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Cloud · head to head

OpenEBS vs Vultr

OpenEBS logo

OpenEBS

Cloud

Open source container-attached storage for Kubernetes

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vultr logo

Vultr

Cloud

High performance cloud compute

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: OpenEBS there is no vendor on the other end of an incident unless you separately contract DataCore, so an outage at three in the morning is resolved by your own team and a public Slack channel.; Vultr vultr Cloud Compute pricing as captured 31 December 2022 started at $5/month (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 25GB storage, 1TB transfer), scaling to $10/month and $20/month with more vCPU/RAM/storage; bandwidth overage billed at $0.01 to $0.05 per GB depending on plan
  • They diverge on capability: OpenEBS covers Replicated engine, Vultr covers Cloud servers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OpenEBS and Vultr actually diverge.

Attributes where OpenEBS and Vultr differ
AttributeOpenEBSVultr
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeusage-based
PlatformsLinuxWeb, Api, Cli
FoundedUnknown2014

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

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 OpenEBS

  • Replicated engine
  • Local PV engines
  • Kubernetes-native management
  • Snapshots and clones
  • No licence fee
  • Hardware independence

Only in Vultr

  • Cloud servers
  • Bare metal servers
  • Block storage
  • Object storage
  • Load balancers
  • Kubernetes
  • Firewalls
  • Private networks

What people use each for

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

OpenEBS

  • Running Cassandra or Kafka on Kubernetes where the application already replicates and node-local volumes are sufficientnot Vultr
  • A platform team that needs persistent volumes on bare metal Kubernetes without a per node subscriptionnot Vultr
  • An edge or lab deployment where a commercial storage licence cannot be justifiednot Vultr
  • Replacing hostpath volumes with something that has snapshots and a Container Storage Interface drivernot Vultr

Vultr

  • High performance computingnot OpenEBS
  • Game serversnot OpenEBS
  • Streamingnot OpenEBS
  • Database hostingnot OpenEBS
  • Application serversnot OpenEBS

Where each one falls short

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

OpenEBS

  • There is no vendor on the other end of an incident unless you separately contract DataCore, so an outage at three in the morning is resolved by your own team and a public Slack channel.
  • The project has several storage engines with different maturity and different operational characteristics, and choosing the wrong one for your workload produces poor results that look like a product failure.
  • Documentation and upgrade guidance assume real Kubernetes storage knowledge, so teams without that expertise underestimate the operational load they are taking on.
  • Project governance shifted after DataCore acquired MayaData in 2021, which means the direction of a supposedly neutral project is influenced by one commercial sponsor.
  • Disaster recovery, cross-cluster replication and policy-driven data services are thinner than in the commercial alternatives, so organisations with those requirements end up building them or buying a product anyway.

Vultr

  • Vultr Cloud Compute pricing as captured 31 December 2022 started at $5/month (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 25GB storage, 1TB transfer), scaling to $10/month and $20/month with more vCPU/RAM/storage; bandwidth overage billed at $0.01 to $0.05 per GB depending on plan

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenEBS

Free
  • OpenEBSFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • All storage engines included
    • No node or capacity limits

Vultr

Free
  • Cloud Compute$2.5/month
    • 512MB RAM
    • 10GB SSD
    • 500GB bandwidth
  • Bare Metal$32/month
    • Dedicated hardware
    • High performance
    • Full root access

Which should you pick?

Choose OpenEBS if

  • You need replicated engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want local pv engines.
OpenEBS review

Choose Vultr if

  • You need cloud servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli.
  • You also want bare metal servers.
Vultr review

Questions people ask

Is OpenEBS or Vultr better?
Neither clearly leads. OpenEBS starts at Free and Vultr at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OpenEBS or Vultr?
OpenEBS starts at Free and Vultr at Free.
Does OpenEBS or Vultr run on more platforms?
OpenEBS runs on Linux. Vultr runs on Web, Api, Cli.
Can I use OpenEBS for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is OpenEBS best used for?
OpenEBS is most often used for running cassandra or kafka on kubernetes where the application already replicates and node-local volumes are sufficient, a platform team that needs persistent volumes on bare metal kubernetes without a per node subscription, an edge or lab deployment where a commercial storage licence cannot be justified, replacing hostpath volumes with something that has snapshots and a container storage interface driver. Of those, running cassandra or kafka on kubernetes where the application already replicates and node-local volumes are sufficient and a platform team that needs persistent volumes on bare metal kubernetes without a per node subscription are not what Vultr is typically brought in for.
What can OpenEBS do that Vultr cannot?
OpenEBS covers Replicated engine, Local PV engines, Kubernetes-native management, Snapshots and clones. Vultr covers Cloud servers, Bare metal servers, Block storage, Object storage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

OpenEBS: Who supports it in production?

The project is community supported. Commercial support is available from DataCore, which acquired the original sponsor MayaData in 2021. Establish that relationship before production, not during an incident.

OpenEBS: Which engine should we use?

If your application replicates its own data, use a Local engine and avoid replicating twice. If it does not, such as with PostgreSQL, use the Replicated engine.

OpenEBS: Does it cost anything?

No licence fee. The cost is operational, and a support contract if you want someone accountable.

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