Popular Kubernetes Distributions Compared (2026)

Choosing a Kubernetes distribution is one of the first decisions platform teams face. The ecosystem now includes over 200 certified options — from lightweight single-node setups to enterprise platforms managing thousands of clusters.

Here’s a practical comparison of the most popular distributions, what each is best suited for, and how to decide.

What Is a Kubernetes Distribution?

A Kubernetes distribution is a packaged version of upstream Kubernetes that adds installation tooling, default configurations, and often additional features like networking, storage, and security integrations.

Think of it like Linux distributions: Ubuntu, Red Hat, and Alpine all run the Linux kernel, but each packages it differently for different use cases. Kubernetes distributions work the same way.

The Major Distributions

Managed Cloud Services (Hosted)

These are fully managed — the cloud provider handles the control plane, upgrades, and infrastructure.

Amazon EKS — The market leader (~42% share). Tight integration with AWS services (IAM, VPC, ALB). Supports both cloud and on-premises deployment (EKS Anywhere). Best for teams already invested in AWS.

Google GKE — Built by the team that created Kubernetes. Fastest to adopt new K8s versions (often same-day support for new releases). Autopilot mode eliminates node management entirely. Best for teams wanting the most “pure” Kubernetes experience.

Azure AKS — Deep integration with Azure Active Directory and Azure DevOps. Strong Windows container support. Free control plane (you only pay for worker nodes). Best for Microsoft-centric enterprises.

DigitalOcean Kubernetes (DOKS) — Simplest managed option. Free control plane, straightforward pricing. Limited to smaller scale. Best for startups and small teams.

Self-Managed (On-Premises / Hybrid)

kubeadm — The official Kubernetes bootstrapping tool. Minimal opinions — gives you vanilla upstream Kubernetes. Requires you to handle networking, storage, and upgrades yourself. Best for teams that want full control and understand the internals.

Red Hat OpenShift — Enterprise Kubernetes platform with built-in CI/CD (Tekton), developer portal, and strict security defaults (SELinux, SCCs). Runs on any infrastructure. Opinionated but comprehensive. Best for regulated enterprises that need a complete platform, not just an orchestrator.

Rancher (by SUSE) — Multi-cluster management platform. Can manage EKS, GKE, AKS, and on-prem clusters from a single dashboard. Includes its own lightweight distribution (RKE2). Best for teams managing Kubernetes across multiple environments.

VMware Tanzu — Integrates Kubernetes into existing VMware infrastructure. Lets teams run containers alongside traditional VMs. Best for organisations transitioning from VMware to containers gradually.

Lightweight / Edge Distributions

k3s — Rancher’s lightweight Kubernetes distribution. Single binary under 100MB. Ideal for edge computing, IoT, CI/CD pipelines, and development environments. Strips out cloud-provider-specific code and uses SQLite instead of etcd by default.

MicroK8s (Canonical) — Snap-packaged Kubernetes from the Ubuntu team. Zero-ops single-node to multi-node clusters. Strong add-on ecosystem (Istio, Knative, GPU support). Best for developer workstations and Ubuntu-based infrastructure.

minikube — Local Kubernetes for development and testing. Runs inside a VM or container on your laptop. Not intended for production. Best for learning Kubernetes and local development.

kind (Kubernetes in Docker) — Runs Kubernetes clusters using Docker containers as nodes. Designed for testing Kubernetes itself. Extremely fast to spin up and tear down. Best for CI/CD pipelines and integration testing.

Comparison Table

How to Choose

Start with this question: Who manages the infrastructure?

• “Not us” → Managed service (EKS, GKE, AKS). Pick based on your cloud provider.
• “Us, on our hardware” → kubeadm (DIY), OpenShift (enterprise), or Rancher (multi-cluster).
• “It’s for development/testing” → k3s, minikube, or kind.
• “It’s for edge/IoT” → k3s or MicroK8s.

