Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Kubernetes VS Spacelift.io

Compare Kubernetes VS Spacelift.io and see what are their differences

Kubernetes logo Kubernetes

Kubernetes is an open source orchestration system for Docker containers

Spacelift.io logo Spacelift.io

Collaborative Infrastructure For Modern Software Teams
  • Kubernetes Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24
  • Spacelift.io Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-08

Spacelift is the most flexible management platform for Infrastructure as Code that helps DevOps teams manage their infrastructure-as-code performance for maximum optimization of scaling businesses.

Founded in 2020, Spacelift allows teams to manage complex cloud infrastructures simultaneously, providing visibility and collaboration. It’s a hybrid of super-specialized, narrowly focused IaC automation tools and very generic CI/CDs like Jenkins or CircleCI. Thanks to Spacelift, teams are able to boost their productivity, automate manual processes, and ensure control and compliance.

Spacelift is the only IaC management solution that extends IaC DevOps to encompass the complete set of IaC frameworks including Terraform, Pulumi, and CloudFormation, with Ansible coming soon. Offering a consolidated approach to IaC is beneficial to engineering teams in large corporations that have been acquiring smaller companies that bring different infrastructures and to smaller but diverse organizations aiming to empower application developers.

We have raised over $22M in funding to advance the automation, control and scalability of infrastructure as code. Among our investors are Insight Partners, Blossom Capital, Hoxton Ventures, Inovo Venture Partners, and the founders of Supercell and Yelp.

Kubernetes features and specs

  • Scalability
    Kubernetes excels in scaling applications horizontally by adding more containers to the deployment, ensuring that the application remains responsive even during high demand.
  • Portability
    Kubernetes supports a variety of environments including on-premises, hybrid, and public cloud infrastructures, offering flexibility and freedom from vendor lock-in.
  • High Availability
    Kubernetes ensures high availability through features like self-healing, automated rollouts and rollbacks, and various controller mechanisms to keep applications running reliably.
  • Extensibility
    Kubernetes has a modular architecture with a rich ecosystem of plugins, third-party tools, and extensions that allow customization and integration with various services.
  • Resource Efficiency
    Efficiently manages resources with features like autoscaling and resource quotas, helping to optimize usage and reduce costs.
  • Community and Support
    Kubernetes has a large, active community and strong industry support, which means abundant resources, tutorials, and third-party integrations are available.

Possible disadvantages of Kubernetes

  • Complexity
    The learning curve associated with Kubernetes is steep due to its numerous components, configurations, and operational paradigms.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running a Kubernetes cluster can be resource-intensive, often requiring significant CPU, memory, and storage resources, which can be costly.
  • Operational Challenges
    Managing a Kubernetes cluster requires expertise in areas such as networking, security, and cluster lifecycle management, making it challenging for smaller teams or organizations.
  • Debugging and Troubleshooting
    Pinpointing issues within a Kubernetes cluster can be difficult due to its distributed and dynamic nature, which can complicate debugging and troubleshooting processes.
  • Configuration Overhead
    Kubernetes involves numerous configurations and settings, which can be overwhelming and error-prone, especially during initial setup and deployment.
  • Security Management
    While Kubernetes provides various security features, managing those securely requires in-depth knowledge and diligence, as misconfigurations can lead to vulnerabilities.

Spacelift.io features and specs

  • Infrastructure as Code Support
    Spacelift supports popular IaC tools like Terraform, Pulumi, and CloudFormation, facilitating efficient infrastructure management and automation.
  • Scalability
    Spacelift is designed to handle infrastructure of various sizes, allowing for seamless scaling as project demands increase.
  • Policy as Code
    It enables the use of policy as code with customizable policies in Rego, providing security, compliance, and cost control capabilities.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Spacelift provides integrations with major cloud providers, VCS systems, and CI/CD tools, enhancing its extensibility and workflow automation.
  • Collaboration Features
    Offers collaboration tools like team management, approvals, and notifications to improve teamwork and communication among developers.

Analysis of Kubernetes

Overall verdict

  • Kubernetes is generally considered to be an excellent choice for managing containerized applications, especially for organizations aiming for scalability, flexibility, and resiliency. However, it comes with a steep learning curve and requires proper management and maintenance to fully utilize its potential.

