LXC vs LXD

LXC8.7Visit LXD8.6Visit

Higher score LXC #5 in Container Runtime Software 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 4 features Visit LXC

vs

LXD #6 in Container Runtime Software 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 4 features Visit LXD

• LXC fits best

  Linux system containers

• LXD fits best

  Linux infrastructure with web management

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Side by side

Feature	LXC 8.7/10 Visit ↗	LXD 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.7	8.6
Ranking	#5 in Container Runtime Software	#6 in Container Runtime Software
Best for	Linux system containers	Linux infrastructure with web management
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Self-hosted, Browser extension
Platforms	Linux	Web, Linux
Support	Community, Docs, Email	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features LXC 1/4 · LXD 1/4
Rootless mode	✓	✓
OCI support	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Desktop GUI	Not checked yet	—
Windows containers	Not checked yet	—
Specs
Runtime mode	Not checked yet	Hybrid
Host platforms	Not checked yet	Linux
Our review
Pros	Unprivileged containers with user namespaces and UID/GID mappings Deep Linux isolation through namespaces, cgroups, and security controls Stable C API, language bindings, networking, images, and packaging	Runs full Linux systems in containers or KVM-based virtual machines Combines REST API, CLI, and web-based graphical management Supports clustering, live migration, snapshots, and hardware passthrough
Cons	Linux hosts only Low-level runtime requires more platform knowledge than hosted tools Does not establish Kubernetes CRI or core OCI/Docker image support	Verified host platform is Linux Does not provide Windows containers No desktop GUI is included
Our verdict	LXC is an open-source userspace interface for Linux kernel containment features, aimed at teams and developers who need system or application containers on Linux hosts. It provides command-line tools, an API, language bindings,… Read the review →	LXD is an open-source system container and virtual machine manager from Canonical Ltd. It is designed for developers, infrastructure teams, and production operators running self-hosted Linux workloads. Its hybrid runtime supports full… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• LXC — where it wins

  • Unprivileged containers with user namespaces and UID/GID mappings
  • Deep Linux isolation through namespaces, cgroups, and security controls
  • Stable C API, language bindings, networking, images, and packaging

  Where it doesn't

  • Linux hosts only
  • Low-level runtime requires more platform knowledge than hosted tools
  • Does not establish Kubernetes CRI or core OCI/Docker image support

• LXD — where it wins

  • Runs full Linux systems in containers or KVM-based virtual machines
  • Combines REST API, CLI, and web-based graphical management
  • Supports clustering, live migration, snapshots, and hardware passthrough

  Where it doesn't

  • Verified host platform is Linux
  • Does not provide Windows containers
  • No desktop GUI is included

• LXC8.7/10 · Free plan

  A mature, open-source choice for Linux system containers and host-level control.

  Visit LXCFull verdict →
• LXD8.6/10 · Free plan

  A Linux-focused manager for containers, virtual machines, and clustered infrastructure.

  Visit LXDFull verdict →