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KubeGlass

KubeGlass vs Portainer

Portainer is a container management platform: one server, installed in a cluster or on a Docker host, through which people manage Docker, Swarm, Podman, Kubernetes and Azure ACI environments. It comes as Community Edition (CE), open source under the zlib license, and Business Edition (BE), which is paid above three nodes. KubeGlass is a web console for Kubernetes only, which runs as one binary on your computer or in a cluster.

They overlap where Portainer shows Kubernetes: applications, services, config and storage, logs and a shell. They differ in what they are for. Portainer gives people forms to deploy applications without writing YAML, and keeps its own users and roles. KubeGlass shows every kind the cluster serves, custom resources included, with each object’s status and problem, and leaves permissions to Kubernetes RBAC.

Portainer 3.0

Section titled “Portainer 3.0”

On 11 September 2026 Portainer announced a 3.0 release. As of 7 October 2026 it isn’t out; the latest release is 2.45.1 LTS. The announcement says:

  • 2.45 LTS is the last release in the 2.x line, which keeps getting security fixes, bug fixes and some 3.x features. 3.0.0 comes first as a short-term support (STS) release.
  • 3.x is a Kubernetes-first codebase. Docker, Swarm and Podman environments keep working, but get no new features.
  • There will be no Community Edition of 3.x: CE stays on 2.x. 3.x is free up to three nodes, as Business Edition is now.
  • Portainer is adding consoles for single jobs. Portainer-Run, already out, deploys apps that people built with AI tools; Portainer-Command is an MCP gateway that sends AI agents’ changes through GitOps. The announcement also lists IDP (next), Operations and AiGrid.

The table below describes 2.45, the release you can install today.

At a glance

Section titled “At a glance”
Feature KubeGlass Portainer
License AGPL-3.0 CE: zlib. BE: commercial
Cost Free CE free. BE free for up to 3 nodes, one license per organization; paid plans from $1,045 a year for 5 to 15 nodes; Home & Student $155 a year for up to 15 nodes, non-commercial
Manages Kubernetes Docker, Swarm, Podman, Kubernetes and Azure ACI
Runs as A binary that opens the UI in your browser, a container, or a Helm chart in a cluster A server installed with a Helm chart or manifests, or on a Docker host, with an agent or Edge Agent in each cluster it manages
Several clusters Every kubeconfig context in one list with its problems; lists and search across several at once Each cluster is an environment of the Portainer server. Importing one from a kubeconfig is BE only
Permissions Kubernetes RBAC: each request runs as the signed-in person Portainer’s own users and teams; role-based access control is BE
Sign-in OIDC, a Kubernetes token, or an auth proxy Portainer’s own accounts, LDAP, Active Directory, or OAuth with Microsoft, Google, GitHub or a custom provider
Kinds shown Every kind the cluster serves, custom resources included, with the same list and page Applications, Services, Ingresses, ConfigMaps and Secrets, volumes, namespaces and nodes, plus a few more. Custom resources are BE, for admins
Deploying an app Create from a template or YAML, with a dry run; Helm charts from a catalog A form, a manifest or a Helm chart. Helm from a Git repository is BE
Editing YAML Yes, with a server-side dry run and a diff BE only, on an application’s page
Scale and restart Yes BE only
Logs and shell Logs merged across a workload’s pods; pod exec, debug containers, node shells and split panes A container’s logs and console, and a shell in the browser with kubectl and helm
What is broken An Overview of every object with a problem, errors first and then the newest, with the likely cause and the change before it Not documented
Argo CD and Flux Built in Not documented for Kubernetes
Change history Changes recorded field by field, and the rollouts and Helm releases from before KubeGlass ran, with revert after a dry run. It lists those kinds, and Secrets for Helm, with KubeGlass’s own credentials: in every namespace, or in up to 25 namespaces when the credentials allow only some Not documented
Access review An access matrix and who can do something Not documented

Choose Portainer if

Section titled “Choose Portainer if”
  • You manage Docker, Swarm or Podman hosts as well as Kubernetes and want one tool for all of them. In 3.x those environments keep working without new features.
  • People who don’t write YAML deploy applications, and a form suits them.
  • You manage clusters at the edge through Portainer’s Edge Agent.

Choose KubeGlass if

Section titled “Choose KubeGlass if”
  • You work in Kubernetes and want every kind the cluster serves, custom resources included, without a paid edition.
  • You want YAML editing with a dry run, scaling and restarts without a license.
  • You want Kubernetes RBAC to decide what each person sees and does, with no second permission model to keep in step.
  • You want to know what is broken and why, what changed before it, and to revert that change.
  • You use Argo CD, Flux or Argo Rollouts, or review who may do what.
  • You want k9s-style keys and a command palette.

Using both

Section titled “Using both”

Portainer and KubeGlass can run against the same clusters; neither changes what the other needs. KubeGlass on your computer reads your kubeconfig, so it needs nothing in the cluster. A KubeGlass in the cluster has its own ServiceAccount and Helm release, apart from Portainer’s.

Sources

Section titled “Sources”

Checked on 6 October 2026; Portainer 3.0 and the latest release on 7 October 2026.

Section titled “Related”
KubeGlass compared with other tools
KubeGlass vs Rancher