Best Container Engines in 2026
29 container engines ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
29ranked
25free plans on this page
$2.08/molowest paid tier
3 Oct 2026last checked
#1 LXD Top pick · 8.8 Free plan · $2.08/mo
#2 Incus Runner-up · 8.7 Free plan · Free
#3 Podman Also great · 8.6 Free plan · Free
- Free planFree trial apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial$2.08/mofirst paid tier About LXDVisit site - Free plan apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
- Windows containers
- No
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
- Windows containers
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trialFree About MobyVisit site - Free plan apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
- Windows containers
- No
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linuxself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- No
- Kubernetes CRI
- Yes
- Windows containers
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
- Windows containers
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
- Windows containers
- No
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
- Windows containers
- No
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linuxself-hosted
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Windows containers
- No
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trialFree About crunVisit site - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
- Kubernetes CRI
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
- Windows containers
- No
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Kubernetes CRI
- Yes
- Windows containers
- No
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Image building
- No
- Kubernetes CRI
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
- Kubernetes CRI
- Yes
- Windows containers
- No
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trialFree About LXCVisit site - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Kubernetes CRI
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- No
- Windows containers
- No
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trialFree About runcVisit site - Free plan
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- No
- Image building
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- No
- Kubernetes CRI
- No
- Windows containers
- No
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan macOS
- Free plan
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
- Windows containers
- No
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Windows containers
- No
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial - Free plan Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rootless mode
- Yes
- Image building
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedPlatformsFree planFree trial
Is your tool on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which container engine is ranked first on Specifiction?
LXD is ranked #1 of 29 with a score of 8.8. Incus is second and Podman third.
How many of these have a free plan?
25 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, LXD has the lowest first paid tier we found: $2.08/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing. Paid placements never change a rank.
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