Side by side
Apptainer vs BuildKit
Both stand on container engines. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APILinuxMac+2
Apptainer is oriented toward portable container workloads on Linux, particularly in HPC settings. Check host kernel requirements and the Linux environment needed on Windows or macOS before adopting it.
Visit Apptainer Free plan APILinuxMac+2
BuildKit offers a flexible build toolkit with caching, multiple frontends and outputs, and rootless execution. macOS users relying on the unofficial Homebrew formula should note that it does not include the daemon.
Visit BuildKitThe facts
| Apptainer | BuildKit | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | apptainer.org | github.com |
| On container engines | #1 of 31 | #2 of 31 |
Apptainer: what it does well
- Creates portable, immutable single-file SIF images.
- Supports encrypted containers and cryptographic signing.
- Can access GPUs and other host resources.
- Root access is unnecessary with user namespaces.
What to know first
- Requires Linux to run.
- Windows and macOS need a Linux environment.
- Full functionality requires FUSE and unprivileged user namespaces.
BuildKit: what it does well
- Supports concurrent dependency resolution and instruction caching.
- Builds can run without root privileges.
- Offers multiple output formats.
- Binaries are available for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
- Licensed under Apache-2.0.
What to know first
- Unofficial macOS Homebrew formula excludes buildkitd.
- Some listed cache options are experimental.
Alternatives to Apptainer Alternatives to BuildKit The whole list