Red Hat OpenShift
Red Hat's enterprise application platform built on Kubernetes, offered self-managed or as a managed cloud service.
Updated · AppBreakup editorial · Web, Linux, Self-hosted
Is Red Hat OpenShift free?
No, it's a paid product
- Starting price:
- $0.076 per hour (reserved, 4 vCPU, 3-year contract)
- Free trial:
- Yes
Checked on Red Hat OpenShift's site Nov 8, 2026
5 alternatives with a free option Full Red Hat OpenShift pricing and plansSwitch from Red Hat OpenShift to
All 5
KubernetesOpen source
PortainerStarting price: $1,045/year (Starter)
K3sOpen source
- Verified facts
- 5 of 5
- Alternatives ranked
- 5
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About Red Hat OpenShift
OpenShift is Red Hat's commercial Kubernetes platform. It wraps Kubernetes with the pieces enterprises usually bolt on themselves: a web console, built-in image registry and build pipelines, stricter security defaults, monitoring, and long-term vendor support. It comes in two broad forms. Self-managed editions, such as OpenShift Container Platform and the cheaper OpenShift Kubernetes Engine, run on your own hardware or cloud accounts. Managed editions are run for you, including Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS, Azure Red Hat OpenShift (jointly managed with Microsoft) and OpenShift Dedicated. Add-ons cover virtual machines, AI workloads and multi-cluster management. Pricing is by subscription and generally sits well above running plain Kubernetes; there are 60-day trials and a free developer sandbox. The upstream community project, OKD, is free. It suits large organisations that want a supported, opinionated platform with one vendor to call, rather than teams happy to assemble their own stack.
Best for: Enterprises that want a supported Kubernetes platform with console, builds and security built in.
Red Hat OpenShift pricing (checked Nov 8, 2026)
Each line is quoted from Red Hat OpenShift's own site, with the page it came from.
| Plan or term | What it says | Checked | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free trial | Yes | Nov 8, 2026 | redhat.com |
| Starting price | $0.076 per hour (reserved, 4 vCPU, 3-year contract) | Nov 8, 2026 | redhat.com |
Pros and cons
What works
- Complete platform out of the box: console, registry, builds and monitoring
- Managed options on AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and IBM Cloud
- Long-term support and one vendor accountable for the stack
Why people leave
- Subscription cost is high compared with plain Kubernetes or K3s
- Opinionated defaults can clash with upstream Kubernetes tooling
- Heavy to run for small teams or a handful of apps
Red Hat OpenShift vs Kubernetes, Portainer and K3s
From each app's listing and the prices verified on its own site. A dash means we haven't verified it yet.
| Attribute | Red Hat OpenShift | Kubernetes | Portainer | K3s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Open source | Open source | Open source |
| Verified price | $0.076 per hour (reserved, 4 vCPU, 3-year contract) | — | $1,045/year (Starter) | — |
| Free plan | No | Free app | Business Edition free for 3 nodes | Free app |
| Open source | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, Linux, Self-hosted | Linux, Self-hosted | Self-hosted, Web | Linux, Self-hosted |
Top Red Hat OpenShift alternatives
See all 5- 1Kubernetes68.8
Free upstream Kubernetes, run yourself or through a cloud provider's managed service, without the subscription.
- 2Portainer65.0
Lighter management UI for Kubernetes and Docker clusters, with access control, at a fraction of OpenShift's footprint.
- 3K3s64.8
A free, lightweight certified Kubernetes that is much cheaper and simpler to run on modest hardware.
- 4
HashiCorp Nomad61.8A simpler scheduler that also handles VMs and legacy binaries, with a paid enterprise tier if needed.
- 5
Coolify51.2A free self-hosted PaaS for teams that mainly want easy app and database deploys, not a full platform.
Why people left Red Hat OpenShift
In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.
No switching stories yet. If you moved away from Red Hat OpenShift, review the app you switched to and tell us why.
Reviews
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Write a review of Red Hat OpenShift
Red Hat OpenShift: common questions
What is Red Hat OpenShift?
Red Hat OpenShift: Red Hat's enterprise application platform built on Kubernetes, offered self-managed or as a managed cloud service. Best for enterprises that want a supported Kubernetes platform with console, builds and security built in. Available for Web and Linux, and you can host it yourself.
Is Red Hat OpenShift free?
No, Red Hat OpenShift is a paid product. Starting price: $0.076 per hour (reserved, 4 vCPU, 3-year contract) (checked on Red Hat OpenShift's own site).
How much does Red Hat OpenShift cost?
Red Hat OpenShift is a paid product. Free trial: Yes; Starting price: $0.076 per hour (reserved, 4 vCPU, 3-year contract). Checked on Red Hat OpenShift's own site, November 2026.
Does Red Hat OpenShift have a free trial or refund?
Free trial: Yes. Source: Red Hat OpenShift's own site.
Is Red Hat OpenShift open source?
No, Red Hat OpenShift is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Kubernetes, Portainer and K3s.
What platforms does Red Hat OpenShift run on?
Red Hat OpenShift is available for Web, Linux and Self-hosted.
What are the best alternatives to Red Hat OpenShift?
The highest-ranked Red Hat OpenShift alternatives right now are Kubernetes, Portainer and K3s. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.
Red Hat OpenShift vs Kubernetes: what's the difference?
Red Hat OpenShift is a paid product; Kubernetes is free and open source. Kubernetes is open source and Red Hat OpenShift is not. Only Red Hat OpenShift runs on Web.