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Software · head to head

Nomad vs Vagrant

Nomad logo

Nomad

Software

Flexible workload orchestration

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vagrant logo

Vagrant

Software

Development environments made easy

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Nomad nomad 1.7.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence; Vagrant vagrant 2.4.3 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • They diverge on capability: Nomad covers Container orchestration, Vagrant covers Box management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Nomad and Vagrant actually diverge.

Attributes where Nomad and Vagrant differ
AttributeNomadVagrant
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, CloudLinux, Windows, Mac
Founded20152010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Nomad

  • Container orchestration
  • Job scheduling
  • Multi-cloud support
  • Auto-scaling
  • Service discovery
  • Rolling deployments
  • Monitoring integration
  • High availability

Only in Vagrant

  • Box management
  • Provider support
  • Multi-machine setups
  • Provisioners
  • Networking
  • Synced folders
  • Snapshots
  • Plugins

Both cover

  • Docker
  • On-premise deployment
  • Cloud deployment
  • Linux support

What people use each for

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

Nomad

  • Scheduling containers, binaries, Java and VM workloads on the same clusternot Vagrant
  • Running an orchestrator with a single binary and no external dependenciesnot Vagrant
  • Batch and edge workload scheduling across multiple datacentresnot Vagrant

Vagrant

  • Reproducible local development environments defined in a Vagrantfilenot Nomad
  • Provisioning identical VMs across VirtualBox, VMware and Hyper-V for a teamnot Nomad
  • Sandboxing multi-machine setups on a developer laptopnot Nomad

Where each one falls short

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

Nomad

  • Nomad 1.7.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Nomad to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions
  • Each version converts to MPL 2.0 only four years after that version is published
  • Resource quotas, Sentinel policies and audit logging sit in a Governance and Policy add-on module that is separate from the Enterprise base platform package
  • Multi-region deployments, multiple Vault namespaces and Nomad Autopilot advanced server management require Nomad Enterprise

Vagrant

  • Vagrant 2.4.3 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Vagrant to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Vagrant
  • Each version converts to the MPL 2.0 Change License only four years after that version is first published
  • Uses that fall outside the Additional Use Grant require a separately negotiated licence from the licensor

Pricing, plan by plan

Nomad

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Workload orchestration
    • Multi-cloud
    • Flexible scheduling

Vagrant

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Development environment provisioning
    • Multiple providers
    • Provisioner support

Which should you pick?

Choose Nomad if

  • You need container orchestration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want job scheduling.
Nomad review

Choose Vagrant if

  • You need box management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac.
  • You also want provider support.
Vagrant review

Questions people ask

Is Nomad or Vagrant better?
Neither clearly leads. Nomad starts at Free and Vagrant at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Nomad or Vagrant?
Nomad starts at Free and Vagrant at Free.
Does Nomad or Vagrant run on more platforms?
Nomad runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud. Vagrant runs on Linux, Windows, Mac.
Can I use Nomad for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Nomad best used for?
Nomad is most often used for scheduling containers, binaries, java and vm workloads on the same cluster, running an orchestrator with a single binary and no external dependencies, batch and edge workload scheduling across multiple datacentres. Of those, scheduling containers, binaries, java and vm workloads on the same cluster and running an orchestrator with a single binary and no external dependencies are not what Vagrant is typically brought in for.
What can Nomad do that Vagrant cannot?
Nomad covers Container orchestration, Job scheduling, Multi-cloud support, Auto-scaling. Vagrant covers Box management, Provider support, Multi-machine setups, Provisioners. Both handle Docker, On-premise deployment, Cloud deployment, Linux support.
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