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LXC vs LXD: catalog facts
LXC	LXD
Free The open-source software is available without a license fee. Hosting, hardware and…	Free Free and open source, maintained by Canonical.
Linux, Command line	Linux, Web, Self-hosted, Command line
System containers feel like a virtual machine without the hypervisor overhead Unprivileged containers run entirely as a normal user	Runs system containers and KVM virtual machines side by side Low overhead for full Linux environments in containers
Command-line only; day-to-day management is easier through Incus Container images and templates are Linux-only	Linux hosts only Canonical-led project, most at home on Ubuntu
Downloadable app	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: LGPL-2.1	License: AGPL-3.0
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.