LXD vs Incus

LXD8.8Visit Incus8.7Visit

Higher score LXD #5 in Container Engines 8.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 4 features Visit LXD

vs

Incus #6 in Container Engines 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 4 features Visit Incus

• LXD fits best

  Linux system containers and virtual machines

• Incus fits best

  Modern container and VM management

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature	LXD 8.8/10 Visit ↗	Incus 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.8	8.7
Ranking	#5 in Container Engines	#6 in Container Engines
Best for	Linux system containers and virtual machines	Modern container and VM management
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Integrations	6 integrations	5 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features LXD 2/4 · Incus 2/4
Rootless mode	✓	✓
Image building	✓	✓
Kubernetes CRI	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Windows containers	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Image format	Not checked yet	Oci
Runtime interface	Other	Other
Supported host OS	Linux	Linux
Our review
Pros	Manages system containers and virtual machines through one interface Combines clustering, migration, snapshots, and detailed resource limits Offers REST, web, CLI, image building, and hardware passthrough	Manages system containers, OCI application containers, and virtual machines Includes clustering, snapshots, backups, image transfer, and remote access Offers detailed resource controls and device passthrough options
Cons	Requires a Linux host operating system Does not provide Windows containers Uses its own image format rather than explicitly OCI or Docker	The Incus daemon runs on Linux Windows and macOS provide clients rather than server support Its broad scope may exceed the needs of container-only teams
Our verdict	LXD is an open-source manager for full Linux systems running as system containers or virtual machines. Maintained within the Canonical family, it is aimed at developers, infrastructure teams, and organizations managing workloads from… Read the review →	Incus brings system containers, OCI application containers, and virtual machines into one management layer. It is aimed at developers, infrastructure teams, and operators managing Linux-based workloads across local, remote, clustered, or… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• LXD — where it wins

  • Manages system containers and virtual machines through one interface
  • Combines clustering, migration, snapshots, and detailed resource limits
  • Offers REST, web, CLI, image building, and hardware passthrough

  Where it doesn't

  • Requires a Linux host operating system
  • Does not provide Windows containers
  • Uses its own image format rather than explicitly OCI or Docker

• Incus — where it wins

  • Manages system containers, OCI application containers, and virtual machines
  • Includes clustering, snapshots, backups, image transfer, and remote access
  • Offers detailed resource controls and device passthrough options

  Where it doesn't

  • The Incus daemon runs on Linux
  • Windows and macOS provide clients rather than server support
  • Its broad scope may exceed the needs of container-only teams

• LXD8.8/10 · Free plan

  A broad Linux systems manager for teams that need containers, VMs, and infrastructure control.

  Visit LXDFull verdict →
• Incus8.7/10 · Free plan

  A free, open-source manager for containers and VMs on Linux infrastructure.

  Visit IncusFull verdict →