Kubernetes Vs. OpenStack: How They Differ, How They Work Together, And When To Use Each

Kubernetes and OpenStack are not competitors. They operate at different layers of the stack and are often used together.

OpenStack manages cloud infrastructure such as compute, storage, and networking. Kubernetes runs on top of that infrastructure to deploy, scale, and manage containerized applications.

Teams often compare them as alternatives, but in practice, Kubernetes frequently runs on OpenStack. 

Understanding this relationship helps teams design scalable architectures and avoid incorrect tooling decisions.

What Does Kubernetes Do?

Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that manages how containerized applications are deployed, scaled, and kept running.

Kubernetes schedules containers onto compute resources, groups them into pods, and continuously monitors their health. If a container fails, Kubernetes automatically restarts, replaces, or reschedules it to maintain the desired state.

Kubernetes does not manage infrastructure. It assumes compute, networking, and storage are already in place and focuses solely on running applications reliably across that infrastructure.

Because of this design, Kubernetes can run on public or private clouds, on-premises environments, or on top of platforms such as OpenStack.

Related read: Kubernetes Node Vs. Pod Vs. Cluster: What’s The Difference?

What Does OpenStack Do?

OpenStack is an open-source cloud platform that provisions infrastructure resources like virtual machines, networking, and storage. It abstracts physical hardware into pooled compute, network, and storage services exposed via APIs. 

Unlike Kubernetes, it doesn’t manage applications. It manages the infrastructure they run on.It provides the foundation on which workloads run, but does not manage how applications are deployed or scaled inside containers.

As a result, OpenStack is commonly used to host virtual machines and to serve as the underlying infrastructure for platforms such as Kubernetes.

So, how are Kubernetes and OpenStack different?

OpenStack Vs. Kubernetes: What Are The Differences?

Both Kubernetes and OpenStack are enterprise-grade, open-source, and community-driven projects. For OpenStack, the OpenStack Foundation oversees its development and maintenance, whereas the CNCF governs Kubernetes.

Despite these similarities, there are a few notable differences. By comparing OpenStack and Kubernetes, you can tell if they complement each other or if you need to choose one over the other.

1. Cloud computing platform vs. container orchestration software

OpenStack is a cloud infrastructure platform. It provisions and manages compute, storage, networking, and bare metal.

Kubernetes is a container orchestration platform. It deploys, scales, and maintains containerized applications.

While OpenStack enables you to build and manage public or private cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes automates most of the tasks required to deploy, scale, and manage the health of your containerized applications at scale.

2. Automated vs. hands-on deployments

Automating operations and boosting productivity are two of the benefits Kubernetes and OpenStack provide. Both offer web interfaces for easy management.

OpenStack focuses on resource provisioning.  You request capacity, and OpenStack allocates it.

Kubernetes focuses on desired state management. You define how applications should run, and Kubernetes continuously enforces that state.

Note: While Kubernetes automates container management, OpenStack uses a suite of components and services to automate cloud infrastructure provisioning and management. Still, OpenStack requires more manual effort than Kubernetes.

Useful resource: What Is Container Orchestration? A Newbie-Friendly Guide

3. Support for containerized vs. non-containerized applications

OpenStack manages VMs and bare-metal servers, making it suitable for both modern and legacy workloads, while Kubernetes runs only containerized applications.

Kubernetes manages containers only. Applications have to be containerized to run on Kubernetes.

Related read: 10 Best Kubernetes Alternatives (By Category)

4. All cloud-native or transitioning from traditional computing

A Kubernetes deployment is ideal for teams that are cloud-native or have a deep understanding of cloud-native practices.

 Such teams have experience with distributed version control systems such as Git and source code management platforms such as GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket.

They have used containerization, continuous integration (CI), continuous deployment (CD), automated testing, and canary deployments, among other cloud-first technologies and skills.

OpenStack supports both traditional and modern workloads. It is commonly used to run virtual machines and gradually modernize existing environments.

