Podman Alternatives

Podman is described as 'Daemon-less container runtime for managing containers, pods, and container images. It is intended as a counterpart to CRI-O, to provide low-level debugging not available through the CRI interface used by Kubernetes' and is an app in the system & hardware category. There are more than 10 alternatives to Podman for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Mac, Windows, Self-Hosted and Flathub apps. The best Podman alternative is Docker, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Podman are OrbStack, Pods, containerd and Crane.

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Podman alternatives are mainly Virtualization Tools but may also be Server Management Tools or Operating Systems.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Podman.
Podman iconPodman
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Podman is a daemon-less container runtime for managing containers, pods, and container images. It is intended as a counterpart to CRI-O, to provide low-level debugging not available through the CRI interface used by...

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Podman alternatives page was last updated Sep 27, 2024
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  1. Docker icon
    Docker icon

    Docker

     291 likes
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    Docker is an open-source engine that automates the deployment of any application as a lightweight, portable, self-sufficient container that will run virtually anywhere.

    29 Docker alternatives
    Docker screenshot 1

    License model

    • Freemium • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • TrueNAS
    Docker screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Container Virtualization
    2.  Virtualization
    3.  Server Management
    4.  Command line interface
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Portable
    7.  No registration required
    8.  Hypervisor
    Docker iconPodman Icon

    Docker VS Podman

    Is Docker a good alternative to Podman?
     

    • Docker is the most popular Web-based, Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Podman.

    • Docker is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Podman.

    • Docker is Freemium and Open SourcePodman is Free and Open Source
    • Docker is LightweightPodman is not according to our users
  2. OrbStack icon
    OrbStack icon

    OrbStack

     10 likes
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    OrbStack is an alternative to Docker Desktop for macOS, designed to offer improved performance for Docker and virtual machines on Linux running on Mac computers. It addresses performance issues that have been experienced in the past, particularly on models with Apple Silicon.

    7 OrbStack alternatives
    OrbStack screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free Personal • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac

    OrbStack Features

    1. Docker icon  Support for Docker
    2.  Fast speed
    OrbStack iconPodman Icon

    OrbStack VS Podman

    Is OrbStack a good alternative to Podman?
     
  4. Pods icon
    Pods icon

    Pods

     2 likes
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    Pods is a frontend for podman. It uses libadwaita for its user interface and strives to meet the design principles of GNOME.

    9 Pods alternatives
    Pods screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub

    Pods Features

    1.  Container Virtualization
    2.  Rust
    Pods screenshot 1
    Pods screenshot 2
    +3
    Pods screenshot 3
    Pods iconPodman Icon

    Pods VS Podman

    Is Pods a good alternative to Podman?
     
  5. containerd icon
    containerd icon

    containerd

     4 likes
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    An industry-standard container runtime with an emphasis on simplicity, robustness and portability

    21 containerd alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted

    containerd Features

    1.  Container Virtualization
    containerd iconPodman Icon

    containerd VS Podman

    Is containerd a good alternative to Podman?
     
  6. Crane icon
    Crane icon

    Crane

     7 likes
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    Crane is a container image tool that includes building local Docker images; connecting to DockerHub; listing local and remote container images; pushing local images to the DockerHub registry, and importing remote container images into an MLOps platform cluster.

    13 Crane alternatives
    Crane screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows

    Crane Features

    1.  Docker Container
    2. Docker icon  Support for Docker
    Crane screenshot 1
    Crane screenshot 2
    +5
    Crane screenshot 3
    Crane iconPodman Icon

    Crane VS Podman

    Is Crane a good alternative to Podman?
     
  7. rkt icon
    rkt icon

    rkt

     6 likes
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    rkt is the next-generation container manager for Linux clusters. Designed for security, simplicity, and composability within modern cluster architectures, rkt discovers, verifies, fetches, and executes application containers with pluggable isolation.

    13 rkt alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Discontinued

    According to their Github page at https://github.com/rkt/rkt, the project has been discontinued. The repository has been archived.

    rkt iconPodman Icon

    rkt VS Podman

    Is rkt a good alternative to Podman?
     
  9. Colima icon
    Colima icon

    Colima

     2 likes
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    Container runtimes on macOS (and Linux) with minimal setup.

    4 Colima alternatives
    Colima screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux

    Colima Features

    1. Docker icon  Support for Docker
    2.  Kubernetes
    Colima iconPodman Icon

    Colima VS Podman

    Is Colima a good alternative to Podman?
     
  10. CRI-O icon
    CRI-O icon

    CRI-O

     1 like
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    CRI-O is an implementation of the Kubernetes CRI (Container Runtime Interface) to enable using OCI (Open Container Initiative) compatible runtimes. It is a lightweight alternative to using Docker as the runtime for kubernetes.

    7 CRI-O alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux

    CRI-O Features

    1.  Container Virtualization
    CRI-O iconPodman Icon

    CRI-O VS Podman

    Is CRI-O a good alternative to Podman?
     
  11. Lilipod icon
    Lilipod icon

    Lilipod

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    Lilipod is a simple container manager, able to download, unpack and use OCI images from various container registries.

    3 Lilipod alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux

    Lilipod Features

    1. Docker icon  Support for Docker
    2.  Docker Container
    Lilipod iconPodman Icon

    Lilipod VS Podman

    Is Lilipod a good alternative to Podman?
     
  12. Dockercraft icon
    Dockercraft icon

    Dockercraft

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    Docker + Minecraft = Dockercraft. Contribute to docker/dockercraft development by creating an account on GitHub.

    16 Dockercraft alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Minecraft
    • Docker

    Dockercraft Features

    1.  Hypervisor
    2. Docker icon  Support for Docker
    Discontinued

    The GitHub repository has been archived in August 2024.

    Dockercraft iconPodman Icon

    Dockercraft VS Podman

    Is Dockercraft a good alternative to Podman?
     
  13. Skopeo icon
    Skopeo icon

    Skopeo

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    Skopeo is a command line utility that performs various operations on container images and image repositories.

    11 Skopeo alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Raspberry Pi
    • Mac
    • Homebrew

    Skopeo Features

    1.  Command line interface
    Skopeo iconPodman Icon

    Skopeo VS Podman

    Is Skopeo a good alternative to Podman?
     
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