No. 8 of 27 ·Kubernetes Deployment Tools

Helm

Windows · Mac · Linux

Freedom report

Three barsScore 6.5

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely3 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

Helm is ranked #8 of 27 in Kubernetes deployment tools on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. There is a free plan.

Helm plans and pricing

All plans

Helm Free Apache-2.0 license · command-line tool · self-managed github.com · 1 Oct 2026

Compared on Kubernetes deployment tools

Free plan: Yes
Helm support: Yes
Deployment model: self_hosted
Audit logs: Yes

Best Helm alternatives

See all 12

Two bars Argo Rollouts Free tier No. 1Free6.6 Two bars Flux CD Free tier No. 2Free6.6 Two bars Garden Free tier No. 3Free6.6 Two bars KubeVela Free tier No. 4Free6.6 Two bars Octopus Deploy Free tier No. 5$64.17/mo6.6 Two bars Cyclops Free tier No. 6Free6.5

The record

Purpose: Helm is the package manager for Kubernetes applications.
Charts: Helm packages related Kubernetes resources into versioned charts that can be shared, installed, upgraded, and rolled back.
Application management: Helm installs and manages applications such as databases, monitoring stacks, and ingress controllers from charts.
Configuration: Helm supports supplying different values to the same chart for development, staging, and production environments.
Dependencies: Helm charts can declare dependencies on other charts and install them together.
Architecture: The Helm client is a command-line tool that communicates with the Kubernetes API server, while the Helm library performs chart operations.
Storage: Helm stores release information in Kubernetes Secrets and does not require its own database.
Repositories: Charts can be stored on disk or fetched from remote chart repositories, with Artifact Hub listing publicly available charts.
Plugins: Helm plugins extend the core feature set and can provide custom chart download protocols.
Security: Helm releases include cryptographic signatures, and the installation guide recommends verifying checksums and maintainer PGP signatures before installation.
Supported installation: Official installation methods include pre-built binary releases and an installer script; community methods include Homebrew, Chocolatey, Scoop, Winget, Apt, dnf/yum, Snap, and FreeBSD pkg.
Scope limit: Helm focuses on applications running in a Kubernetes cluster, while standing up and operating the cluster itself is outside its scope.
Users: Helm identifies application operators, application distributors, application developers, and supporting tool developers as user roles.
Support: Community support is available through Kubernetes Slack channels, a mailing list, developer calls, Stack Overflow, and GitHub.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Kubernetes Deployment Tools in 2026#8 of 27

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Sources

helm.sh· checked 1 Oct 2026
helm.sh/docs/intro/introduction/· checked 1 Oct 2026
helm.sh/docs/topics/plugins/· checked 1 Oct 2026
helm.sh/docs/intro/install/· checked 1 Oct 2026
github.com/helm/helm· checked 1 Oct 2026