Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

containerd VS Apache Edgent

Compare containerd VS Apache Edgent and see what are their differences

containerd logo containerd

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

Apache Edgent logo Apache Edgent

Apache Edgent is an open source community for accelerating analytics at the edge.
  • containerd Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-15
  • Apache Edgent Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-08

containerd features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Containerd focuses on providing core container primitives, making it lightweight and efficient compared to more comprehensive container management platforms.
  • CNCF Graduated
    Being a CNCF (Cloud Native Computing Foundation) graduated project means containerd has undergone rigorous scrutiny and is recognized as stable and secure.
  • Highly Modular
    Containerd provides a well-defined API with gRPC, making it highly modular and allowing for fine-grained control over container lifecycle management.
  • Kubernetes Integration
    Containerd acts as the default container runtime for Kubernetes via the CRI (Container Runtime Interface) plugin, ensuring excellent synergy with Kubernetes-managed environments.
  • Vendor-Neutral
    Containerd is an open-source project that is vendor-neutral, promoting community collaboration and reducing vendor lock-in.
  • Wide Industry Support
    Spearheaded initially by Docker, containerd has received wide support from tech giants like Google and Alibaba, ensuring a broad and robust adoption across the industry.

Possible disadvantages of containerd

  • Limited to Container Management
    Unlike platforms like Docker, containerd focuses solely on container lifecycle management and does not offer advanced networking, storage solutions, or orchestration engines.
  • Complex Integration
    While offering a high level of control, containerd’s modularity can translate into higher complexity when it comes to integrating it with other tools, such as monitoring and logging systems.
  • Fewer Features Out-of-the-Box
    Containerd provides fewer features out-of-the-box compared to more comprehensive container management systems, which may require additional components to achieve a similar feature set.
  • Steeper Learning Curve
    Due to its focus on being a low-level runtime, containerd can have a steeper learning curve for users not familiar with container runtime internals.

Apache Edgent features and specs

  • Lightweight Architecture
    Apache Edgent is designed to run with a minimal footprint, making it suitable for edge devices with limited resources such as IoT sensors and gateways.
  • Real-time Processing
    It enables real-time data processing and streaming analytics at the edge, providing immediate insights and reducing latency by processing data close to the source.
  • Flexibility and Modularity
    Edgent's architecture is modular, allowing developers to easily integrate and customize functionalities to fit specific needs and applications.
  • Connectivity
    Provides strong support for connecting edge devices to central data systems, facilitating seamless data flow between devices and backend systems.
  • Open-source Community
    As an Apache project, it benefits from a strong community of developers and extensive documentation, enhancing support and continuous improvement.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Edgent

  • Limited Adoption
    Compared to other data streaming solutions, Apache Edgent has a smaller user base and community support, which may affect resources and third-party integrations.
  • Incubating Status
    Edgent is in the Apache Incubator, indicating that it's an evolving project which might not yet meet all expectations for stability and maturity in production environments.
  • Complex Learning Curve
    For developers unfamiliar with stream processing or edge computing, the initial learning curve can be steep, requiring time to fully understand and utilize the API effectively.
  • Integration Challenges
    While modular, integrating Edgent with existing enterprise systems can sometimes present challenges, particularly for organizations with complex legacy infrastructure.

containerd videos

Deep Dive: containerd - Derek McGowan, Docker & Phil Estes, IBM Cloud

Apache Edgent videos

No Apache Edgent videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to containerd and Apache Edgent)
Cloud Computing
81 81%
19% 19
Cloud Storage
66 66%
34% 34
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Storage
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare containerd and Apache Edgent

containerd Reviews

5 Container Alternatives to Docker
containerd is described as “an industry-standard container runtime with an emphasis on simplicity, robustness and portability.” An incubating project of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, containerd is available as a daemon for Linux or Windows.

Apache Edgent Reviews

We have no reviews of Apache Edgent yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, containerd seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 55 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.

containerd mentions (55)

  • Kubernetes Without Docker: Why Container Runtimes Are Changing the Game in 2025
    Containerd Official Site The runtime powering most cloud K8s clusters and your future mental breakdowns. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Creating containers with containerd on ARM
    Also, Containers are the tool when you want to speed your process of updating your software and get modularity and portability when deploying your solutions. In this post you will learn how containerd together with nerdctl can help you with this use case scenario. Check their official websites for more info https://containerd.io and https://github.com/containerd/nerdctl. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Beyond Docker - A DevOps Engineer's Guide to Container Alternatives
    Having operated large Kubernetes clusters, one learns to love the focused approach of containerd. A light-weight, high-performance container runtime, it powers a lot of container platforms, including indirectly, Kubernetes. From my experience, containerd really does one thing and does it well: it runs containers efficiently. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Top 8 Docker Alternatives to Consider in 2025
    Containerd operates as a fundamental container runtime that manages the complete container lifecycle, functioning at a lower level than Docker while providing core container operations. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • You run containers, not dockers - Discussing Docker variants, components and versioning
    So once we had a single binary, then "Docker, Inc" started separating the functionalities into multiple binaries on Linux. That was the beginning the of dependencies and components we have today, except that these dependencies are now not limited to Docker. Containerd can also be the container runtime of Kubernetes. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
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Apache Edgent mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Apache Edgent yet. Tracking of Apache Edgent recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing containerd and Apache Edgent, you can also consider the following products

CRI-O - Lightweight Container Runtime for Kubernetes

rkt - App Container runtime

Podman - Simple debugging tool for pods and images

Apache Karaf - Apache Karaf is a lightweight, modern and polymorphic container powered by OSGi.

GlusterFS - GlusterFS is a scale-out network-attached storage file system.

Apache ServiceMix - Apache ServiceMix is an open source ESB that combines the functionality of a Service Oriented Architecture and the modularity.