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Opfield vs Kubernetes

For a small fleet, k3s or a managed Kubernetes service is a common choice for failover. Opfield gives a fleet failover, ingress, databases and access control without running a cluster. Here is how the two compare, and when Kubernetes is the better fit.

Who it is for

Kubernetes

Teams that need the Kubernetes model and ecosystem: declarative manifests, Helm charts, operators, autoscaling, and one API across clouds. k3s makes a cluster lighter to run; managed services such as EKS, GKE and AKS run the control plane for you.

Who it is for

Opfield

Small and mid-size fleets that need failover, ingress, databases and access control without running a cluster: containers and Compose projects on servers that join with one command.

Side by side

Unit of workKubernetesPods, Deployments and Services described in YAML manifests, often packaged as Helm charts.OpfieldContainers and Compose projects, set up in the interface, over the API or by AI agents.
What you runKubernetesA cluster: the control plane and its datastore, a network plugin, an ingress controller, and add-ons for certificates, storage and monitoring. Managed services run the control plane for you.OpfieldOne Opfield install and one command per server. No cluster to install, upgrade or debug.
Failover and scalingKubernetesPods are rescheduled onto healthy nodes, with replica sets and horizontal autoscaling.OpfieldDocker Availability on Business: up to 32 replicas or one instance with failover, moved to another server when one fails. Replica count is set by hand.
HTTPS and routingKubernetesAn ingress controller, usually with cert-manager for certificates.OpfieldRoutes and Domains with automatic certificates, access lists and maintenance pages, built in.
DatabasesKubernetesDatabase operators in the cluster, or managed databases from your cloud.OpfieldManaged PostgreSQL, Redis and Valkey, ClickHouse and S3 object storage with backups from Personal; on several servers with failover from Business.
Access and auditKubernetesRBAC on API resources and namespaces; audit logging set up on the API server.OpfieldPermissions down to one server, container, database or route, and one audit log for people, tokens and AI agents.
EcosystemKubernetesA very large ecosystem of charts, operators and tools.OpfieldA focused product with ingress, Docker, data, backups, monitoring and access built in, plus a REST API, OAuth and MCP.
LicenseKubernetesOpen source (Apache 2.0).OpfieldPublic source under PolyForm Perimeter, a source-available license. Community is free for up to 25 servers and 3 users.

What this page says about Kubernetes comes from public documentation, checked in October 2026. If something is out of date, tell us and we will fix it. Tell us

What Opfield adds

Opfield is one control plane for many servers, built so production keeps running and a team can share it safely.

One control plane for many serversEach server joins with one command. Opfield enrolls it, updates it and watches its health, metrics and logs.
Failover across serversWorkloads, databases and object storage keep running on another server when one fails. Business and Enterprise.
Managed databases and backupsPostgreSQL, Redis and Valkey, ClickHouse and S3 object storage, with private connections and scheduled backups. Personal and higher.
No open portsTraffic and private connections go through relays over outbound connections. Workloads and databases need no open ports.
Permissions and one audit logGive a person or a group one server, container, database or route. Every action by people, API tokens and AI agents is recorded.
AI agents over MCPOpfield is an MCP server. Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or any MCP client works under the same permissions and audit as people.

When Kubernetes is the better choice

  • Your applications ship as Helm charts or depend on operators.
  • You need autoscaling by metrics, or several copies of one workload on one machine, today. Both are on the Opfield roadmap without a date.
  • Your platform team already runs Kubernetes well, and its API is your contract with developers.

Moving to Opfield

Move one service or one layer at a time, and keep the old setup until each part answers through Opfield.

  1. 01Opfield runs containers and Compose projects, not manifests: turn each Deployment into a container or a Compose project with the same image, environment and ports.
  2. 02Turn on Docker Availability (Business) for services that must survive a server failure. Workloads with Availability cannot have mounted volumes, so keep their state in managed databases or object storage.
  3. 03Move databases with a backup and a restore into managed databases, and connect workloads through private bindings.
  4. 04Move hostnames one at a time: create the Route and the certificate, check a real request, then switch DNS.
  5. 05Keep the cluster until each service answers through Opfield.
Step-by-step guide in the docs
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