Apache CloudStack vs Canonical OpenStack
Apache CloudStack
cloudstack.apache.org
Canonical OpenStack
canonical.comSide by side
| Figure | Apache CloudStack | Canonical OpenStack |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 3 |
| Spec score · Cloud Management Software | 9.0 (#3) | 9.4 (#1) |
| CLI | CloudMonkey is the project’s command-line and shell environment for interacting with CloudStack clouds. | The OpenStack client command line interface supports bulk operations and administrative automation. |
| Documentation depth | Official documentation covers concepts, topology, quick installation, full installation, administration and complex configurations. | Official documentation includes tutorials, step-by-step how-to guides, technical reference material and conceptual explanations. |
| Extensibility | A pluggable adapter framework supports custom hypervisor, storage, network and authentication integrations. | Deployment and operation use Juju charms, Rocks OCI images and Snaps as extensible artifacts. |
| Integrations | The integrations page lists Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, Prometheus, VMware NSX, Ceph, MinIO, and billing portal integrations. | The product includes an expandable Kubernetes layer, an integrated observability stack, Landscape system management and MAAS bare metal automation. |
| Licence | The project is open source under the Apache License 2.0. | OpenStack software is fully open source and existing OpenStack software uses the Apache License 2.0. |
| Purpose | Apache CloudStack deploys and manages large networks of virtual machines as a highly available, scalable IaaS cloud platform. | Canonical OpenStack lets organizations host applications in their own data center with a public cloud-like experience. |
| Rating on Capterra | 5.0 out of 5 from 1 review | 4.6 out of 5 from 13 reviews |
| Rating on G2 | 4.4 out of 5 from 27 reviews | 4.2 out of 5 from 14 reviews |
| Rating on TrustRadius | 9.4 out of 10 from 18 reviews | 9 out of 10 from 23 reviews |
| Storage | Storage capabilities include iSCSI, NFS, Ceph RBD with KVM, block volumes, encryption, snapshots, templates and ISO management. | Canonical Ceph is included by default and supports up to 128 TB of data per node, according to the features page. |
| Support | Users can seek community help through the project mailing list, and the project says some companies offer commercial support. | Commercial support includes 24/7 phone and ticket coverage, with a stated one-hour response time for Severity 1 issues. |
| What it does | Apache CloudStack deploys and manages large virtual-machine networks as a highly available, scalable IaaS platform. | Canonical OpenStack provides elastic, on-demand compute, networking and storage through a self-service portal or upstream OpenStack APIs. |
Plans
Canonical OpenStack
- Canonical OpenStackFree
- Private Cloud Build$75,000, paid once
- Private Cloud Build PlusPrice not published
In their own words
Apache CloudStack
Apache CloudStack is free, open-source software for deploying and managing networks of virtual machines as a highly available, scalable IaaS cloud platform. Organizations can use it to build public, private, or hybrid clouds. Its features include compute orchestration, network services, account management, resource accounting, a web interface, and an open API. Operators can manage clouds through a web UI, command-line tools, or REST API, with optional AWS EC2- and S3-compatible APIs. Supported hypervisors include XenServer or XCP, KVM, Hyper-V, and VMware ESXi with vSphere. Storage options include iSCSI, NFS, Ceph RBD with KVM, volume encryption, snapshots, and storage tiering. Authentication options include OAuth2 single sign-on, two-factor authentication, TOTP, SAML, and LDAP. The project says CloudStack can manage tens of thousands of physical servers across geographically distributed data centers. Long Term Support releases receive bug and security fixes for 18 months after the main release. Operators remain responsible for protections such as monitoring, host security, and defenses against DoS and brute-force attacks.
Canonical OpenStack
Canonical OpenStack lets organizations run applications in their own data centers while giving teams self-service access to computing resources on demand. It is based on upstream OpenStack code and described by Canonical as 100% open source. Automation uses MAAS and Juju, spanning bare-metal provisioning through applications. Its architecture uses Kubernetes, OCI images, and snaps; Canonical says this decouples OpenStack from the underlying Ubuntu operating system. Canonical Ceph is included by default and supports up to 128 TB of data per node. The stack also includes an expandable Kubernetes layer, observability, Landscape system management, and MAAS bare-metal automation. Listed workloads include HPC and AI/ML, telco NFVI, sovereign clouds, local or regional public clouds, and edge infrastructure. Organizations can deploy the cloud themselves or have Canonical design, build, test, and validate it. The plan costs nothing, with no license or subscription charge; commercial support and consulting are separate. Support includes 24/7 phone and ticket coverage, with a stated one-hour response for Severity 1 issues. On-demand Kubernetes is currently in beta.