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Head-to-head · Bare Metal as a Service (BMaaS) Software

Canonical MAAS vs xCAT

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 1 check side by side
Higher score Canonical MAAS #1 in Bare Metal as a Service (BMaaS) Software 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 3 features Visit Canonical
xCAT #7 in Bare Metal as a Service (BMaaS) Software 7.6/10 Open source ✓ 0 of 3 features Visit xCAT

Canonical MAAS leads on 0 checks, xCAT on 0, and 1 is even. Who comes out ahead on the 1 yes/no, price and count check where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreCanonical MAAS · 9.4/10
  • Free planonly Canonical MAAS

Canonical MAAS scores higher on our rubric for bare metal as a service (bmaas) software: 9.4 against 7.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #7.

Canonical MAAS is the better fit for teams automating bare-metal fleets at scale. xCAT is the better fit for large Linux and HPC cluster provisioning.

  • Canonical MAAS fits best

    Teams automating bare-metal fleets at scale

  • xCAT fits best

    Large Linux and HPC cluster provisioning

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Side by side

Feature Canonical MAAS 9.4/10 Visit ↗ xCAT 7.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 7.6
Ranking #1 in Bare Metal as a Service (BMaaS) Software #7 in Bare Metal as a Service (BMaaS) Software
Best for Teams automating bare-metal fleets at scale Large Linux and HPC cluster provisioning
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free
Starting price $30/device/yr Open source
Free plan ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted Self-hosted
Platforms Web, Linux Linux
Support Phone, Tickets, Docs · 24/7 Email, Community, Docs
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Canonical MAAS 0/3 · xCAT 0/3
Lifecycle automation Not checked yet Not checked yet
OS imaging Not checked yet Not checked yet
Network configuration Not checked yet Not checked yet
Specs
Provisioning method Not checked yet Not checked yet
Deployment model Not checked yet Not checked yet
Hypervisor support Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Automates discovery, commissioning, deployment, allocation, and release
  • Combines BMC power control with DHCP, DNS, IPAM, VLAN, and subnet management
  • Supports varied storage layouts, OS images, and HA region and rack controllers
  • Provisions bare-metal and diskless operating systems
  • Combines BMC, IPMI, HMC, FSP, and OpenBMC hardware control
  • Supports hierarchical management and parallel dispatch for large clusters
Cons
  • Self-hosted deployment places infrastructure operations with your team
  • Paid support costs scale per managed machine each year
  • Standalone support eligibility requires Ubuntu Pro for controllers
  • Requires a self-hosted Linux management node
  • Its cluster and infrastructure focus may exceed smaller environments’ needs
  • Listed integration coverage is limited
Our verdict

Canonical MAAS is open-source infrastructure software for discovering, commissioning, deploying, and managing physical servers. It is aimed at infrastructure teams, data-center operators, DevOps engineers, and organizations running server…

Read the review →

xCAT is an open-source infrastructure management toolkit for provisioning and operating bare-metal servers, virtual machines, switches, and data-center resources. Its strongest fit is organizations managing large Linux and high-performance…

Read the review →
  1. Canonical MAASBare Metal as a Service (BMaaS) Software 9.4Free plan
  2. xCATBare Metal as a Service (BMaaS) Software 7.6Open source

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Canonical MAAS — where it wins

    • Automates discovery, commissioning, deployment, allocation, and release
    • Combines BMC power control with DHCP, DNS, IPAM, VLAN, and subnet management
    • Supports varied storage layouts, OS images, and HA region and rack controllers

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-hosted deployment places infrastructure operations with your team
    • Paid support costs scale per managed machine each year
    • Standalone support eligibility requires Ubuntu Pro for controllers

  • xCAT — where it wins

    • Provisions bare-metal and diskless operating systems
    • Combines BMC, IPMI, HMC, FSP, and OpenBMC hardware control
    • Supports hierarchical management and parallel dispatch for large clusters

    Where it doesn't

    • Requires a self-hosted Linux management node
    • Its cluster and infrastructure focus may exceed smaller environments’ needs
    • Listed integration coverage is limited
  • Canonical MAAS9.4/10 · Free plan

    A broad toolkit for automating physical-server lifecycles, with optional per-machine support.

    Visit CanonicalFull verdict →
  • xCAT7.6/10 · Open source

    A self-hosted toolkit for provisioning and managing large Linux and HPC clusters.

    Visit xCATFull verdict →

More comparisons

All bare metal as a service (BMaaS) software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update