No. 20 of 23 ·Local Kubernetes Tools

MicroShift

Mac · Linux · Self-hosted

Freedom report

One barScore 5.2

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely2 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedThinly documented

MicroShift is ranked #20 of 23 in local Kubernetes tools on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

MicroShift plans and pricing

All plans

MicroShift Upstream Free Upstream development and testing build; no Red Hat subscriptions or pull secrets required github.com · 8 Oct 2026

Compared on local Kubernetes tools

Supported operating systems: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.8
Multi-node clusters: No
Graphical interface: No
Container runtime options: CRI-O
Kubernetes version control: Version is tied to the MicroShift release; MicroShift 4.22 is derived from OpenShift Container Platform 4.22
Local registry support: Yes
Add-on catalog: Yes

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The record

Purpose: MicroShift optimizes OpenShift Kubernetes for small form factor and edge computing.
Resource use: Its design goals include frugal use of CPU, memory, network, and storage resources.
Networking: Its design goals include tolerating severe networking constraints.
Updates: Its design goals include updating securely, safely, speedily, and seamlessly without disrupting workloads.
Architecture: MicroShift runs as a single systemd service with a minimal OpenShift control plane and worker node.
Included services: The listed infrastructure services include DNS, ingress router, service CA, OVN-Kubernetes CNI, and LVMS storage.
Optional components: Optional components listed include OLM, Gateway API, cert-manager, and SR-IOV, delivered as separate RPM packages.
Requirements: The stated minimums include x86_64 or aarch64 CPU architecture, Red Hat Enterprise Linux with Extended Update Support, 2 CPU cores, 2GB RAM, and 2GB free root storage.
Deployment: For production, MicroShift can run on bare metal hardware or hypervisors supported and certified for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.
License: The repository lists an Apache-2.0 license.
Upstream build: MicroShift Upstream lets contributors and testers build from the original MicroShift sources with OKD payload images.
Architectures: MicroShift and its main components are available for x86_64 and aarch64 architectures.
Operating systems: The upstream repository lists CentOS 9, CentOS 10, Fedora, Ubuntu, and macOS deployment options, with macOS using Podman machine in rootful mode.
Distribution: RPM and DEB packages built in a container can be installed and run on the listed operating systems.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Local Kubernetes Tools in 2026#20 of 23

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Sources

github.com/openshift/microshift· checked 7 Oct 2026
github.com/microshift-io/microshift· checked 8 Oct 2026