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Cloud · head to head

Portworx vs Vagrant

Portworx logo

Portworx

Cloud

Kubernetes-native storage and data services, priced by the node hour

From
$0.33/node hour
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vagrant logo

Vagrant

Cloud

Development environments made easy

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Vagrant has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Portworx bare metal nodes are charged at 1.11 USD per node hour against 0.33 for virtual nodes, so a bare metal cluster costs more than three times a virtualised one for identical capability.; 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: Portworx covers Container-native volumes, Vagrant covers Box management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Portworx and Vagrant actually diverge.

Attributes where Portworx and Vagrant differ
AttributePortworxVagrant
Starting price$0.33/node hourFree
Pricing modelPer node houropen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsLinuxLinux, Windows, Mac
FoundedUnknown2010

Identical on both: 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 Portworx

  • Container-native volumes
  • Failure domain placement
  • Volume encryption
  • Database automation
  • Disaster recovery
  • Autopilot capacity management
  • Hardware independence

Only in Vagrant

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

What people use each for

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

Portworx

  • Running a production PostgreSQL or Cassandra cluster on Kubernetes and needing the data to survive node lossnot Vagrant
  • A platform team offering self-service databases to developers on an internal Kubernetes platformnot Vagrant
  • Failing over stateful applications between clusters in different regions as a disaster recovery positionnot Vagrant
  • An OpenShift estate where the built-in storage option does not meet the availability requirement for stateful setsnot Vagrant

Vagrant

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

Where each one falls short

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

Portworx

  • Bare metal nodes are charged at 1.11 USD per node hour against 0.33 for virtual nodes, so a bare metal cluster costs more than three times a virtualised one for identical capability.
  • A 1,000 node hour monthly minimum applies, which means small or intermittent clusters pay for capacity they do not consume.
  • Replicating volumes across nodes consumes real capacity and network bandwidth, so the underlying infrastructure cost rises alongside the licence in a way the node hour rate does not show.
  • Pure Storage ownership means roadmap priorities are set by an array vendor, and buyers should confirm that hardware independence remains contractual rather than assumed.
  • Operating it well requires Kubernetes storage expertise, and teams that adopted Kubernetes to simplify operations often find they have added a distributed storage system to run.

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

Portworx

$0.33/node hour
  • Portworx Enterprise on virtual machine nodes$0.33/node hour
    • Minimum 1,000 node hours per month
    • Replicated persistent volumes
    • Encryption and disaster recovery
  • Portworx Enterprise on bare metal nodes$1.11/node hour
    • Minimum 1,000 node hours per month
    • Same capabilities on bare metal clusters
    • Higher rate reflects node density

Vagrant

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Portworx if

  • You need container-native volumes.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want failure domain placement.
Portworx 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 Portworx or Vagrant better?
Neither clearly leads. Portworx starts at $0.33/node hour and Vagrant at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Portworx or Vagrant?
Vagrant has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.33/node hour for Portworx and Free for Vagrant.
Does Portworx or Vagrant run on more platforms?
Portworx runs on Linux. Vagrant runs on Linux, Windows, Mac.
Can I use Vagrant for free?
Yes. Vagrant has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Portworx starts at $0.33/node hour.
What is Portworx best used for?
Portworx is most often used for running a production postgresql or cassandra cluster on kubernetes and needing the data to survive node loss, a platform team offering self-service databases to developers on an internal kubernetes platform, failing over stateful applications between clusters in different regions as a disaster recovery position, an openshift estate where the built-in storage option does not meet the availability requirement for stateful sets. Of those, running a production postgresql or cassandra cluster on kubernetes and needing the data to survive node loss and a platform team offering self-service databases to developers on an internal kubernetes platform are not what Vagrant is typically brought in for.
What can Portworx do that Vagrant cannot?
Portworx covers Container-native volumes, Failure domain placement, Volume encryption, Database automation. Vagrant covers Box management, Provider support, Multi-machine setups, Provisioners.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Portworx: Is Portworx tied to Pure Storage hardware?

No. It runs on any Kubernetes distribution over any underlying storage, though Pure has owned it since 2020 and sets the roadmap.

Vagrant: Is Vagrant free to use?

Vagrant is a free, open-source command-line utility for managing virtual machine lifecycles.

Source
Portworx: What does a real cluster cost?

At 0.33 USD per virtual node hour, twenty nodes running continuously is roughly 4,800 USD a month. Bare metal at 1.11 USD per node hour is around 16,000 USD for the same node count.

Vagrant: Does Vagrant offer a paid tier?

Vagrant itself is free. HashiCorp offers a HCP Vagrant Registry with a free tier for use with Vagrant.

Source
Portworx: Is backup included?

No. Portworx Backup is a separately priced product covering Kubernetes application backup.

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