compare
k0s vs Talos Linux
The same facts for both, read from GitHub every night, and the relation a person reviewed.
| Fact | k0s | Talos Linux |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Go | Go |
| Licence | Other | MPL-2.0 |
| Stars | 6.5k | 11k |
| Latest | v1.36.4+k0s.1 | v1.14.2 |
| Last push | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-06 |
| Release cadence | about 1 day between releases | about 11 days between releases |
| Active contributors | 18+ commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days | 41 commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days |
| Flags | none | none |
How they relate
Both replace Amazon EKS. Alternatives to Amazon EKS →
Full replacementk0sConformant Kubernetes in a single binary, with the control plane on hosts you run.
Full replacementTalos LinuxImmutable Linux that only runs Kubernetes, managed through an API instead of SSH.
k0s
- v1.36.4+k0s.12026-09-19Fixes GHSA-qjgc-wmg7-3jc3.
- v1.35.8+k0s.12026-09-19Fixes GHSA-qjgc-wmg7-3jc3.
- v1.34.11+k0s.12026-09-19Fixes GHSA-qjgc-wmg7-3jc3.
- v1.36.4+k0s.02026-08-31[Backport release-1.36] Improve docs: enable "content.code.copy" feature
- v1.35.8+k0s.02026-08-31[Backport release-1.35] Distinguish pending from performed restarts in Autopilot
Talos Linux
- v1.13.112026-10-01Welcome to the v1.13.11 release of Talos!
- v1.14.22026-09-29Welcome to the v1.14.2 release of Talos!
- v1.14.12026-09-15Welcome to the v1.14.1 release of Talos!
- v1.15.0-alpha.02026-09-08Welcome to the v1.15.0-alpha.0 release of Talos!pre-release
- v1.12.122026-09-04Welcome to the v1.12.12 release of Talos!
k0s
✓ signed The latest release, v1.36.4+k0s.1, carries a signature GitHub verified.
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Talos Linux
✓ signed The latest release, v1.14.2, carries a signature GitHub verified.
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