Apple container vs Apptainer
| Apple container | Apptainer | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | No | No |
| Paid from | — | Free |
| Open source | No | No |
| Platforms | macOS | api, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Windows |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Image building | Yes | Yes |
| Windows containers | No | No |
| Image format | oci | both |
| Supported host OS | macOS 26 | Linux; Windows via WSL2; macOS via Linux VM |
| Rootless mode | — | Yes |
| Runtime interface | — | other |
Both are listed in Best Container Engines, Best Container Runtime Software. On Inferse, Apptainer scores higher on our published basis.