Charmed Kubernetes
Charmed Kubernetes is a Linux, self-hosted Kubernetes distribution for building clusters and delivering containers across an enterprise.
What Charmed Kubernetes is
Charmed Kubernetes is a Linux, self-hosted Kubernetes distribution for building clusters and delivering containers across an enterprise. Juju-powered Charmed Operators automate lifecycle work from initial setup through ongoing operations. It supports OpenStack, VMware, AWS, GCP, Azure, bare metal, virtual machines and containers, with multi-cluster management, autoscaling and rolling updates. Storage, networking, load balancing, logging, monitoring and alerting integrations are available, and deployments can use pluggable CNI, CSI, CRI and monitoring components. The distribution is described as CNCF-certified, conformant and production-grade, with high availability enabled by default. Core Kubernetes components receive automatic updates and security fixes. Workloads can use Docker or containerd, GPU, FPGA and SR-IOV PCI passthrough, plus Kubernetes virtual machines with Kata containers. Telco capabilities include SR-IOV, DPDK, NUMA, CPU pinning and GPU support. Ubuntu can be used free of charge; commercial support is available through Canonical services.
Good
- Runs across major cloud and private infrastructures
- Automates cluster lifecycle management
- High availability enabled by default
- Automatic Kubernetes updates and security fixes
- Supports multi-cluster management
Watch out
- Self-hosted Linux deployment
- Some support requires Canonical services
Who it suits
It suits organizations operating Kubernetes on self-hosted Linux infrastructure across cloud, virtualized or bare-metal environments. Telco and specialized hardware workloads are also addressed.
Verdict
Charmed Kubernetes provides an automated, customizable foundation for enterprise clusters across varied infrastructure. Its free use and broad workload support suit teams that can operate self-hosted Kubernetes.
Plans and prices
From Charmed Kubernetes's own pricing page, checked 4 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Charmed Kubernetes | Priced on request | Enterprise Kubernetes distribution · Support via Ubuntu Pro add-ons · Pricing not stated on the Charmed Kubernetes pages opened; Ubuntu Pro lists enterprise support add-ons separately. |
The facts
Each one read from Charmed Kubernetes's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Availability
- The distribution is described as CNCF-certified and production-grade, with high availability set up by default.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Customisation
- The documentation describes customizable deployments with pluggable CNI, CSI, CRI and monitoring components.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Infrastructure
- It supports OpenStack, VMware, AWS, GCP, Azure, bare metal, virtual machines and containers.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The product offers integrations with storage, networking, load balancing, logging, monitoring and alerting tools.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Operations
- Juju-powered Charmed Operators automate cluster lifecycle management and reduce manual work from Day 0 to Day 2.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Publisher
- Canonical is Ubuntu's publisher, and its team leads aspects of the Ubuntu project including Kubernetes.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Charmed Kubernetes provides tools to build Kubernetes clusters and deliver containers as a service across an enterprise.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Security
- Ubuntu's Kubernetes page describes Charmed Kubernetes as secure by default and CNCF conformant.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- The product page describes a single subscription for full-stack support when used on Charmed OpenStack.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Telco
- The Charmed Kubernetes page lists SR-IOV, DPDK, NUMA, CPU pinning and GPU support among its telco features, and cites ETSI, DISA STIG, NCSC and FIPS.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Updates
- The page says core Kubernetes components receive automatic updates and security fixes.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Workloads
- It supports Docker and containerd runtimes, PCI device passthrough for GPU, FPGA and SR-IOV workloads, and VMs on Kubernetes with Kata containers.checked 4 Oct 2026
The company
- Founded
- 2004checked 28 Sep 2026
- Headquarters
- London, United Kingdomchecked 28 Sep 2026
Money
- Free use
- Ubuntu's about page says Ubuntu can be downloaded and used free of charge, while commercial users can engage Canonical for support and related services.checked 4 Oct 2026
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