Skip to content
SPECIFICTION
Get listed

Crossplane

crossplane.io

Free plan Self-hosted
Visit crossplane.io
Spec score 7.6 #18 of 35 in Cloud Management Software

What it is

Crossplane is a free, open-source CNCF framework for building control planes that manage cloud-native software. Its Composition feature lets teams define custom APIs with pipelines of functions instead of maintaining controllers. Managed resources are Kubernetes custom resources that can represent external services such as AWS RDS instances. Community providers cover AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, GitHub, GitLab and Argo CD, among others. A package manager installs managed resources and composition functions and can distribute configurations across control planes. Crossplane installs into an existing Kubernetes cluster with a Helm chart; the guide requires an actively supported Kubernetes version and Helm v3.2.0 or later. Operations support one-time, scheduled and resource-change-triggered pipelines, but are marked alpha in Crossplane v2. The framework uses Kubernetes RBAC. Its default crossplane-admin ClusterRole has full access to secrets and namespaces and can bind roles to other entities. The project is Apache 2.0 licensed and identifies as vendor neutral.

Spec sheet

Purpose
Crossplane is a control plane framework for platform engineering that lets teams build control planes to manage cloud native software.Read 9 Oct 2026 · docs.crossplane.io
Deployment
Crossplane installs into an existing Kubernetes cluster using a Helm chart; the installation guide requires an actively supported Kubernetes version and Helm v3.2.0 or later.Read 9 Oct 2026 · docs.crossplane.io
Integrations
The community extension list includes providers for AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, GitHub, GitLab, Argo CD, and other services.Read 9 Oct 2026 · docs.crossplane.io
Security
Crossplane is built on Kubernetes and uses Kubernetes RBAC; its website describes RBAC as a security feature used to control access.Read 9 Oct 2026 · crossplane.io
Support
The commercial page lists Upbound as offering security, support, official providers, and a platform for managing infrastructure with Crossplane.Read 9 Oct 2026 · crossplane.io
CLI
The Crossplane CLI is a standalone binary; most CLI commands work without access to a Crossplane pod, though some require a Docker-compatible container runtime.Read 9 Oct 2026 · docs.crossplane.io
Custom APIs
Composition lets users build custom APIs for cloud native software using pipelines of functions instead of writing and maintaining controllers.Read 9 Oct 2026 · docs.crossplane.io
License and governance
Crossplane is an open-source CNCF project released under the Apache 2.0 license, and its website says it will remain vendor neutral.Read 9 Oct 2026 · crossplane.io
Managed resources
Managed resources are Kubernetes custom resources that let Crossplane manage external services such as AWS RDS instances.Read 9 Oct 2026 · docs.crossplane.io
Operations
Operations support one-time, scheduled, and resource-change-triggered function pipelines, and the documentation marks Operations as an alpha feature in Crossplane v2.Read 9 Oct 2026 · docs.crossplane.io
Packages
The package manager installs managed resources and composition functions and can distribute control-plane configurations across multiple control planes.Read 9 Oct 2026 · docs.crossplane.io
RBAC permissions
The default crossplane-admin ClusterRole has full access to all secrets and namespaces, including ones unrelated to Crossplane, and can bind RBAC roles to other entities.Read 9 Oct 2026 · docs.crossplane.io

Plans and prices

Crossplane open-source project Free Apache 2.0 license · runs in an existing Kubernetes cluster Read 9 Oct 2026 · crossplane.io

Every Crossplane plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Open-source Apache 2.0 license
  • Builds custom APIs with function pipelines
  • Providers for major clouds and services
  • Installs into an existing Kubernetes cluster
  • Supports policy, drift detection and resource import

Limits

  • Requires an actively supported Kubernetes version
  • Helm 3.2.0 or later is required
  • Operations are alpha in Crossplane v2
  • Default admin role has broad permissions

Who it suits

It suits platform-engineering teams that want self-hosted control planes on Kubernetes and custom APIs for cloud resources. Operators should understand Kubernetes administration and the broad default RBAC permissions.

Verdict

Crossplane offers a Kubernetes-native way to compose APIs and manage external infrastructure through self-hosted control planes. Its provider ecosystem and package model are useful for platform teams, while installation prerequisites and default RBAC breadth require careful administration.

Where Specifiction places it

Alternatives to CrossplaneAll alternatives →