Open source · AGPL-3.0 · No lock-in
An Open Source
Application Platform
Based on Kubernetes and designed to:
- Run any app on any cloud or on prem in minutes
- Minimize operational cost
- Maximize security, reliability, digital sovereignty and autonomy
Day 2 is where Kubernetes gets expensive.
Installing a cluster is an afternoon. Keeping it patched, compliant and boring for years is the real work.
Upgrades postponed until they're risky
Version jumps pile up until nobody wants to be the one who touches the cluster.
Drift you can't see
Manual hotfixes in production quietly diverge from what Git says is running.
CVE churn without end
Every chart you run needs watching, patching and re-testing, every single week.
Compared, without the spin.
Rancher, OpenShift and Kubermatic are all serious platforms, and the table says where they beat us. KubeAid trades breadth for something harder to take away. Your cluster is a set of files in a Git repo you control, and the licence is AGPL-3.0, so nobody can switch it off.
- Built in
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limits
- Not what the tool is for
| KubeAid | Rancher Prime | OpenShift | Kubermatic KKP | DIY Cluster API + ArgoCD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clouds and bare metal | Built inAWS, Azure, Hetzner, bare metal (UEFI) | Built inCAPI-based RKE2, any node | Built inAgent installer, bare-metal IPI | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsBare metal experimental, Ubuntu only | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsProviders exist, you assemble |
| Major upgrades | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsVersion bump in Git, rolling | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsRolling upgrades, major jumps need care | Built inPublished update graph, EUS releases | Built inVersion policy, automatic patch updates | Not what the tool is forYours to test every time |
| Whole-cluster recovery | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsVelero volumes, daily by default | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsOperator covers Rancher itself | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsetcd snapshots, OADP not whole-cluster | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsVelero integration, Enterprise edition | Not what the tool is forAssemble it yourself |
| Application catalogue | Built in124 curated charts, updated weekly | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsHardened images, top Prime tier | Built inCertified OperatorHub, Red Hat lifecycle | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsApplication Catalog, Enterprise edition | Not what the tool is forNone by definition |
| Air-gapped operation | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsImages from your own registry | Built inDocumented mirror and offline install | Built inoc-mirror plus local update service | Built inDocumented offline mode since 2.24 | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsMirror everything yourself |
| Data ownership and GitOps | Built inYour Git, drift flagged not forced | Built inSelf-hosted, Fleet reads your Git | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsSelf-managed, telemetry on by default | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsSelf-hosted seeds, GitOps via addon | Built inEntirely yours |
| Licensing and exit | Built inAGPL-3.0 platform, Apache-2.0 CLI | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsApache-2.0 core, Prime gates extras | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsSubscription gates updates and registry | Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsApache-2.0 CE, Enterprise needs licence | Built inAll upstream open source |
Clouds and bare metal
- Built inKubeAidAWS, Azure, Hetzner, bare metal (UEFI)
- Built inRancher PrimeCAPI-based RKE2, any node
- Built inOpenShiftAgent installer, bare-metal IPI
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsKubermatic KKPBare metal experimental, Ubuntu only
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsDIY Cluster API + ArgoCDProviders exist, you assemble
Major upgrades
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsKubeAidVersion bump in Git, rolling
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsRancher PrimeRolling upgrades, major jumps need care
- Built inOpenShiftPublished update graph, EUS releases
- Built inKubermatic KKPVersion policy, automatic patch updates
- Not what the tool is forDIY Cluster API + ArgoCDYours to test every time
Whole-cluster recovery
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsKubeAidVelero volumes, daily by default
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsRancher PrimeOperator covers Rancher itself
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsOpenShiftetcd snapshots, OADP not whole-cluster
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsKubermatic KKPVelero integration, Enterprise edition
- Not what the tool is forDIY Cluster API + ArgoCDAssemble it yourself
Application catalogue
- Built inKubeAid124 curated charts, updated weekly
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsRancher PrimeHardened images, top Prime tier
- Built inOpenShiftCertified OperatorHub, Red Hat lifecycle
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsKubermatic KKPApplication Catalog, Enterprise edition
- Not what the tool is forDIY Cluster API + ArgoCDNone by definition
Air-gapped operation
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsKubeAidImages from your own registry
- Built inRancher PrimeDocumented mirror and offline install
- Built inOpenShiftoc-mirror plus local update service
- Built inKubermatic KKPDocumented offline mode since 2.24
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsDIY Cluster API + ArgoCDMirror everything yourself
Data ownership and GitOps
- Built inKubeAidYour Git, drift flagged not forced
- Built inRancher PrimeSelf-hosted, Fleet reads your Git
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsOpenShiftSelf-managed, telemetry on by default
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsKubermatic KKPSelf-hosted seeds, GitOps via addon
- Built inDIY Cluster API + ArgoCDEntirely yours
Licensing and exit
- Built inKubeAidAGPL-3.0 platform, Apache-2.0 CLI
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsRancher PrimeApache-2.0 core, Prime gates extras
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsOpenShiftSubscription gates updates and registry
- Needs extra tooling, a paid tier, or has known limitsKubermatic KKPApache-2.0 CE, Enterprise needs licence
- Built inDIY Cluster API + ArgoCDAll upstream open source
From laptop to cluster in two commands.
kubeaid-cli is a single binary. It generates your config, provisions the cluster and hands everything to ArgoCD. From then on, Git runs it.
