KubeStellar vs Mirantis Kubernetes Engine
KubeStellar
kubestellar.io
Mirantis Kubernetes Engine
docs.mirantis.comSide by side
| Figure | KubeStellar | Mirantis Kubernetes Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Kubernetes Management Platforms | 7.5 (#17) | 8.1 (#7) |
| Authentication | GitHub OAuth is optional for multi-user authentication; the installation guide says it can be skipped for local development. | MKE 4 supports OIDC, SAML, and LDAP authentication through Dex; MFA is listed as unsupported. |
| Operating systems | The installer detects macOS or Linux and supports arm64 and amd64 architectures. | MKE 4 supports Ubuntu 24.04 and 22.04, RHEL 9.6 and 8.10, Rocky Linux 9.4, and Windows Server 2022 worker nodes on x86_64; manager nodes must run Linux. |
| Purpose | KubeStellar Console is an AI-powered dashboard for managing multiple Kubernetes clusters. | MKE 4 is an enterprise Kubernetes platform built on the open-source k0s distribution. |
| Support | The maker offers direct email support at [email protected] and community support through Slack. | Mirantis offers a choice of 24/7 proactive support or managed services for MKE 4. |
Plans
In their own words
KubeStellar
KubeStellar Console is a free dashboard for managing workloads and operations across Kubernetes clusters. It shows real-time cluster health, cross-cluster resources, workloads, and mission progress, with cluster groups and customizable layouts. Clusters can be discovered through a user’s kubeconfig; examples include OpenShift, EKS, GKE, kind, and k3s. AI Missions accept natural-language requests to investigate issues, troubleshoot, repair, upgrade, or deploy across clusters. Users can approve or reject suggested actions. The Console also supports cluster provisioning and policy enforcement, and its security dashboard includes CIS, NSA, and PCI compliance scoring, RBAC analysis, and privileged-container detection. Documentation lists 20+ dashboards, 110+ card types, and 93+ stats blocks; custom cards can be built with AI, JSON definitions, or TSX code. The marketplace offers community dashboards, card presets, and themes. Licensed under Apache 2.0, it runs on Linux and macOS and can be self-hosted or used on the web. AI Missions require an optional Anthropic API key.
Mirantis Kubernetes Engine
Mirantis Kubernetes Engine (MKE 4) is a self-hosted enterprise Kubernetes platform built on the open-source k0s distribution. It supports deployment across public and private clouds, multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud environments, and bare-metal infrastructure. Teams manage cluster lifecycle with the mkectl command-line tool and a declarative mke4.yaml configuration file; standardized APIs and GitOps-based lifecycle management are also listed. A cluster combines k0s, a container network interface, the MKE control plane, system services, and user services. Calico is installed by default, with other network interface options supported. The web dashboard manages Kubernetes resources in an MKE-managed cluster. Backup and restore are supported, and the CLI upgrade process includes automated backups. Authentication through Dex supports OIDC, SAML, and LDAP, but not MFA. MKE 4 requires x86_64 and Linux manager/control-plane nodes; supported operating systems include specified Ubuntu, RHEL, and Rocky Linux versions, plus Windows Server worker nodes. A valid license is required, and a trial license is available on request. Mirantis offers 24/7 proactive support or managed services.