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Cloud · head to head

K3s vs Trilio

K3s logo

K3s

Cloud

Lightweight certified Kubernetes distribution in a single binary

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: K3s the SQLite default is single-server only; highly available control planes need etcd or an external datastore, which removes much of the simplicity; 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: K3s covers Single binary, Trilio covers OpenStack backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which K3s and Trilio actually diverge.

Attributes where K3s and Trilio differ
AttributeK3sTrilio
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer node per year
PlatformsLinux, ARM, Self-hostedLinux, 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 K3s

  • Single binary
  • SQLite by default
  • Certified conformant
  • Batteries included
  • Low resource footprint
  • Simple install

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.

K3s

  • Kubernetes on edge sites and IoT hardware where full clusters will not fitnot Trilio
  • Development and CI clusters that must start fast and cost nothingnot Trilio
  • Small production clusters where full Kubernetes is more operations than the workload justifiesnot Trilio
  • Teaching and learning Kubernetes without cloud spendnot Trilio

Trilio

  • A telco running an OpenStack cloud whose incumbent backup vendor supports it only through generic agentsnot K3s
  • An organisation migrating virtual machines from VMware to OpenShift Virtualization and needing protection on the new platform from day onenot K3s
  • A research institution protecting tenant workloads where each tenant should restore its own data without a ticketnot K3s
  • A platform team wanting to evaluate Kubernetes backup properly on ten nodes before committing budgetnot K3s

Where each one falls short

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

K3s

  • The SQLite default is single-server only; highly available control planes need etcd or an external datastore, which removes much of the simplicity
  • Bundled components such as Traefik are opinionated defaults that larger teams often strip out and replace
  • Removed in-tree cloud provider integrations mean cloud-specific features need external controllers
  • Aimed at small and edge clusters, so very large deployments are better served by a standard distribution

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

K3s

Free
  • K3sFree
    • 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 K3s if

  • You need single binary.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, ARM, Self-hosted.
  • You also want sqlite by default.
K3s 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 K3s or Trilio better?
Neither clearly leads. K3s 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, K3s or Trilio?
K3s starts at Free and Trilio at Free.
Does K3s or Trilio run on more platforms?
K3s runs on Linux, ARM, Self-hosted. Trilio runs on Linux, Web.
Can I use K3s for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is K3s best used for?
K3s is most often used for kubernetes on edge sites and iot hardware where full clusters will not fit, development and ci clusters that must start fast and cost nothing, small production clusters where full kubernetes is more operations than the workload justifies, teaching and learning kubernetes without cloud spend. Of those, kubernetes on edge sites and iot hardware where full clusters will not fit and development and ci clusters that must start fast and cost nothing are not what Trilio is typically brought in for.
What can K3s do that Trilio cannot?
K3s covers Single binary, SQLite by default, Certified conformant, Batteries included. Trilio covers OpenStack backup, Kubernetes backup, OpenShift Virtualization, Open format backups.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

K3s: Is K3s free?

Yes. K3s is open source with no licence fee. SUSE sells commercial support around Rancher separately.

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.

K3s: Is K3s real Kubernetes?

Yes. It is CNCF-certified conformant, so standard manifests, kubectl and Helm charts work without modification.

Trilio: Does it support OpenShift Virtualization?

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

K3s: Why is K3s smaller than Kubernetes?

It strips legacy, alpha and in-tree cloud provider code, packages everything as one binary, and defaults to SQLite instead of etcd.

Trilio: Where are backups stored?

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

K3s: Can K3s run in production?

Yes, and it does, particularly at the edge and for small clusters. For a highly available control plane you need to move off the SQLite default to etcd or an external datastore.

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