compare
k3d vs K3s
The same facts for both, read from GitHub every night, and the relation a person reviewed.
| Fact | k3d | K3s |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Go | Go |
| Licence | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Stars | 6.6k | 34k |
| Latest | v5.9.0 | v1.37.1+k3s1 |
| Last push | 2026-10-05 | 2026-10-02 |
| Release cadence | about 26 days between releases | about 1 day between releases |
| Active contributors | 0 commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days | 28 commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days |
| Flags | none | none |
How they relate
Both replace minikube. Alternatives to minikube →
Full replacementk3dLightweight k3s clusters in Docker.
Full replacementK3sA single-binary Kubernetes distribution that runs on a laptop and in production alike.
k3d
- v5.9.02026-06-02Fix docker registry auth example
- v5.9.0-rc.02025-10-01Fix docker registry auth examplepre-release
- v5.8.32025-02-15Exclude s390x as arch-specific tag from version list
- v5.8.22025-02-12fixing the makefile; enforcing the registry port match;
- v5.8.12025-01-17chore(config): migrate renovate config
K3s
- v1.34.12+k3s12026-09-30> [!WARNING]
- v1.34.12-rc2+k3s12026-09-24[Release-1.34] Improve CA hash validationpre-release
- v1.35.9+k3s12026-09-30> [!WARNING]
- v1.35.9-rc2+k3s12026-09-24[Release-1.35] Reject anonymous access to supervisor router (spegel/pprof/metrics)pre-release
- v1.36.5+k3s12026-09-30> [!WARNING]
k3d
unsigned The latest release, v5.9.0, carries no signature GitHub could verify.
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K3s
unsigned The latest release, v1.37.1+k3s1, carries no signature GitHub could verify.
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