compare
RKE2 vs Talos Linux
The same facts for both, read from GitHub every night, and the relation a person reviewed.
| Fact | RKE2 | Talos Linux |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Go | Go |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Stars | 2.4k | 11k |
| Latest | v1.37.1+rke2r1 | v1.14.2 |
| Last push | 2026-10-05 | 2026-10-06 |
| Release cadence | too few releases | about 11 days between releases |
| Active contributors | 19 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 replacementRKE2Conformant Kubernetes distribution with a CIS-hardened default configuration, on hosts you run.
Full replacementTalos LinuxImmutable Linux that only runs Kubernetes, managed through an API instead of SSH.
RKE2
- v1.33.13+rke2r32026-10-02> [!NOTE]
- v1.33.13-rc5+rke2r32026-10-02[release-1.33] Update step to keep binary tarballspre-release
- v1.33.13-rc4+rke2r32026-10-01[release-1.33] Replace download assets steppre-release
- v1.33.13-rc3+rke2r32026-10-01[release-1.33] Bump k3s and etcdpre-release
- v1.36.5+rke2r12026-09-30> [!WARNING]
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!
RKE2
✓ signed The latest release, v1.37.1+rke2r1, 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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