. Originally created by Ambassador Labs, known for their open-source development tools like Ambassador and Forge, Telepresence encourages community participation through issue submissions, pull requests, and bug reporting. Engaging in our vibrant Slack community is a great way to ask questions or explore available paid support options. The development of Telepresence is ongoing, and by registering, you can stay informed about updates and announcements. This tool enables you to debug locally without the delays associated with building, pushing, or deploying containers. Additionally, it allows users to leverage their preferred local tools such as debuggers and integrated development environments (IDEs), while also supporting the execution of large-scale applications that may not be feasible to run locally. Furthermore, the ability to connect a local environment to a remote cluster significantly enhances the debugging process and overall development workflow.

Bacula Enterprise delivers a comprehensive platform designed specifically for cloud backup and recovery tailored to the needs of the Modern Data Center, making it particularly suitable for medium to large enterprises. This software stands out due to its innovative features, contemporary architecture, and significant business value, all while maintaining a low total cost of ownership. By leveraging distinctive technologies, Bacula Enterprise enhances its compatibility across diverse IT environments, which include managed service providers, software vendors, enterprise data centers, and various cloud providers. Thousands of organizations worldwide, including prestigious institutions like NASA, Texas A&M University, and Unicredit, rely on Bacula Enterprise for their mission-critical operations. Additionally, Bacula outperforms competing vendors by offering superior security features and advanced hybrid cloud connectivity options to major platforms such as Amazon S3, Google, and Oracle, ensuring that businesses can safeguard their data effectively. The robust capabilities of Bacula Enterprise make it an invaluable asset for organizations seeking reliable data protection and recovery solutions.

Harpoon is an easy-to-use drag-and-drop application tailored for Kubernetes, enabling rapid software deployment in mere seconds. Whether you're new to Kubernetes or looking for a streamlined method to enhance your skills, Harpoon provides all the essential tools needed for the successful deployment and configuration of applications on this top-tier container orchestration platform, eliminating the necessity of writing any code. Its user-friendly visual interface allows anyone to effortlessly launch software that is ready for production. You can manage anything from simple applications to complex enterprise-level cloud deployments, facilitating software deployment and configuration while enabling autoscaling in Kubernetes without requiring code or configuration scripts. With just one click, you can quickly search for and deploy any available commercial or open-source software to the cloud. Furthermore, Harpoon prioritizes security by running automated security scripts prior to the launch of any applications or services, ensuring the safety of your cloud provider account. Additionally, you can easily connect Harpoon to your source code repository from virtually any location, establishing an automated deployment pipeline that guarantees a seamless development process. This efficient methodology not only conserves time but also boosts productivity, making Harpoon an indispensable resource for developers aiming to optimize their workflow. As a result, developers can focus more on innovation rather than being bogged down by tedious setup processes.

Mogenius provides a comprehensive platform that combines visibility, observability, and automation for efficient management of Kubernetes. By linking and visualizing Kubernetes clusters and workloads, it guarantees that the entire team has access to essential insights. Users can quickly identify misconfigurations in their workloads and implement fixes directly through the mogenius interface. The platform enhances Kubernetes operations with features such as service catalogs, which promote developer self-service and the creation of temporary environments. This self-service functionality simplifies the deployment process for developers, enabling them to operate more effectively. Moreover, mogenius aids in optimizing resource distribution and curbing configuration drift through standardized and automated workflows. By removing repetitive tasks and encouraging resource reuse via service catalogs, your team's productivity can significantly improve. Achieve complete visibility into your Kubernetes infrastructure and deploy a cloud-agnostic Kubernetes operator for an integrated perspective of your clusters and workloads. Additionally, developers can swiftly create local and ephemeral testing environments that mirror the production setup in mere clicks, guaranteeing a smooth development journey. Ultimately, mogenius equips teams with the tools necessary to manage their Kubernetes environments more effortlessly and efficiently while fostering innovation and collaboration.

