Alternatives to LXD

Canonical's open-source manager for system containers and KVM virtual machines on Linux. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as LXD.

  • Incus

    Manage Linux system containers and virtual machines through one interface.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hosted

    Incus also manages Linux system containers and virtual machines through one interface, under the Apache-2.0 license instead of AGPL-3.0, with a Linux host required.

  • Proxmox VE

    A bare-metal server platform that runs KVM virtual machines and LXC containers from one web interface.

    FreemiumOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hosted

    Proxmox VE installs as a complete operating system that runs KVM virtual machines and LXC containers from one web interface, with backup and high-availability clustering included.

  • SmartOS

    An open-source illumos-based hypervisor operating system that runs zones and KVM or bhyve virtual machines.

    FreeOpen sourceSelf-hosted

    SmartOS uses an illumos base instead of Linux, running zones alongside KVM or bhyve virtual machines, with ZFS and DTrace built in and booting into memory.

  • FreeBSD

    An open source Unix-like operating system with native ZFS, jails and the bhyve hypervisor.

    FreeOpen sourceSelf-hostedCommand line

    FreeBSD offers jails for isolating services and the built-in bhyve hypervisor with native ZFS, replacing Linux containers with a Unix-like system that has fewer desktop drivers.

  • Harvester

    Hyper-converged infrastructure that runs virtual machines on top of Kubernetes.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hosted

    Harvester runs virtual machines and containers on Kubernetes with shared storage, but installs on bare metal only and expects at least three nodes for production.

  • OpenNebula

    An open-source platform for building private and hybrid clouds that manage virtual machines and Kubernetes.

    FreemiumOpen sourceLinuxWebSelf-hosted

    OpenNebula manages virtual machines and Kubernetes across a private or hybrid cloud with federation and high availability, but is built for data centres rather than one server.

Also worth comparing

These listings name LXD as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • libvirt

    A toolkit, daemon and API for managing KVM, QEMU, Xen, LXC and other virtualization platforms.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxCommand line

    LXD is Canonical's manager for system containers and KVM virtual machines, with a web interface and CLI, AGPL-3.0 licensed, and most at home on Ubuntu hosts.

  • LXC

    System containers that run a full Linux userspace instead of a single process.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxCommand line

    LXD is Canonical's manager for system containers that also runs KVM virtual machines and adds a web interface, under AGPL-3.0 and most at home on Ubuntu.

  • WebVirtCloud

    A self-hosted web interface for managing KVM virtual machines through libvirt, for admins and users.

    FreeProprietaryLinuxWebSelf-hosted

    LXD manages system containers and KVM virtual machines on Linux with a web interface and command-line tool, and it is open source under AGPL-3.0.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.