This post is maintained by Bytebase, an open-source database DevSecOps solution. We update the post every year to reflect the latest developments in the Kubernetes ecosystem.
| Update History | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2025/04/28 | Initial version. |
As Kubernetes matures, managing multiple clusters at scale presents new challenges. Organizations now deploy Kubernetes across on-premises and multiple cloud environments, facing new configuration, deployment, and governance complexities.
This article explores top open-source tools that help teams efficiently manage multiple Kubernetes clusters while maintaining consistency, security, and operational excellence.
What are the criteria?
Key evaluation factors for Kubernetes cluster management tools include:
- Multi-cluster support: Managing multiple clusters from a single control plane
- Community support: Active development and documentation
- Governance features: Policy enforcement and security controls
Argo CD
Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes that automates synchronization between application definitions in Git and their deployed state.
Originally developed by Intuit and now a CNCF graduated project with over 19K GitHub stars, Argo CD has become a widely adopted standard for GitOps on Kubernetes, offering strong visualization capabilities and effective integration with progressive delivery through Argo Rollouts.
Akuity, founded by the original creators of Argo CD, offers commercial support and an enterprise platform built on top of Argo CD.
Key Features:
-
GitOps-First Approach:
Industry-leading implementation of Git as the single source of truth
-
Declarative Application Model:
Define applications once and deploy consistently across environments
-
Automated Sync & Drift Detection:
Continuously reconcile live state with desired state in Git
-
Progressive Delivery:
Seamless integration with Argo Rollouts for canary and blue/green deployments
-
Mature Ecosystem:
CNCF Graduated project with extensive adoption and community support
Use Cases:
Argo CD excels in environments where:
- Advanced progressive delivery (canary, blue/green) is required through Argo Rollouts integration
- Strict compliance validation and comprehensive auditing of all deployment activities is essential
- Organizations need declarative GitOps with automated drift detection and remediation
- Visual application deployment state is needed with a detailed dependency visualization UI
Karmada
Karmada is a multi-cluster orchestration solution that maintains the standard Kubernetes API experience. It provides federation capabilities without requiring application changes, ideal for organizations with existing Kubernetes deployments.
Originally developed by Huawei, Karmada is now a part of the CNCF ecosystem, with commercial support options available through various cloud service providers.
Key Features:
-
Native Kubernetes API:
Uses standard Kubernetes APIs without requiring custom CRDs, minimizing learning curve
-
Multi-cluster Orchestration:
True federation capabilities with automatic failover between clusters
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Global/Regional Resource Model:
Unique approach to defining which resources are global vs. cluster-specific
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Resource Propagation:
Fine-grained control over how workloads are distributed to member clusters
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Override Policies:
Customize deployments for specific clusters while maintaining a single source of truth
Use Cases:
Karmada is particularly valuable for:
- Zero-change multi-cloud federation of existing Kubernetes workloads
- Cross-cluster automated failover for high availability
- Native Kubernetes API usage without custom abstractions
- Region-specific workload propagation with granular control
Sveltos
Sveltos addresses the challenges of policy management across Kubernetes clusters through a lightweight agent architecture.
Developed with a focus on simplicity, Sveltos unifies multiple policy engines under a single control plane and introduces an innovative classification system that automatically targets clusters based on their attributes.
Key Features:
-
Classification System:
Automatically target clusters based on labels, capabilities, or other attributes
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Cluster Profiles:
Define policies, add-ons, and configurations that should be applied to matching clusters
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Multiple Policy Formats:
Support for Kyverno, OPA/Gatekeeper, and other policy engines in one system
-
Pre-validation:
Test policies before deploying to production clusters
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Drift Detection and Remediation:
Automatically detect and fix policy violations across the cluster fleet
Use Cases:
Sveltos shines in:
- Multi-policy environment management (Kyverno, OPA/Gatekeeper) with unified controls
- Policy testing and validation before production deployment
- Automatic cluster targeting based on capabilities or attributes
- Environments where simplicity is valued over complex features
Plural
Plural combines infrastructure provisioning with application deployment capabilities, offering an integrated marketplace of pre-configured applications for Kubernetes. It emphasizes the application layer while providing infrastructure automation and cost monitoring features.
Plural.sh, the company behind the project, offers commercial support and enterprise features beyond the open-source offering.
Key Features:
-
Application Marketplace:
Deploy common applications with best practices baked in
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Infrastructure as Code:
Define infrastructure using Terraform with composable recipes
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Multi-Cloud Bootstrapping:
Create and configure clusters across major cloud providers
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Cost Monitoring:
Track and optimize Kubernetes spending
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Community-driven Applications:
Growing library of applications maintained by the community
Use Cases:
Plural is particularly effective for:
- Organizations wanting an application marketplace with best practices baked in
- Teams requiring both infrastructure provisioning and application deployment in one tool
- Environments needing built-in Kubernetes cost monitoring
- Projects leveraging community-maintained application packages
Summary
Comparison tables
| Feature | Argo CD | Karmada | