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 in tiers by the score this site gives them, S at the top. 0 of the 7 on this page have an Android app.
Compare all 7 in a table
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Rootless mode | Image building |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | LXC | 5.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 27 | PouchContainer | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 28 | runhcs | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 29 | AppJail | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | No | Yes |
| 30 | OpenVZ | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 31 | Shifter | 5.6 | No | — | — | — | — | No |
| 32 | systemd-nspawn | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | Yes | — |
More in Developer Tools
All developer tools listsAccessibility Testing Software 168Log Management Software 107AI Coding Assistants 103Package Managers 93AI Agent Platforms 73Reverse Engineering Tools 73Software Composition Analysis Software 66Artifact repository software 63Browser Automation Tools 63Integrated Development Environments 63Code Playground Software 58Container Registries 56