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Cloud · head to head

containerd vs Trilio

containerd logo

containerd

Cloud

Industry-standard container runtime, and the engine inside Docker

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Trilio logo

Trilio

Backup

Backup and recovery for OpenStack, Kubernetes and Red Hat Virtualization

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; Trilio coverage is deliberately narrow, so a mixed estate with VMware and physical servers needs a second backup product and two sets of restore procedures.
  • They diverge on capability: containerd covers Full container lifecycle, Trilio covers OpenStack backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which containerd and Trilio actually diverge.

Attributes where containerd and Trilio differ
AttributecontainerdTrilio
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer node per year
PlatformsLinux, WindowsLinux, Web
CategoryCloudBackup

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 Trilio

  • OpenStack backup
  • Kubernetes backup
  • OpenShift Virtualization
  • Open format backups
  • Incremental forever
  • Self-service restore
  • Free basic edition

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 Trilio
  • Building a platform or PaaS that needs to execute containersnot Trilio
  • Reducing the moving parts on nodes that only ever run Kubernetes workloadsnot Trilio
  • Embedding container execution inside another productnot Trilio

Trilio

  • A telco running an OpenStack cloud whose incumbent backup vendor supports it only through generic agentsnot containerd
  • An organisation migrating virtual machines from VMware to OpenShift Virtualization and needing protection on the new platform from day onenot containerd
  • A research institution protecting tenant workloads where each tenant should restore its own data without a ticketnot containerd
  • A platform team wanting to evaluate Kubernetes backup properly on ten nodes before committing budgetnot 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

Trilio

  • Coverage is deliberately narrow, so a mixed estate with VMware and physical servers needs a second backup product and two sets of restore procedures.
  • Trilio is a small vendor next to the backup incumbents, and buyers with ten year retention obligations should assess the risk of the company being acquired or wound down.
  • Enterprise pricing is per node or per virtual machine and is not published, which makes it hard to compare against per-terabyte competitors without going through sales.
  • The free basic edition stops at ten nodes with community support only, so the step from evaluation to production is a full commercial negotiation rather than a tier upgrade.
  • Restore performance depends on the object storage or NFS target you supply, and egress charges from a cloud object store during a large recovery sit outside the vendor quote entirely.

Pricing, plan by plan

containerd

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

Trilio

Free
  • Basic EditionFree
    • Up to ten nodes
    • No time limit
    • Community support only
  • Enterprise Edition$undefined/year
    • Priced per node or per virtual machine annually
    • No scale limits
    • OpenStack, Kubernetes, OpenShift and Red Hat Virtualization

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 Trilio if

  • You need openstack backup.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web.
  • You also want kubernetes backup.
Trilio review

Questions people ask

Is containerd or Trilio better?
Neither clearly leads. containerd starts at Free and Trilio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, containerd or Trilio?
containerd starts at Free and Trilio at Free.
Does containerd or Trilio run on more platforms?
containerd runs on Linux, Windows. Trilio runs on Linux, 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 Trilio is typically brought in for.
What can containerd do that Trilio cannot?
containerd covers Full container lifecycle, CRI support, OCI compliant, Snapshotter plugins. Trilio covers OpenStack backup, Kubernetes backup, OpenShift Virtualization, Open format backups.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

containerd: Is containerd free?

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

Trilio: Is the free edition production usable?

It is functionally complete up to ten nodes with community support only. Use it to evaluate, but understand that production incidents have no vendor behind them at that tier.

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.

Trilio: Does it support OpenShift Virtualization?

Yes, which is the main reason it appears on shortlists for organisations moving virtual machines off VMware.

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.

Trilio: Where are backups stored?

On NFS or S3-compatible object storage you provide, in an open format rather than a proprietary vendor container.

containerd: Can containerd build images?

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

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