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Developer Tools · head to head

Okteto vs Qovery

Okteto logo

Okteto

Developer Tools

Runs production-like development environments on your own Kubernetes cluster

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Qovery logo

Qovery

Cloud

Deployment platform that provisions and operates Kubernetes inside your own cloud account

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Okteto has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Okteto two of the three plans publish no price at all, with no currency and no billing period stated anywhere, so any budget above five seats requires a sales conversation before you can even compare it with an alternative.; Qovery no plan publishes a price, deployment minute overage rates are not disclosed, and there is a 14 day trial rather than a free tier, so you cannot budget or compare against alternatives without going through sales.
  • They diverge on capability: Okteto covers Cluster development environments, Qovery covers Cluster lifecycle.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Okteto and Qovery actually diverge.

Attributes where Okteto and Qovery differ
AttributeOktetoQovery
Starting priceFreeOn request
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, CLI, Kubernetes, WebWeb, CLI, REST API, Kubernetes
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCloud

Identical on both: pricing model (quote), 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 Okteto

  • Cluster development environments
  • File synchronisation
  • Development containers
  • Environment catalogue

Only in Qovery

  • Cluster lifecycle
  • Terraform provider
  • MCP server
  • Policy as code

Both cover

  • Preview environments
  • Bring your own cloud

What people use each for

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

Okteto

  • A microservices estate where no developer can run the full dependency graph on a laptopnot Qovery
  • Giving each pull request a working environment reviewers can click rather than describenot Qovery
  • Letting coding agents build and test against real databases and queues instead of mocksnot Qovery
  • Removing a fleet of local Kubernetes installations that drift from production and produce false test resultsnot Qovery

Qovery

  • A regulated business that must keep application data inside its own AWS account but has nobody to build a deployment platformnot Okteto
  • Giving twenty engineers preview environments per pull request without writing and maintaining Terraform and Helm by handnot Okteto
  • Standardising deployment across AWS and GCP when acquisitions have left the organisation on two cloudsnot Okteto
  • Replacing a managed platform when data residency rules put every hosted option out of reachnot Okteto

Where each one falls short

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

Okteto

  • Two of the three plans publish no price at all, with no currency and no billing period stated anywhere, so any budget above five seats requires a sales conversation before you can even compare it with an alternative.
  • The Apache-2.0 CLI is restricted to the development section of the manifest, so build services, user management and observability all require the commercial platform and the open licence provides very little continuity insurance.
  • The last disclosed funding round is a 15 million US dollar Series A from February 2022 with nothing announced since, and the contributor base is dominated by company employees, which is concentrated risk for something embedded in every developer daily loop.
  • You must bring and pay for the Kubernetes cluster, so node cost, capacity planning and version upgrades stay with your platform team on top of the licence fee.
  • The 2026 repositioning towards AI agents means the classic developer inner loop is no longer what the marketing leads with, so a buyer purchasing that use case should confirm roadmap commitment rather than assume it.

Qovery

  • No plan publishes a price, deployment minute overage rates are not disclosed, and there is a 14 day trial rather than a free tier, so you cannot budget or compare against alternatives without going through sales.
  • The GPL-3.0 engine and console do not constitute a self-hostable product, because the control plane and API are closed and the self-hosted option is gated behind Enterprise, so the open licence gives you no exit if the company changes direction.
  • Qovery provisions managed Kubernetes into your account, which means the cloud bill sits on top of the licence and Qovery initiates control plane and ingress controller upgrades on infrastructure your team is accountable for.
  • The company repositioned to agentic infrastructure in June 2026 and now ships a deployment platform, a browser development portal and autonomous coding agents concurrently, so a buyer of the deployment product is not at the centre of the roadmap.
  • Team and Business are capped at two and three connected clusters with fixed 4 vCPU CI runners and no single sign-on on Team, which pushes teams of moderate size onto quoted Enterprise pricing earlier than the plan names imply.

