k0s vs srelens
k0s
k0sproject.io
srelens
srelens.comSide by side
| Figure | k0s | srelens |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Local Kubernetes Tools | 8.1 (#6) | 8.3 (#3) |
| Architecture | The documentation lists support for x86-64, ARM64, ARMv7, and RISC-V. | The application uses Tauri v2, React and a pure-Rust core built around kube-rs and tokio. |
| Purpose | k0s is a Kubernetes distribution for deploying workloads across public and private cloud, on-premises, bare metal, edge, and IoT environments. | srelens is a Kubernetes desktop workspace for browsing, inspecting, and operating clusters. |
| Support | The project identifies Mirantis as offering technical support, professional services, training, and support subscriptions with prioritized phone, web, and email support. | The documentation directs users to open a GitHub issue with safely shareable application log details for reproducible bugs. |
| System requirements | The documentation lists minimum requirements of 1 vCPU and 1 GB RAM. | The published desktop targets are macOS 11 or newer, Windows 10 x64 or newer, and Linux x86_64. |
Plans
In their own words
k0s
k0s is a free, self-hosted Kubernetes distribution for deploying workloads across public and private clouds, on-premises systems, bare metal, edge locations, and IoT environments. It comes as a single binary and needs no host operating-system components beyond the kernel. The project describes it as CNCF-certified Kubernetes and lists support for x86-64, ARM64, ARMv7, and RISC-V. Installation options include single-node, multi-node, air-gapped, and Docker methods. The k0sctl tool supports cluster lifecycle tasks such as upgrades and backup and restore. Kube-Router is the default networking option; custom CNI plugins are supported, with Calico listed as a preconfigured alternative. Datastore choices include etcd, SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. Listed security features include kube-bench, RBAC, network policies, control plane isolation, and OpenID provider support. Minimum requirements are 1 vCPU and 1 GB RAM. The project aims to keep the base versatile by limiting bundled add-ons such as ingress, service meshes, and storage. Mirantis offers support services and subscriptions.
srelens
srelens is a Kubernetes desktop workspace for browsing, inspecting, and operating clusters. It covers more than 40 resource kinds, including workloads, networking, storage, RBAC, admission, autoscaling, and custom resources. Investigation tools include live watches, log streaming, in-pod terminals, port forwarding, Helm release views, and a schema-aware YAML editor. CPU and memory metrics for nodes and pods come through Kubernetes Metrics Server. Users can scale or restart workloads and cordon, drain, or evict nodes; destructive actions require confirmation. The desktop app connects directly to Kubernetes API servers using local kubeconfig credentials, without an intermediary srelens cloud service. Available operations depend on the selected context’s credentials and RBAC permissions. Added kubeconfig files stay local, and pasted configs are stored in the application directory. Secret values are masked by default and revealed per key. The built-in MCP server connects to clients such as Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Codex. srelens is free, open source under the MIT license, and requires no account or license key.