Overview

Quay combines private repositories with controls over who can view or change content, image scanning, build automation, and distribution tools. That makes it a capable choice for teams that want to manage the registry alongside their development and deployment systems. The trade-off is operational: a deployment needs image storage, a database, and Redis, so Quay demands more infrastructure planning than a registry that handles those components for you.

It can run as a standalone component or as an Operator on OpenShift Container Platform, and supports Kubernetes deployments. Quay is intended for both small-scale and enterprise use, including development and production workloads, but its local image storage is only suitable for proof-of-concept or test installations because blob durability is not guaranteed.

Key features

Registry workflows and access

The web interface, private repositories, and organization and team role-based access controls help teams manage access as projects and responsibilities grow. Integrations with CI/CD tools and Git-compatible systems, including GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket, support automated builds and deployments. The OAuth 2 REST API adds a route for managing the registry and automating tasks, making Quay a stronger fit for teams that want registry work incorporated into existing systems.

Scanning and security

Clair scans images for known vulnerabilities and can suggest remediation. Quay also offers TLS, isolated builds, and encryption of sensitive fields at rest and at runtime. FIPS-compliant cryptographic functions can be enabled, though prerequisites vary by deployment environment and version; teams with compliance requirements should account for that configuration rather than assume it is automatic.

Distribution and artifacts

Quay supports OCI artifacts, immutable tags, retention policies, and multi-region replication. Repository mirroring and geographic replication with client failover help teams distribute content across locations, while support for disconnected environments serves deployments without ordinary external connectivity. AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, and Azure Blob Storage are among the supported image storage options. Red Hat provides 24/7 support for Project Quay, an important complement for organizations operating the registry in production.

Pricing

Project Quay uses a freemium model and offers a free plan plus a 30-day trial. The open-source community distribution costs 0.00 USD per free under the Apache 2 license. It includes the registry capabilities described above, but requires teams to provide a database and reliable image storage; Redis is also required for a deployment. The free price does not remove the infrastructure work or make local image storage appropriate for durable production use. No paid plan price is stated, so paid arrangements are custom pricing.

Platforms

Quay supports API, Linux, self-hosted, and web use. Its deployment options include standalone operation, an OpenShift Container Platform Operator, and Kubernetes deployments. This flexibility favors teams already prepared to run registry infrastructure; organizations seeking a managed service rather than a self-hosted component may prefer another option.

Who it's for

Quay is a strong fit for development and platform teams that need a self-managed registry with vulnerability scanning, automation, fine-grained access controls, and multi-region or disconnected distribution. Its feature set also suits enterprise workloads, especially where teams can supply reliable storage and supporting services. It is a poor fit for a production installation that would rely on local image storage, or for teams unwilling to own the database, Redis, and storage decisions.

Pros and cons

Pros: Clair scanning, security controls, immutable tags, and retention policies support security-conscious image management.
Pros: Mirroring, multi-region replication, client failover, and disconnected-environment support serve complex distribution needs.
Pros: CI/CD integrations and an OAuth 2 REST API give teams ways to automate builds, deployments, and registry administration.
Cons: Production use requires a database, Redis, and reliable image storage, adding infrastructure responsibility.
Cons: Local image storage is not durable enough for production workloads, so teams must plan for supported external storage.
Cons: FIPS-compliant cryptography has deployment- and version-dependent prerequisites, which can add compliance planning.

Alternatives

Compare container registries if you want to weigh Quay against other options. Choose 8gears Container Registry for a free-forever individual plan with 1 GB storage, unlimited private repositories, and community support. JFrog Container Registry is another free self-managed option for Docker, OCI, Helm, Helm OCI, and Generic packages, but its listed edition does not include Xray.

Inedo ProGet may suit teams that want unlimited feeds for private packages and Docker in its free edition, though that edition has limited security and compliance features. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Container Registry is worth considering for its free monthly allowance of 2 million invocations and 400,000 gigabyte memory-seconds. DigitalOcean Container Registry offers a free Starter tier with one repository and 500 MiB of storage, or a $5.00 USD per month Basic tier with five repositories and 5 GiB of storage.

Amazon Elastic Container Registry uses pay-as-you-go pricing based on stored data and internet transfer, with no upfront fees or commitments. Satama Container Registry offers free-of-charge use only for cases meeting CSC’s policy.

Verdict

Choose Quay if your team wants a self-managed registry with scanning, automation, security controls, and distribution capabilities for multi-region or disconnected deployments—and can operate the required supporting infrastructure. Look elsewhere if you need production storage without provisioning a durable backend, or want to avoid running the registry’s database and Redis.

	Harbor	Quay
Free plan	No	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	—	Free
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Web, Linux	api, Linux, self-hosted, Web
Image scanning	Yes	Yes
OCI artifacts	Yes	Yes
Immutable tags	Yes	Yes
Retention policies	Yes	Yes
Free plan	—	Yes
Replication scope	—	multi-region

Harbor vs Quay

Harbor

Quay