Pricing, plan by plan

Okteto

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 5 seats included
    • Self-hosted deployment into your own cluster
    • Community support
  • Scale$undefined/year
    • Contact sales, no price, currency or billing period published
    • More seats and environments than Starter
    • Self-hosted deployment
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Contact sales, no price published
    • Bring your own cloud deployment
    • Available through Google Cloud and AWS marketplaces

Qovery

On request
  • Team$undefined/year
    • Billed on usage with no published rate card
    • 10 users, up to 100 environments, 2 connected clusters
    • 5,000 deployment minutes and 7 day audit logs
  • Business$undefined/year
    • Billed on usage with no published rate card
    • 20 users, up to 250 environments, 3 connected clusters
    • 10,000 deployment minutes and 30 day audit logs
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom users, environments and clusters
    • Self-hosted or air-gapped control plane
    • On-premises and bring-your-own-Kubernetes

Which should you pick?

Choose Okteto if

  • You need cluster development environments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, CLI, Kubernetes, Web.
  • You also want file synchronisation.
Okteto review

Choose Qovery if

  • You need cluster lifecycle.
  • You work on Web, CLI, REST API, Kubernetes.
  • You also want terraform provider.
Qovery review

Questions people ask

Is Okteto or Qovery better?
Neither clearly leads. Okteto starts at Free and Qovery at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Okteto or Qovery?
Okteto has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Okteto and On request for Qovery.
Does Okteto or Qovery run on more platforms?
Okteto runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, CLI, Kubernetes, Web. Qovery runs on Web, CLI, REST API, Kubernetes.
Can I use Okteto for free?
Yes. Okteto has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Qovery starts at On request.
What is Okteto best used for?
Okteto is most often used for a microservices estate where no developer can run the full dependency graph on a laptop, giving each pull request a working environment reviewers can click rather than describe, letting coding agents build and test against real databases and queues instead of mocks, removing a fleet of local kubernetes installations that drift from production and produce false test results. Of those, a microservices estate where no developer can run the full dependency graph on a laptop and giving each pull request a working environment reviewers can click rather than describe are not what Qovery is typically brought in for.
What can Okteto do that Qovery cannot?
Okteto covers Cluster development environments, File synchronisation, Development containers, Environment catalogue. Qovery covers Cluster lifecycle, Terraform provider, MCP server, Policy as code. Both handle Preview environments, Bring your own cloud.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Okteto: Is Okteto open source?

The CLI is Apache-2.0, but the README states it supports only the development section of the manifest. Everything operationally interesting, including builds, user management and observability, is in the commercial platform.

Qovery: Does Qovery run my applications on its own servers?

No. It provisions and operates Kubernetes inside your AWS, GCP, Azure or Scaleway account, so compute and data stay with your cloud provider and that bill is entirely separate from the Qovery licence.

Okteto: What does it cost?

Only the free Starter tier with five seats is published. Scale and Enterprise are both contact sales, with no price, currency or billing period disclosed on the pricing page.

Qovery: Can I self-host Qovery?

Only on Enterprise. The deployment engine and console are GPL-3.0, but the control plane is closed source and the self-hosted and air-gapped deployments are commercial Enterprise features.

Okteto: Do I need my own Kubernetes cluster?

Yes. Okteto installs into a cluster you provide and pay for, so capacity, upgrades and node costs remain your responsibility in addition to the licence.

Qovery: What does it cost?

Qovery does not publish a rate card. Team and Business are billed on usage and quoted through sales, and Enterprise is fully custom. There is a 14 day trial with no card required.

Okteto: How is this different from running Kubernetes locally?

Environments run against the same managed databases, queues and service mesh as production, so a class of failures that only appears in a real cluster is caught before merge rather than after deploy.

Qovery: What survives if I stop paying?

The Kubernetes cluster and the workloads keep running in your cloud account, but you lose the console, the deployment pipeline, preview environments and every process built on top of them.

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