containerd

Windows · Linux · Self-hosted

Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.5

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely2 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

containerd is ranked #5 of 31 in container engines on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, Self-hosted, Windows. There is a free plan.

containerd plans and pricing

All plans

containerd Free Open-source container runtime · Apache 2.0 licensed containerd.io · 29 Sept 2026

Compared on container engines

Free plan: Yes
Rootless mode: Yes
Image building: No
Kubernetes CRI: Yes
Windows containers: Yes
Image format: both
Runtime interface: containerd
Supported host OS: Linux, Windows

Best containerd alternatives

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Two bars Apptainer Free tier No. 1Free6.6 Two bars BuildKit Free tier No. 2Free6.6 Two bars Docker Desktop Free tier No. 3$9/mo6.6 Two bars Incus Free tier No. 4Free6.6 One bar LXD Free tier No. 6$2.08/mo6.5 Two bars Podman Free tier No. 7Free6.5

The record

Purpose: containerd is an industry-standard container runtime for managing a host’s container lifecycle, including image transfer and storage, execution, and supervision.
Designed for: containerd is designed to be embedded into a larger system rather than used directly by developers or end users.
Image support: It supports the OCI Image Specification and image push and pull operations.
Runtime support: It supports the OCI Runtime Specification and uses runc as its default runtime, while allowing other OCI compliant runtimes to be added.
Kubernetes: Its built in CRI plugin lets containerd serve as the container runtime for a Kubernetes cluster.
Registries: Any registry compliant with the OCI Distribution Specification is supported.
Operating systems: containerd is available as a daemon for Linux and Windows.
Networking scope: Creating and managing network interfaces is out of scope and is handled by higher level systems.
Build scope: Building images is out of scope as a first class containerd API feature and can be implemented by higher level tooling.
CLI limitation: The included ctr CLI is intended for development and debugging, is not mandated to be human friendly, and has no interface stability guarantee over time.
Security process: The project describes a documented security process using GitHub security features and its CVE numbering authority to disclose verified vulnerabilities.
Security audits: The project lists a CNCF funded Ada Logics fuzzing audit from March 2023 and a CNCF funded Cure53 security audit from November 2018.
Support: Nightly builds are available for Linux and Windows, but may contain critical bugs, are not recommended for production, and receive no support.
Release dependencies: The project says users typically also need to install runc and CNI plugins.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Container Engines in 2026#5 of 31
Best Container Runtime Software in 2026#9 of 27

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Sources

containerd.io· checked 29 Sept 2026
containerd.io/docs/2.4/· checked 29 Sept 2026
containerd.io/scope/· checked 29 Sept 2026
containerd.io/security/· checked 29 Sept 2026
github.com/containerd/containerd/releases· checked 29 Sept 2026