Why this product is good

  • Kubernetes is widely regarded as a powerful and versatile platform for container orchestration. It automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications, which helps in efficiently handling workloads and ensuring high availability. Its open-source nature and a large, active community contribute to continuous improvements and a rich ecosystem of tools and extensions. Kubernetes supports a wide range of container runtimes and cloud platforms, making it a preferred choice for enterprises looking to deploy applications in a cloud-agnostic manner. Moreover, it offers advanced features such as self-healing, service discovery, load balancing, and secret management, making it a robust solution for modern DevOps practices.

Recommended for

  • Organizations with significant containerized workloads
  • Teams that require multi-cloud or hybrid cloud deployments
  • Enterprises focusing on DevOps and continuous delivery practices
  • Scalable microservices-based applications
  • Businesses that have resources to manage complex orchestration tools

Analysis of Spacelift.io

Overall verdict

  • Spacelift.io is generally regarded as a good choice for teams looking to streamline their infrastructure management. Its robust feature set, focus on modern DevOps practices, and compatibility with a wide range of tools make it a solid option for businesses and developers managing complex cloud environments.

Why this product is good

  • Spacelift.io is known for its strong DevOps capabilities, focusing on infrastructure as code (IaC) management. It offers features like policy as code, continuous integration and deployment for IaC, and supports tools like Terraform, CloudFormation, Pulumi, and more. The platform is praised for its flexibility, collaboration tools, security measures, and automation capabilities which enhance efficiency and consistency in managing cloud infrastructure.

Recommended for

    Spacelift.io is recommended for DevOps teams, cloud infrastructure engineers, and organizations that are leveraging infrastructure as code practices. It is particularly beneficial for those using multi-cloud strategies or looking for efficient ways to manage and automate their cloud infrastructures with tools like Terraform, CloudFormation, and others.

Kubernetes videos

Kubernetes in 5 mins

More videos:

  • Review - Kubernetes Documentation
  • Review - Module 1: Istio - Kubernetes - Getting Started - Installation and Sample Application Review
  • Review - Deploying WordPress on Kubernetes, Step-by-Step

Spacelift.io videos

Spacelift Introduction

More videos:

  • Review - Infrastructure as Code at scale with Spacelift.io's Marcin Wyszynski [DevOps Deployed Ep 08]

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Kubernetes and Spacelift.io)
Developer Tools
90 90%
10% 10
DevOps Tools
92 92%
8% 8
Infrastructure As Code
0 0%
100% 100
Cloud Computing
96 96%
4% 4

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Kubernetes and Spacelift.io

Kubernetes Reviews

The Top 7 Kubernetes Alternatives for Container Orchestration
Rancher RKE is an interface to the command line for Rancher Kubernetes Engine (RKE) and OpenShift. Both are software tools employed to deploy Kubernetes, an open source project that manages containers on several hosts.
Kubernetes Alternatives 2023: Top 8 Container Orchestration Tools
Azure Kubernetes Service is a container orchestration platform that offers secure serverless Kubernetes. AKS helps to manage Kubernetes clusters and makes deploying containerized applications so much easier. In addition to that, it provides automatic configuration of all Kubernetes nodes and master.
Top 12 Kubernetes Alternatives to Choose From in 2023
Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is a prominent choice for a Kubernetes alternative. It is provided and managed by Google Cloud, which offers fully managed Kubernetes services.
Source: humalect.com
Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes: how to choose a container orchestration tool
In this article, we explored the two primary orchestrators of the container world, Kubernetes and Docker Swarm. Docker Swarm is a lightweight, easy-to-use orchestration tool with limited offerings compared to Kubernetes. In contrast, Kubernetes is complex but powerful and provides self-healing, auto-scaling capabilities out of the box. K3s, a lightweight form of Kubernetes...
Source: circleci.com
Docker Alternatives
An open-source code, Rancher is another one among the list of Docker alternatives that is built to provide organizations with everything they need. This software combines the environments required to adopt and run containers in production. A rancher is built on Kubernetes. This tool helps the DevOps team by making it easier to testing, deploying and managing the...
Source: www.educba.com

Spacelift.io Reviews

Top 10 Most Popular Jenkins Alternatives for DevOps in 2024
Spacelift connects to popular VCS providers, including GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket, and Azure DevOps. It integrates with your pull request workflows to allow developers to make infrastructure changes while respecting policies and guardrails enforced by administrators. Spacelift also defends against drift by automatically detecting and remediating unexpected changes in your...
Source: spacelift.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Kubernetes should be more popular than Spacelift.io. It has been mentiond 359 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.