What that means in practice.
Run any app on any cloud or on prem
kubeaid-cli generates your config and provisions the cluster from a single binary. Cluster API deploys the same way on AWS, Azure and Hetzner cloud, and KubeOne covers UEFI bare metal over SSH, on-prem included. A Kubernetes upgrade is a version bump committed to Git and rolled out when you apply it, not when a controller notices a release.
Any cloud or UEFI bare metal · upgrades declared in Git · images from your own registry
Minimize operational cost
Every change is a commit and ArgoCD applies it, so routine operations stop being human work and anything changed outside Git is flagged as drift. The 124 charts you run are patched and re-tested once, for everyone, and the platform work is shared across customers as open source, so nobody pays twice for the same fix.
124 charts, updated weekly · platform work shared as open source
Maximize security, reliability and sovereignty
Security defaults map to ISO 27001:2022 and cover GDPR and NIS2 goals. kube-prometheus monitoring, NetBird and Keycloak access control and sealed secrets are standard, and Velero backups run on a schedule with a documented restore. The platform is AGPL-3.0, kubeaid-cli is Apache-2.0, and your config lives in your Git repository, cancel and it all keeps running.
Velero backup & restore · NetBird + Keycloak · AGPL-3.0 platform
Compliance by default.
Security and operational defaults are mapped to ISO 27001:2022 and cover GDPR and NIS2 goals, with DORA and CIS 18 in scope. Least-privilege NetworkPolicies, OPA policies and supply-chain scanning ship with the platform, and we turn the network policies on with you, namespace by namespace. It is the same hardened setup that has passed independent penetration tests with zero findings.
Run it yourself, or run it with us.
KubeAid is AGPL-3.0 and free forever. Subscriptions add Obmondo operations per server. Cancel anytime, with expense ceilings so costs stay predictable. Maintenance is shared across customers running the same stack, so nobody pays for the same work twice.
- Full platform, nothing gated
- AGPL-3.0 licensed
- Community support on GitHub
| Basic | Bronze | Most popularSilver | Gold | Platinum | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | €29/server·mo | €129/server·mo | €165/server·mo | €199/server·mo | €265/server·mo |
| Response / SLA | Monitoring, alerts & live chat | 1-business-day response | 4-hour response, business hours | 2-hour response, 24×7 | 1-hour response, 24×7 |
| Service level |
Prices per server per month. Volume discounts, consultation hours and expense ceilings. See the full calculator.
Open the price calculatorSovereignty you can exit-test.
Everything KubeAid ships is open source, the platform under AGPL-3.0 and kubeaid-cli under Apache-2.0, and your config lives in your Git repository. Clusters can pull their images from a registry you run. Cancel the subscription and keep everything: config, charts, monitoring. That is the exit test hyperscalers fail. And because the platform work is shared across customers as open source, nobody builds compliance alone.
AGPL-3.0 platform · Apache-2.0 CLI · the work shared as open source
FAQ
Yes. The full platform is AGPL-3.0 with nothing gated behind a paid edition. Subscriptions add operations, response times and support, not features.
A Git host, a target to deploy to (a cloud account or your own servers), and the bootstrap script. It sets up ArgoCD and your private config repository from the KubeAid template.
You bump the Kubernetes version in your config repository and ArgoCD shows you the diff. The rollout happens when you apply it, not when a controller sees a new release, so the timing is yours. Major upgrades on a parallel shadow cluster are on the roadmap, not something we ship today.
No. Everything is standard Kubernetes plus Git, the platform is AGPL-3.0 and kubeaid-cli Apache-2.0, your config lives in your repository, and any subscription can be cancelled at any time.
Partially, by design. Everything needed to set up or fully recover a cluster is kept in your repositories, and a Kyverno policy rewrites image references to your own Harbor registry, so workloads pull through you instead of upstream. A fully disconnected install, with every image pre-mirrored, is on the roadmap.
Talk to the people who'll run it.
A 30-minute call with an Obmondo engineer who operates clusters for a living, not a sales deck.