Best ko Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from container build tools ranked against ko on the same published basis.
- 1ko vs Buildah
- 2ko vs BuildKit
- 3ko vs Dagger
- 5ko vs Tilt
- 6ko vs Cloud Native Buildpacks Pack
- 7ko vs Garden
- 8ko vs Jib
- 9ko vs Kaniko
- 10ko vs Paketo Buildpacks
- 11ko vs rules_docker
- 12ko vs AWS CodeBuild
- 13ko vs kpack
- 14ko vs nix2container
- 15ko vs apko
- 16ko vs Earthly
- 17ko vs Google Cloud Build
- 18ko vs werf
- 19ko vs Nixpacks
- 20ko vs Depot
- 21ko vs img2minecraft
ko alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buildah | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, self-hosted |
| 2 | BuildKit | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 3 | Dagger | 6.4 | Free plan | $50/mo | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 5 | Tilt | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 6 | Cloud Native Buildpacks Pack | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 7 | Garden | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 8 | Jib | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | Kaniko | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 10 | Paketo Buildpacks | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted |
| 11 | rules_docker | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac |
| 12 | AWS CodeBuild | 6.2 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Web, Windows |
| 13 | kpack | 6.2 | Free plan | Free | API, self-hosted |
| 14 | nix2container | 6.2 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 15 | apko | 5.8 | No | — | Linux, Mac, self-hosted |
| 16 | Earthly | 5.8 | No | — | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 17 | Google Cloud Build | 5.8 | No | $0.01/mo | API, Linux, Web |
| 18 | werf | 5.8 | No | — | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 19 | Nixpacks | 5.7 | No | — | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 20 | Depot | 5.6 | No | $20/mo | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 21 | img2minecraft | 5.6 | No | — | self-hosted, Web |
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Questions about ko alternatives
What is the best alternative to ko?
Buildah, number 1 in container build tools with a score of 6.4 out of 10. The others here: BuildKit, Dagger, Tilt and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to ko?
Buildah is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 13 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation.