How Radar compares to the tools you already run.
Line-by-line comparisons against the tools platform engineers actually run. Where the other tool wins, we mark it as a win.
Nine dimensions. Four tools. One table.
The deep comparisons below go further; this is the fast version.
| Feature | Radar | Lens | k9s | Headlamp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open source core | ||||
| Free forever tier | OSS unlimited · Cloud 3 clusters | Personal only | ||
| Multi-cluster view | Partial | Dropdown + compare | ||
| Long-term retention | Cloud | |||
| Team collaboration | Paid | Shared instance | ||
| SSO (SAML/OIDC) | Enterprise | OIDC only | ||
| Published pricing | ||||
| Self-hostable | ||||
| Pricing model | Per cluster | Per user | Free | Free |
Pick the tool you're weighing. Read the detailed take.
Radar vs Lens
Desktop IDELens is a mature Electron-based Kubernetes IDE (1M+ users per Mirantis). Great for solo engineers on a single cluster. Radar adds multi-cluster, team collaboration, and long-term retention on a different architecture (single Go binary, no Electron).
Lens for the solo desktop experience. Radar for team-shared, multi-cluster, historically-aware views.
Radar vs k9s
Terminal CLI · Open sourcek9s is an open-source, keyboard-first Kubernetes TUI. Free, fast, and beloved by SREs. Radar isn't trying to replace k9s - it adds the team layer k9s wasn't designed for.
k9s wins on speed, keyboard-first workflow, and being free. Radar wins on team collaboration, historical retention, multi-cluster, and SSO.
Radar vs Headlamp
CNCF Sandbox · Apache 2.0Headlamp is an extensible Kubernetes dashboard under kubernetes-sigs - vendor-neutral, plugin-driven. Same Apache 2.0 license as Radar, very different architecture: plugin-extensible vs plugin-less by design.
Headlamp wins on vendor-neutral CNCF governance and a mature plugin SDK. Radar wins on integrated topology + timeline + traffic + GitOps + cost in core, single Go binary, and persistent event history.
What's in OSS vs what Radar Cloud adds.
A line-by-line matrix of what's in the free, Apache 2.0 Radar OSS vs what hosted Radar Cloud adds on top.
Radar OSS vs Radar CloudComparison done. Time to try.
Apache 2.0 OSS or hosted free for 3 clusters. Install in 60 seconds.
Apache 2.0 OSS · Unlimited clusters self-hosted · Hosted free tier for up to 3 clusters