Side by side

CRI-O vs Finch

Both stand on container runtime software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

CRI-O

Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted

Choose CRI-O for a Linux Kubernetes environment that needs a container runtime implementing CRI and supporting OCI containers. Its runtime, storage, and CNI options suit varied cluster setups. Look elsewhere if you need image building, signing, or pushing included in the project scope.

Visit CRI-O

Finch

Free plan LinuxMacWindows

Finch brings several container components together for local development and supports Compose and many Dev Container use cases. Its production and security-boundary limitations are important constraints for deployment decisions.

Visit Finch

The facts

	CRI-O	Finch
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	API, Linux, Self-hosted	Linux, Mac, Windows
Lowest paid plan	Not published	Free or on request
Plans published	None	1
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	cri-o.io	runfinch.com
On container runtime software	#11 of 28	#7 of 28

CRI-O: what it does well

Implements Kubernetes CRI for managing OCI containers.
Works with runc and Kata Containers.
Pulls OCI images from any container registry.
Supports four storage drivers, with OverlayFS by default.
Uses CNI and names three tested networking plugins.

What to know first

Runs on Linux rather than a listed desktop platform.
Image building, signing, and pushing are outside its project scope.
No free trial is offered.

Finch: what it does well

Free and open source
Available on macOS, Windows, and Linux
Docker Compose-compatible CLI
Supports many Visual Studio Code Dev Container use cases
Can sign and verify images with cosign

What to know first

Not intended for production use
Virtual machine does not create a security boundary on macOS or Windows
Windows requires WSL 2 and administrative privileges
Does not support rootless mode

Alternatives to CRI-O Alternatives to Finch The whole list