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Cloud · head to head

containerd vs Steampipe

containerd logo

containerd

Cloud

Industry-standard container runtime, and the engine inside Docker

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Steampipe logo

Steampipe

Developer Tools

Query cloud APIs, SaaS tools and code with SQL, with no extract or load step

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: containerd not a developer-facing tool: there is no build command and the CLI is deliberately minimal, so it needs companions like nerdctl or Buildah; Steampipe aGPL-3.0 across all four engines is a procurement blocker at organisations that ban the licence outright, and the network clause reaches any internal portal or service that puts a web interface in front of it.
  • They diverge on capability: containerd covers Full container lifecycle, Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which containerd and Steampipe actually diverge.

Attributes where containerd and Steampipe differ
AttributecontainerdSteampipe
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeOpen source, with paid hosting through Turbot Pipes
PlatformsLinux, WindowsmacOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web
CategoryCloudDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in containerd

  • Full container lifecycle
  • CRI support
  • OCI compliant
  • Snapshotter plugins
  • Namespaces
  • Stable API

Only in Steampipe

  • SQL over live APIs
  • Wide plugin set
  • Embedded Postgres
  • Compliance benchmarks
  • Joins across providers
  • Hosted option

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

containerd

  • Running the container runtime under a Kubernetes cluster after the Docker shim removalnot Steampipe
  • Building a platform or PaaS that needs to execute containersnot Steampipe
  • Reducing the moving parts on nodes that only ever run Kubernetes workloadsnot Steampipe
  • Embedding container execution inside another productnot Steampipe

Steampipe

  • Security teams answering posture questions against live cloud accounts rather than a nightly exportnot containerd
  • Compliance evidence gathering where the answer must reflect the account at the moment it is askednot containerd
  • Inventory and drift questions spanning several cloud providers in one querynot containerd
  • Engineers who would rather write SQL than learn each provider command line toolnot containerd

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

containerd

  • Not a developer-facing tool: there is no build command and the CLI is deliberately minimal, so it needs companions like nerdctl or Buildah
  • Debugging is lower-level than Docker, and error messages assume knowledge of the runtime internals
  • Documentation is aimed at platform engineers, so newcomers usually find Docker or Podman material more useful
  • No image building at all — that is out of scope by design

Steampipe

  • AGPL-3.0 across all four engines is a procurement blocker at organisations that ban the licence outright, and the network clause reaches any internal portal or service that puts a web interface in front of it.
  • Dashboards, benchmarks and mods were removed from Steampipe entirely at version 1.0 in October 2024 and now live in a separate product, so pre-2024 documentation and tutorials describe commands that no longer exist.
  • Live querying is bound by cloud provider API rate limits and keeps no persistent store by default, which is why a separate DuckDB-backed product exists for log volumes and why large accounts return slowly.
  • The company is fifteen people and bootstrapped, maintaining four command line tools plus a hosted service plus two further products, and the newer tools have thin community traction relative to that surface area.
  • Hosted tiers include only three users regardless of tier, with additional Enterprise users charged separately, so a team of thirty costs an order of magnitude more than the headline figure before compute and storage are counted.

Pricing, plan by plan

containerd

Free
  • containerdFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Steampipe

Free
  • Steampipe CLIFree
    • AGPL-3.0
    • All plugins
    • No user or query limits
  • Pipes DeveloperFree
    • One user
    • 400 compute minutes
    • 3GB storage
  • Pipes Team$49/month
    • Three users
    • 2,000 compute minutes
    • 20GB storage
  • Pipes Enterprise$249/month
    • Three users
    • 10,000 compute minutes
    • 100GB storage

Which should you pick?

Choose containerd if

  • You need full container lifecycle.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows.
  • You also want cri support.
containerd review

Choose Steampipe if

  • You need sql over live apis.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web.
  • You also want wide plugin set.
Steampipe review

Questions people ask

Is containerd or Steampipe better?
Neither clearly leads. containerd starts at Free and Steampipe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, containerd or Steampipe?
containerd starts at Free and Steampipe at Free.
Does containerd or Steampipe run on more platforms?
containerd runs on Linux, Windows. Steampipe runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web.
Can I use containerd for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is containerd best used for?
containerd is most often used for running the container runtime under a kubernetes cluster after the docker shim removal, building a platform or paas that needs to execute containers, reducing the moving parts on nodes that only ever run kubernetes workloads, embedding container execution inside another product. Of those, running the container runtime under a kubernetes cluster after the docker shim removal and building a platform or paas that needs to execute containers are not what Steampipe is typically brought in for.
What can containerd do that Steampipe cannot?
containerd covers Full container lifecycle, CRI support, OCI compliant, Snapshotter plugins. Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

containerd: Is containerd free?

Yes. It is an open-source CNCF graduated project with no licence fee.

Steampipe: When did Steampipe become AGPL?

May 2021, about four months after the project went public. It is a settled licence rather than a recent change, and predates the Business Source Licence wave it is often confused with.

containerd: Do I need containerd if I use Docker?

You already have it. Docker uses containerd underneath to run containers; it is not an alternative you install separately.

Steampipe: Where did the dashboards and benchmarks go?

Into Powerpipe. They were deprecated in March 2024 and removed from Steampipe at version 1.0 in October 2024, so the check, dashboard, mod and variable commands are gone.

containerd: Why did Kubernetes drop Docker for containerd?

Kubernetes talks to runtimes through the Container Runtime Interface. Docker did not speak CRI natively and needed a shim, so Kubernetes removed the shim and talks to containerd directly, which Docker was already using anyway.

Steampipe: Is it fast on a large cloud estate?

Not always. Queries call provider APIs at request time, so rate limits rather than query planning set the pace, and there is no persistent store by default.

containerd: Can containerd build images?

No. Image building is deliberately out of scope. Tools such as Buildah, BuildKit or Docker handle that.

Steampipe: Does the AGPL affect internal use?

Running it internally for your own analysis is fine. Putting a web interface in front of it that other people use is where the network clause becomes a question for your legal team.

Steampipe: Is a bootstrapped vendor a risk?

It cuts both ways. There is no investor pressure toward a licence change or an exit, and there are also fifteen people supporting a large product surface.

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