Best Container Engines in 2026
Updated
32 container engines ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
32ranked
1free plans on this page
8 Oct 2026last checked
Container Engines, ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going. 1 of the 7 on this page can be tried for free.
- 26 LXCFree plan
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 27 PouchContainer
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 28 runhcs
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 29 AppJail
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 30 OpenVZ
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 31 Shifter
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 32 systemd-nspawn
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: not on record
- Runs where you work: not on record
Compare all 7 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Rootless mode | Image building |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | LXC | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 27 | PouchContainer | 5.8 | No | — | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 28 | runhcs | 5.8 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 29 | AppJail | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | No | Yes |
| 30 | OpenVZ | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 31 | Shifter | 5.7 | No | — | — | — | — | No |
| 32 | systemd-nspawn | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | Yes | — |
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