EC2 Image Builder vs KIWI NG
EC2 Image Builder
aws.amazon.comKIWI NG
osinside.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | EC2 Image Builder | KIWI NG |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Container Build Tools | 7.6 (#19) | 8.2 (#10) |
| Image formats | The service builds AMIs and container images, and with VM Import/Export can support on-premises VHDX, VMDK, and OVF virtual machine images. | A prepared root tree can be turned into disk, ISO, or container artifacts. |
| Purpose | EC2 Image Builder automates customization, testing, distribution, and lifecycle management of Amazon Machine Images and container images. | KIWI NG is a command-line image builder that creates bootable, reproducible Linux images for virtual machines, cloud platforms, removable media, containers, and specialized deployment targets. |
Plans
In their own words
EC2 Image Builder
EC2 Image Builder has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
KIWI NG
KIWI NG is a free, daemonless command-line image builder for Linux. It turns versioned image descriptions and package repositories into bootable, reproducible artifacts. A prepared root tree can produce disk images, ISO files, or containers for virtual machines, cloud platforms, removable media, and specialized targets. Descriptions define metadata, repositories, packages, users, storage, target configuration, and image types, using config.xml or a .kiwi file. Overlays, archives, and scripts add customization. Documented package managers include apk, apt, dnf4, dnf5, microdnf, pacman, and zypper. Supported distributions include Fedora, CentOS Stream, openSUSE, Ubuntu, Debian, and Arch Linux. Builds support multiple architectures and a local cache backend. Installation is available through distribution packages, Open Build Service, or pip. A recent Linux host, Python 3.9 or newer, Git, and at least 15 GB recommended free disk space are required. QEMU can optionally boot and inspect outputs; GPL-3.0 governs the source.