We are excited to present a self-service development platform specifically designed for your applications, databases, and a variety of tasks. You can start with just one workload and easily scale up to handle hundreds, using either compute resources or GPUs. Every stage from code deployment to production can be enhanced with customizable self-service workflows, pipelines, templates, and GitOps methodologies. You can confidently launch environments for preview, staging, and production, all while taking advantage of integrated observability tools, backup and restoration features, and options for rolling back if needed. Northflank works seamlessly with your favorite tools, accommodating any technology stack you prefer. Whether you utilize Northflank's secure environment or your own cloud account, you will experience the same exceptional developer journey, along with total control over where your data resides, your deployment regions, security protocols, and cloud expenses. By leveraging Kubernetes as its underlying operating system, Northflank delivers the benefits of a cloud-native setting without the usual challenges. Whether you choose Northflank’s user-friendly cloud service or link to your GKE, EKS, AKS, or even bare-metal configurations, you can establish a managed platform experience in just minutes, thereby streamlining your development process. This adaptability guarantees that your projects can grow effectively while ensuring high performance across various environments, ultimately empowering your development team to focus on innovation.

An adaptable and user-friendly workload orchestrator, this tool is crafted to deploy and manage both containerized and non-containerized applications effortlessly across large-scale on-premises and cloud settings. Weighing in at just 35MB, it is a compact binary that integrates seamlessly into your current infrastructure. Offering a straightforward operational experience in both environments, it maintains low overhead, ensuring efficient performance. This orchestrator is not confined to merely handling containers; rather, it excels in supporting a wide array of applications, including Docker, Windows, Java, VMs, and beyond. By leveraging orchestration capabilities, it significantly enhances the performance of existing services. Users can enjoy the benefits of zero downtime deployments, higher resilience, and better resource use, all without the necessity of containerization. A simple command empowers multi-region and multi-cloud federation, allowing for global application deployment in any desired region through Nomad, which acts as a unified control plane. This approach simplifies workflows when deploying applications to both bare metal and cloud infrastructures. Furthermore, Nomad encourages the development of multi-cloud applications with exceptional ease, working in harmony with Terraform, Consul, and Vault to provide effective provisioning, service networking, and secrets management, thus establishing itself as an essential tool for contemporary application management. In a rapidly evolving technological landscape, having a comprehensive solution like this can significantly streamline the deployment and management processes.

Aptible offers an integrated solution to implement critical security protocols necessary for regulatory compliance and customer audits seamlessly. Through its Aptible Deploy feature, users can easily uphold compliance standards while addressing customer audit requirements. The platform guarantees that databases, network traffic, and certificates are encrypted securely, satisfying all relevant encryption regulations. Automatic data backups occur every 24 hours, with the option for manual backups at any time, and restoring data is simplified to just a few clicks. In addition, it maintains detailed logs for each deployment, changes in configuration, database tunnels, console activities, and user sessions, ensuring thorough documentation. Aptible also provides continuous monitoring of EC2 instances within your infrastructure to detect potential security vulnerabilities like unauthorized SSH access, rootkit infections, file integrity discrepancies, and privilege escalation attempts. Furthermore, the dedicated Aptible Security Team is on standby 24/7 to quickly investigate and resolve any security incidents, keeping your systems protected. This proactive security management allows you to concentrate on your primary business objectives, confident that your security needs are in capable hands. By prioritizing security, Aptible empowers businesses to thrive without the constant worry of compliance risks.

Nebula, the container orchestration platform, is crafted to enable developers and operations teams to oversee IoT devices in a manner akin to distributed Docker applications. Its main objective is to act as a Docker orchestrator that not only caters to IoT devices but also supports distributed services, including CDN and edge computing, potentially reaching thousands or even millions of devices worldwide, all while being entirely open-source and free to utilize. As an initiative rooted in open-source principles and focused on enhancing Docker orchestration, Nebula adeptly manages large clusters by allowing each project component to scale in response to demand. This groundbreaking platform allows for the simultaneous updates of tens of thousands of IoT devices globally with just a single API call, emphasizing its goal of treating IoT devices similarly to Dockerized applications. Additionally, the adaptability and scalability of Nebula position it as a compelling solution for the constantly evolving fields of IoT and distributed computing, making it an essential tool for future technological advancements. Its ability to streamline device management and ensure efficient updates signals a significant leap forward for developers and organizations looking to optimize their IoT infrastructure.