Then consider:

1. Team size: Small teams benefit from managed services or opinionated platforms. Large platform teams can handle kubeadm.

2. Compliance requirements: Regulated industries often need OpenShift or Tanzu for their built-in security controls.

3. Multi-cloud needs: Rancher or Anthos (Google’s hybrid offering) if you’re running across providers.

4. Version freshness: If running the latest Kubernetes version matters, GKE and kubeadm track upstream fastest.

Version Support Across Distributions

Not all distributions support the same Kubernetes versions at the same time. When upstream Kubernetes releases version 1.35, managed providers typically need 1-4 weeks to certify and offer it.

Check current version support for any distribution on our Kubernetes Releases hub, which tracks every supported version with live health grades and EOL dates.

Key dates to know:

• Kubernetes 1.32 reaches end of life February 28, 2026
• Kubernetes 1.36 expected April 2026

Track all Kubernetes versions, EOL dates, and security status in real time at ReleaseRun.

Maintained by ReleaseRun — tracking release health for 300+ software products. Last updated: February 2026.

Related Reading

• Kubernetes 1.32 End of Life: Migration Playbook — EOL Feb 28 — upgrade path for every distribution
• Kubernetes Statistics and Adoption Trends in 2026 — which distributions are gaining market share
• Docker vs Kubernetes in Production (2026) — when you don’t need a full K8s distribution
• Kubernetes EOL Policy Explained — how the support lifecycle affects your distribution choice
• Gateway API vs Ingress vs LoadBalancer — networking options across distributions

Quick comparison commands

Words are cheap. Run these to actually compare distributions on your hardware:

# k3s - single binary, 5 seconds to cluster
curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -
kubectl get nodes  # already running

# k0s - zero dependencies
curl -sSLf https://get.k0sproject.io | sudo sh
sudo k0s install controller --single
sudo k0s start
sudo k0s kubectl get nodes

# MicroK8s - snap-based
sudo snap install microk8s --classic
microk8s status --wait-ready
microk8s kubectl get nodes

# Kind - for local dev/CI
kind create cluster --name test
kubectl cluster-info

Resource usage comparison

The biggest practical difference between distributions is resource overhead. Measure it yourself:

# After installing each distribution, measure baseline resource usage
# Memory footprint (idle cluster, no workloads)
kubectl top nodes 2>/dev/null || echo "metrics-server not installed"

# Process memory on the node
ps aux | grep -E "kubelet|kube-api|etcd|k3s|k0s" | awk '{sum+=$6} END {print sum/1024 "MB"}'

# Disk usage
du -sh /var/lib/rancher/k3s/ 2>/dev/null    # k3s
du -sh /var/lib/k0s/ 2>/dev/null              # k0s
du -sh /var/snap/microk8s/ 2>/dev/null        # microk8s

# Time to first pod (from clean install)
time kubectl run test --image=nginx --restart=Never
kubectl wait --for=condition=Ready pod/test --timeout=60s
kubectl delete pod test

Migration checklist

Switching distributions is not trivial. Use this checklist to plan:

# 1. Export current workloads
kubectl get all -A -o yaml > full-cluster-export.yaml

# 2. Check for distribution-specific features you depend on
# k3s: Traefik, local-path-provisioner, ServiceLB
# MicroK8s: addons (dns, storage, ingress)
# RKE2: CIS hardening, Canal CNI
kubectl get helmcharts -A 2>/dev/null  # k3s Helm controller
microk8s status 2>/dev/null            # MicroK8s addons

# 3. Verify API compatibility
kubectl api-versions | sort > api-versions-current.txt
# Compare with target distribution

Check which K8s APIs your manifests use with the K8s Deprecation Checker. Compare cloud-managed K8s versions with the Cloud K8s Tracker. Full version timeline at our Kubernetes Release Tracker.

Official resources:

• k3s – Lightweight Kubernetes
• k0s – Zero Friction Kubernetes
• MicroK8s by Canonical