Note: The simplest way to deploy OpenStack is to purchase a private cloud from an OpenStack-powered provider. It’s a great way to get all the OpenStack features you need without creating your own private cloud from scratch.

Are Kubernetes And OpenStack Competitors?

While once seen as competitors, Kubernetes and OpenStack are now widely used together. OpenStack provides the infrastructure layer — compute, storage, networking — while Kubernetes runs containerized workloads on top. Together, they offer a scalable, cloud-native stack.

Picture this: Many organizations are deploying OpenStack for Network Function Virtualization (NFV). Many of these network operators are increasingly deploying Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) in containers and orchestrating them with Kubernetes.

Also, most OpenStack users already operate Kubernetes on top of OpenStack. Here’s the deal:

Take a look:

Credit: Kubernetes on top of OpenStack Bare-Metals and VMs

The future will see more use cases like this. It will promote using OpenStack and Kubernetes together rather than at odds (one against the other).

It is becoming more common for OpenStack teams to move their services to a standalone mode while upgrading their deployment services to better integrate with Kubernetes. By growing and improving projects such as Kuryr, they can bridge containers and networking within OpenStack.

On the Kubernetes side, work is underway to build and expand a list of OpenStack Cloud Provider plugins to improve integration with Kubernetes containers. This involves testing the integration points to ensure operations run smoothly with OpenStack infrastructure.

Having this understanding partly helps answer the question of when to use OpenStack and when to use Kubernetes. Here’s more.

When To Use Kubernetes

You’ll want to use Kubernetes to:

When To Use OpenStack

With OpenStack’s cloud operating system, you can:

How To Track, Control, And Optimize Your Container Costs

Both Kubernetes and OpenStack provide powerful platforms for deploying, running, and managing containerized applications. Both are highly scalable and highly available, and they support an impressive level of automation.

In practice, however, these same features tend to blindside cost management.

In the case of OpenStack, for example, configuring your own infrastructure can lead to overprovisioning, increasing costs. In Kubernetes, the high scalability can quickly consume resources, leading to a surprise cloud bill.

To prevent these surprises, you’ll need a robust platform to help you track, manage, and optimize your costs. With CloudZero’s unique code-driven approach, you can more accurately aggregate, normalize, and analyze your infrastructure and application costs at any scale.

Then, CloudZero translates the data into easy-to-digest insights, like:

For example, CloudZero’s Kubernetes Cost Analysis helps you understand how much each pod, node, namespace, cluster, and other K8s concepts cost you. If you want to simplify your analysis, you can also use CloudZero to combine and compare costs across your containerized and non-containerized infrastructure.

With our real-time cost anomaly detection and noise-free alerts, you’ll be aware of potential overspending issues and can stop them.

to see all of this and more of CloudZero’s capabilities in action.

FAQs

Can Kubernetes run on OpenStack?

Yes. Kubernetes commonly runs on OpenStack. OpenStack provides compute, networking, and storage, while Kubernetes manages application deployment and scaling.

What problem does Kubernetes solve that OpenStack does not?

Kubernetes solves application orchestration. It manages container scheduling, scaling, service discovery, and application health. OpenStack does not manage applications.

Do you need to choose between Kubernetes and OpenStack?

Most teams do not choose one over the other. They use OpenStack to manage infrastructure and Kubernetes to run containerized workloads on top of it.

Is OpenStack required to use Kubernetes?

No. OpenStack is not required to use Kubernetes. Kubernetes can run on many infrastructure platforms, including public clouds and on-premise environments.

Why is Kubernetes cost visibility difficult?

Kubernetes abstracts infrastructure behind pods, namespaces, and services. As a result, infrastructure costs are spread across many shared resources, making it hard to see which teams, features, or customers drive spend.

How does CloudZero help with Kubernetes cost visibility?

CloudZero integrates Kubernetes usage data with cloud infrastructure costs to show how spend maps to pods, namespaces, services, and the business outcomes they support.