# k7 vs Portainer

> Two self-hosted [Container Management projects](https://selfhost.directory/container-management), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | k7 | Portainer |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 51/100 | 77/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #20 of 44 in Container Management | #1 of 44 in Container Management |
| GitHub stars | 824 | 38 737 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +188 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 21 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.5.0 · 18 Oct 2026 | 2.45.3 · 21 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Zlib |
| Main language | Python | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Portainer scores 77/100 against 51/100 for k7, so it is the safer default.

Portainer ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for k7.

If you want the quickest setup, Portainer is easier to run; k7 needs more configuration.

Portainer is growing faster right now (+188 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [k7](https://selfhost.directory/project/k7) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/k7.md)
- [Portainer](https://selfhost.directory/project/portainer) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/portainer.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/k7-vs-portainer