Marathon is a powerful container orchestration tool that works in harmony with Mesosphere’s Datacenter Operating System (DC/OS) and Apache Mesos to provide exceptional high availability through its active/passive clustering and leader election strategies, ensuring uninterrupted service. It is compatible with multiple container runtimes, offering seamless integration for Mesos containers that utilize cgroups and Docker, making it suitable for a variety of development ecosystems. Furthermore, Marathon enables the deployment of stateful applications by allowing users to attach persistent storage volumes to their applications, which proves advantageous for running data-driven databases like MySQL and Postgres under Mesos management. The platform features a user-friendly and robust interface, alongside an array of service discovery and load balancing solutions tailored to meet different requirements. Health checks are conducted to assess application performance through HTTP or TCP protocols, thereby enhancing reliability. Additionally, users can establish event subscriptions by supplying an HTTP endpoint to receive notifications, facilitating integration with external load balancers. Metrics can be accessed in JSON format at the /metrics endpoint and can also be integrated with popular monitoring systems such as Graphite, StatsD, DataDog, or scraped by Prometheus, thereby allowing for thorough monitoring and evaluation of application performance. This array of capabilities makes Marathon an adaptable and effective solution for managing containerized applications, ensuring that developers have the tools they need for efficient orchestration and management. Ultimately, its features not only streamline operational processes but also enhance the overall deployment experience for various applications.

Helios acts as a platform for Docker orchestration, facilitating the deployment and management of containerized applications across a diverse range of servers. It provides users with both an HTTP API and a command-line interface, ensuring smooth interaction with their container-hosting servers. Furthermore, Helios keeps track of important events within the cluster, documenting activities such as deployments, restarts, and version changes. The binary version is tailored for Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS, yet it can also operate on any system that supports at least Java 8 and a recent iteration of Maven 3. In addition, users can utilize helios-solo to create a local setup that includes both a Helios master and an agent. Helios takes a practical stance; although it does not strive to tackle every issue right away, it focuses on providing reliable performance with its existing features. As a result, certain capabilities, including resource limits and dynamic scheduling, are still in development. Currently, the primary emphasis is on refining CI/CD applications and associated tools, but there are intentions to eventually introduce advanced features such as dynamic scheduling and composite jobs. This ongoing development of Helios illustrates a commitment to enhancing user experience and adaptability to feedback. Ultimately, the platform aims to evolve continually in response to the changing needs of its users.

Data-driven computational workflows can be effectively managed with Nextflow, which facilitates reproducible and scalable scientific processes through the use of software containers. This platform enables the adaptation of scripts from various popular scripting languages, making it versatile. The Fluent DSL within Nextflow simplifies the implementation and deployment of intricate reactive and parallel workflows across clusters and cloud environments. It was developed with the conviction that Linux serves as the universal language for data science. By leveraging Nextflow, users can streamline the creation of computational pipelines that amalgamate multiple tasks seamlessly. Existing scripts and tools can be easily reused, and there's no necessity to learn a new programming language to utilize Nextflow effectively. Furthermore, Nextflow supports various container technologies, including Docker and Singularity, enhancing its flexibility. The integration with the GitHub code-sharing platform enables the crafting of self-contained pipelines, efficient version management, rapid reproduction of any configuration, and seamless incorporation of shared code. Acting as an abstraction layer, Nextflow connects the logical framework of your pipeline with its execution mechanics, allowing for greater efficiency in managing complex workflows. This makes it a powerful tool for researchers looking to enhance their computational capabilities.