Kubernetes mentions (359)

  • Is Go Worth Learning in 2025?
    Cloud-Native Friendly: Lightweight and fast, Go apps fit perfectly into containerized environments like Docker and Kubernetes. - Source: dev.to / 16 days ago
  • India Open Source Development: Harnessing Collaborative Innovation for Global Impact
    Over the years, Indian developers have played increasingly vital roles in many international projects. From contributions to frameworks such as Kubernetes and Apache Hadoop to the emergence of homegrown platforms like OpenStack India, India has steadily carved out a global reputation as a powerhouse of open source talent. - Source: dev.to / 26 days ago
  • A Guide to Setting up Service Discovery for APIs
    Kubernetes isn't just for container orchestration—it packs a powerful built-in service discovery system that's changing how developers think about service connectivity. It uses DNS under the hood, along with environment variables, to help services find each other. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Kubernetes 1.33: A Deep Dive into the Exciting New Features of Octarine
    For a comprehensive overview, explore the Kubernetes 1.33 release notes and GitHub changelog. Engage with the community at events like KubeCon or join the Kubernetes Slack to collaborate on the future of cloud-native computing. With Octarine, Kubernetes continues to shine as the backbone of modern infrastructure. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • A Detailed Comparison between Kubernetes Operators and Controllers
    Imagine trying to keep a fleet of ships sailing smoothly across the ocean. You need to ensure each ship has enough crew, fuel, and cargo, and that they're all heading in the right direction. This is a complex task, requiring constant monitoring and adjustments. In the world of Kubernetes, Controllers and Operators play a similar role, ensuring your applications run smoothly and efficiently. This blog post delves... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
View more

Spacelift.io mentions (107)

  • Kubernetes Multi-Tenancy
    Finally, don't forget to automate your cluster provisioning and management processes with IaC. Configuring clusters as code via tools like Terraform and Pulumi makes Kubernetes infrastructure management simpler and more scalable, whether you're operating one cluster or many. Use Spacelift to unify your IaC tools and build dependable provisioning, configuration, and governance workflows. - Source: dev.to / 32 minutes ago
  • The Complete Guide to OpenTofu: Why It’s Time to Ditch Terraform
    Here’s the story : When HashiCorp switched Terraform from the Mozilla Public License (MPL) 2.0 to the restrictive Business Source License (BSL) 1.1, the community didn’t just complain – they acted. Within weeks, major players like Gruntwork, Spacelift, Harness, and Env0 came together to create OpenTofu, ensuring that a truly open-source IaC tool would continue to exist. - Source: dev.to / 4 days ago
  • 16 DevOps Metrics You Should Be Tracking
    Spacelift is an IaC management platform that helps you implement DevOps best practices. Spacelift provides a dependable CI/CD layer for infrastructure tools including OpenTofu, Terraform, Pulumi, Kubernetes, Ansible, and more, letting you automate your IaC delivery workflows. - Source: dev.to / 11 days ago
  • Terraform Length Function: Examples For Lists, Maps & Strings
    Terraform is really powerful, but to achieve an end-to-end secure Gitops approach, you need to use a product that can run your Terraform workflows. Spacelift takes managing Terraform to the next level by giving you access to a powerful CI/CD workflow and unlocking features such as:. - Source: dev.to / 14 days ago
  • Terraform drift is breaking your cloud: here’s how to stop the chaos
    Spacelift has real-time drift detection, policy-as-code, and CI/CD integrations. - Source: dev.to / 21 days ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Kubernetes and Spacelift.io, you can also consider the following products

Rancher - Open Source Platform for Running a Private Container Service

Scalr - Scalr is cloud management software for public & private infrastructure

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

env0 - The Best Way to Manage Your Terraform and Infrastructure as Code Manage, deploy, scale, and control all your Terraform, Terragrunt, Pulumi, and related frameworks

Helm.sh - The Kubernetes Package Manager

CloudBolt - CloudBolt’s hybrid cloud management platform enables enterprise IT departments to efficiently build, deploy, and manage private and public clouds.