Best Container Engines in 2026
Updated
In short: Apptainer is ranked #1 of 31 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Buildah and BuildKit. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Buildah. The lowest first paid tier on this page is LXD at $2.08/mo.
Container engines give you different ways to build images and run isolated workloads across development and deployment. Compared on free plans, paid-from pricing, image building and image format, the entries also distinguish runtime interfaces, Kubernetes CRI support and rootless mode. Check supported host operating systems and Windows container support against the machines and workloads you need to accommodate. Apptainer, Buildah and BuildKit are among the options shown, alongside Incus and LXD. Your choice may hinge on whether you need an image-building workflow, a particular runtime interface, or compatibility with specific hosts; use the listed criteria to narrow down which engines fit your stack.
31 container engines ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Container Engines, one module each. A lit port is something its maker publishes; 7 of the 25 on this page have a public API.
- 01 Apptainer API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.4Free
- 02 Buildah API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.4Free
- 03 BuildKit API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.4Free
- 04 Incus API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.4Free
- 05 LXD API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.3$2.08/mo
- 06 Podman API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.3Free
- 07 Moby API yesOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.9
- 08 crun API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 6.0Free
- 09 Docker Desktop API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 6.0$9/mo
- 10 gVisor API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 6.0Free
- 11 containerd API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 12 Kata Containers API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.2
- 13 runc API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.2
- 14 SingularityCE API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.2
- 15 Sysbox API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.2
- 16 youki API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.2
- 17 AppJail API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 18 Apple container API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 19 balenaEngine API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 20 Charliecloud API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 21 CRI-O API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 22 Enroot API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 23 Inclavare Containers API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 24 LXC API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 25 Mirantis Container Runtime API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which container engine is ranked first on Inferse?
Apptainer is ranked #1 of 31 with a score of 7.4. Buildah is second and BuildKit third.
How many of these have a free plan?
10 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, LXD has the lowest first paid tier we found: $2.08/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it. Paid placements never change a rank.