k0s stands out as the only Kubernetes distribution that is straightforward, reliable, and officially certified, functioning seamlessly across various infrastructures such as bare metal, on-premises setups, private clouds, edge devices, IoT environments, and public cloud services. It is available without any cost and adheres to open-source principles. The installation and operation of Kubernetes with k0s is remarkably uncomplicated, significantly minimizing the complexities typically associated with setting up and managing Kubernetes environments. New kube clusters can be bootstrapped in just a few minutes, ensuring that even those without specialized skills can begin their development journey without encountering any obstacles. k0s operates as a singular binary, possessing no dependencies on the host operating system aside from its kernel, which allows it to run on any OS without the need for additional software installations. This design ensures that any security vulnerabilities or performance issues can be promptly addressed directly within the k0s distribution. Furthermore, k0s is entirely free for both commercial and personal use, with a commitment to remaining so indefinitely. The complete source code is accessible on GitHub, distributed under the Apache 2 license, fostering a collaborative environment for developers. This commitment to openness not only enhances innovation but also builds a strong community around k0s, making it an attractive option for developers everywhere.

Mesos operates on principles akin to those of the Linux kernel; however, it does so at a higher abstraction level. Its kernel spans across all machines, enabling applications like Hadoop, Spark, Kafka, and Elasticsearch by providing APIs that oversee resource management and scheduling for entire data centers and cloud systems. Moreover, Mesos possesses native functionalities for launching containers with Docker and AppC images. This capability allows both cloud-native and legacy applications to coexist within a single cluster, while also supporting customizable scheduling policies tailored to specific needs. Users gain access to HTTP APIs that facilitate the development of new distributed applications, alongside tools dedicated to cluster management and monitoring. Additionally, the platform features a built-in Web UI, which empowers users to monitor the status of the cluster and browse through container sandboxes, improving overall operability and visibility. This comprehensive framework not only enhances user experience but also positions Mesos as a highly adaptable choice for efficiently managing intricate application deployments in diverse environments. Its design fosters scalability and flexibility, making it suitable for organizations of varying sizes and requirements.

Centurion serves as a specialized deployment tool tailored for Docker, streamlining the process of fetching containers from a Docker registry to deploy them across various hosts while making sure that the right environment variables, host volume mappings, and port settings are configured correctly. It features built-in support for rolling deployments, which simplifies the application delivery process to Docker servers within production environments. The deployment process is structured in two stages: first, the container is built and pushed to the registry, and then Centurion transfers it from the registry to the Docker infrastructure. Integration with the registry utilizes Docker command line tools, ensuring compatibility with existing solutions that adhere to standard registry practices. For those new to registries, gaining an understanding of their functions is recommended prior to using Centurion for deployments. The development of Centurion is conducted transparently, promoting community engagement through issues and pull requests, and is consistently updated by a dedicated team at New Relic. This community-driven approach not only fosters continuous enhancement but also ensures that the tool adapts effectively to the evolving needs of its users, encouraging a dynamic feedback loop. As a result, Centurion stands out as a robust solution for managing Docker deployments that can evolve alongside user requirements.

The leading platform for Kubernetes allows for its deployment in production environments. This platform ensures persistent storage, data security, backup management, capacity oversight, and disaster recovery solutions. It facilitates the seamless backup, restoration, and migration of Kubernetes applications across various cloud environments or data centers. With Portworx Enterprise Storage Platform, users gain comprehensive storage, data management, and security for their Kubernetes initiatives. This solution accommodates container-based services such as CaaS and DBaaS, along with SaaS and disaster recovery functionalities. Applications benefit from container-specific storage options, robust disaster recovery capabilities, and enhanced data protection. Additionally, the platform supports multi-cloud migrations, making it easier to address enterprise-level demands for Kubernetes data services. Users can enjoy cloud-like DBaaS accessibility without relinquishing control over their data. By simplifying operational complexities, it scales the backend data services that underpin your SaaS applications. Disaster recovery can be integrated into any Kubernetes application with a single command, ensuring that all Kubernetes applications are readily backed up and restorable whenever necessary. This efficiency empowers organizations to maintain control while leveraging the advantages of cloud technologies.