Cloud · head to head
Thanos vs kind
Thanos
Cloud
Highly available Prometheus with long-term object storage
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Thanos several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes; kind requires Docker or Podman, so it inherits whatever container runtime limitations exist on the host
- They diverge on capability: Thanos covers Global query, kind covers Nodes as containers.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Thanos and kind actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), 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 Thanos
- Global query
- Object storage retention
- Deduplication
- Downsampling
Only in kind
- Nodes as containers
- Multi-node topologies
- CI-friendly
- Local image loading
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Thanos
- Querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one placenot kind
- Retaining metrics for years without local disk growthnot kind
- Removing the gap that appears when a single Prometheus instance restartsnot kind
kind
- Spinning up and destroying a Kubernetes cluster inside a CI jobnot Thanos
- Testing controllers and operators against several Kubernetes versionsnot Thanos
- Local multi-node clusters without the memory cost of virtual machinesnot Thanos
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Thanos
- Several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
- The compactor is a common source of operational trouble and must not run twice against the same bucket
- Query latency over object storage is meaningfully higher than local Prometheus
- Object storage costs and API request charges become real at high volume
kind
- Requires Docker or Podman, so it inherits whatever container runtime limitations exist on the host
- Fewer conveniences than minikube: no addon system, so ingress and metrics need manual installation
- Because nodes are containers sharing the host kernel, it is a weaker simulation of real node behaviour and storage
Pricing, plan by plan
Thanos
Free- ThanosFree
- Full functionality
- No usage limits
- Community support
kind
Free- kindFree
- Full functionality
- No usage limits
- Community support
Which should you pick?
Choose Thanos if
- You need global query.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
- You also want object storage retention.
Choose kind if
- You need nodes as containers.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
- You also want multi-node topologies.
Questions people ask
- Is Thanos or kind better?
- Neither clearly leads. Thanos starts at Free and kind at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Thanos or kind?
- Thanos starts at Free and kind at Free.
- Does Thanos or kind run on more platforms?
- Thanos runs on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker. kind runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
- Can I use Thanos for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Thanos best used for?
- Thanos is most often used for querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one place, retaining metrics for years without local disk growth, removing the gap that appears when a single prometheus instance restarts. Of those, querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one place and retaining metrics for years without local disk growth are not what kind is typically brought in for.
- What can Thanos do that kind cannot?
- Thanos covers Global query, Object storage retention, Deduplication, Downsampling. kind covers Nodes as containers, Multi-node topologies, CI-friendly, Local image loading.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Thanos: Is Thanos free?
Yes, open source and CNCF-incubating. Costs are the object storage it uses.
kind: Is kind free?
Yes, open source and maintained under Kubernetes SIGs.
Thanos: Does Thanos replace Prometheus?
No. It runs alongside existing Prometheus servers, adding global query, deduplication and long-term storage.
kind: Why run Kubernetes nodes as containers?
Speed and cost. A container node starts in seconds and uses far less memory than a virtual machine, which is what makes per-CI-run clusters realistic.
Thanos: Thanos or VictoriaMetrics?
Thanos layers onto Prometheus using object storage and is the more established multi-cluster answer. VictoriaMetrics is a separate store aiming at lower resource use and fewer moving parts.
kind: Is kind suitable for production?
No. It is a development and testing tool, and node isolation is weaker than real nodes because containers share the host kernel.
Related pages
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- kind vs Fly.io
- kind vs Anyscale
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- kind vs Render
- kind vs Vault
- kind vs Wiz
- kind vs Beam Cloud
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- kind vs DeepInfra
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