Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

OrbStack VS Kata Containers

Compare OrbStack VS Kata Containers and see what are their differences

OrbStack logo OrbStack

Fast, light, simple Docker & Linux on macOS

Kata Containers logo Kata Containers

Lightweight virtual machines that seamlessly plug into the containers ecosystem.
  • OrbStack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-22
  • Kata Containers Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-07-03

OrbStack features and specs

  • Performance
    OrbStack is optimized for high performance, providing faster boot times and efficient resource usage compared to other virtualization platforms.
  • User Interface
    The platform offers an intuitive and user-friendly interface that simplifies management and set up of virtual machines and containers.
  • Integration
    OrbStack integrates well with various development tools and environments, enhancing workflow efficiency for developers.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    It supports multiple platforms, making it versatile and accessible for users across different operating systems.
  • Security
    The platform is designed with robust security features to protect virtualized environments and ensure data integrity.

Possible disadvantages of OrbStack

  • Limited Documentation
    Some users might find the available documentation scarce, making it harder to find solutions to specific issues or advanced configurations.
  • Learning Curve
    While the interface is user-friendly, there may still be a learning curve for users who are new to virtualization technologies.
  • Pricing
    Depending on the licensing model, OrbStack can be costly for individual developers or small teams with limited budgets.
  • Resource Intensity
    Though efficient, the platform may require significant system resources, which could be a drawback for users with less powerful hardware.
  • Compatibility Issues
    While OrbStack supports various platforms, there might be occasional compatibility issues with specific hardware or software configurations.

Kata Containers features and specs

  • Security
    Kata Containers offer enhanced security by providing hardware virtualization, which creates a secure boundary around each container. This isolation helps in protecting against attacks and vulnerabilities that might affect other containers.
  • Performance
    Kata Containers are designed to have low overhead compared to traditional virtual machines, allowing them to run with performance akin to native containers while still benefiting from hardware-based isolation.
  • Compatibility
    Kata Containers are compatible with the OCI container runtime specification, making it possible to integrate them with existing cloud-native tools and ecosystems like Kubernetes without significant changes.
  • Flexibility
    They offer a flexible choice for deploying containerized workloads that require the security of virtual machines, allowing organizations to meet both performance and security requirements effectively.

Possible disadvantages of Kata Containers

  • Complexity
    Implementing Kata Containers can introduce additional complexity compared to using regular containers, especially in managing the virtualization layer and ensuring smooth integration with existing container orchestration systems.
  • Resource Overhead
    Although they are lightweight compared to traditional VMs, Kata Containers still incur more overhead than standard containers, requiring more resources in terms of CPU and memory.
  • Maturity
    As a relatively newer technology, Kata Containers may not have the level of maturity and community support that more established container technologies enjoy, potentially leading to challenges in troubleshooting and support.
  • Infrastructure Requirements
    Running Kata Containers effectively may require specific hardware features like VT-x/AMD-V for hardware virtualization, which can limit deployment options on older or less capable hardware.

OrbStack videos

OrbStack: A Lightweight Alternative for Docker

More videos:

  • Review - Practices for Docker on Mac Mini M2 Pro with OrbStack #mac #orbstack #docker #container

Kata Containers videos

Kata Containers and gVisor a Quantitative Comparison

More videos:

  • Review - Open Source Contribution - Kata Containers Unit Testing
  • Demo - Kata Containers Demo: A Container Experience with VM Security

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to OrbStack and Kata Containers)
Developer Tools
68 68%
32% 32
Design Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Containers As A Service
41 41%
59% 59
DevOps Tools
62 62%
38% 38

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, OrbStack should be more popular than Kata Containers. It has been mentiond 23 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

OrbStack mentions (23)

  • Docker limits unauthenticated pulls to 10/HR/IP from Docker Hub, from March 1
    If you're on Mac worth checking out the commercial https://orbstack.dev/ Reasonable price for better dev efficiency. Free for personal use. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Build a data-intensive Next.js app with Tinybird and Cursor
    This is a Docker image, so you just need a Docker runtime on your machine (if you're using MacOS, I recommend OrbStack). - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Troubleshooting Docker Desktop: Tips and Alternatives for Developers
    OrbStack: Although it’s a paid tool, OrbStack promises faster, lighter, and simpler container and Linux management compared to Docker Desktop. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Docker Desktop Broken on Mac OS Update for over a Week
    How can update like this even happen and I'm still waiting for the post mortem on this. [0] Quite frankly a very basic intern mistake but done by "seniors". In the mean time, I'm using Orbstack. [1] Much faster, lightweight and native. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42695066. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Hosting HuggingFace Models with KoboldCpp and RunPod
    Simply run docker compose down or use GUIs such as Rancher Desktop, Docker Desktop, or OrbStack to shut down the containers. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
View more

Kata Containers mentions (4)

  • Kubernetes Without Docker: Why Container Runtimes Are Changing the Game in 2025
    Kata Containers Containers in VMs, because sometimes isolation means business. - Source: dev.to / 7 days ago
  • WASM Will Replace Containers
    See https://katacontainers.io Turns out only containers is not secure enough. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Comparing 3 Docker container runtimes - Runc, gVisor and Kata Containers
    Although the documentation also mentions "youki", that is mentioned as a "drop-in replacement" of the default runtime basically doing the same, so let's stick with runc. The second runtime will be Kata runtime from Kata containers, since it runs small virtual machines which is good for showing how differently it uses the CPU and memory. This also adds a higher level of isolation with some downsides as well. And... - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Hacking Alibaba Cloud's Kubernetes Cluster
    Ronen: Our case study with Alibaba revealed they were using shared Linux namespaces between containers, such as their management container and our container. Sharing Linux namespaces can be dangerous. When designing a system that shares namespaces or resources between management and regular user containers, constantly carefully assess and be aware of the risks involved. Container technologies like GVisor and Kata... - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing OrbStack and Kata Containers, you can also consider the following products

Portainer - Simple management UI for Docker

Docker - Docker is an open platform that enables developers and system administrators to create distributed applications.

Podman - Simple debugging tool for pods and images

FreeBSD Jails - Jails on the other hand permit software packages to view the system egoistically, as if each package had the machine to itself.

Docker Desktop - Docker Desktop is a one-click-install application that lets you to build, share, and run containerized applications and microservices.

containerd - An industry-standard container runtime with an emphasis on simplicity, robustness and portability