MicroShift vs Rancher Desktop

MicroShift

7.2 #10 in Local Kubernetes Tools

About MicroShift

Rancher Desktop

7.2 #10 in Container Development Environments

About Rancher Desktop
MicroShiftRancher Desktop
Free planYesYes
Free trialNoNo
Paid fromFreeFree
Open sourceNoNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, self-hostedapi, Linux, macOS, Windows
Supported operating systemsRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9.8macOS, Windows, Linux
Multi-node clustersNoNo
Graphical interfaceNoYes
Container runtime optionsCRI-Ocontainerd or dockerd (Moby)
Kubernetes version controlVersion is tied to the MicroShift release; MicroShift 4.22 is derived from OpenShift Container Platform 4.22Selectable from a list in Preferences > Kubernetes
Local registry supportYesYes
Add-on catalogYesYes
Free plan—Yes

Both are listed in Best Local Kubernetes Tools. On Specifiction, MicroShift scores higher on our published basis.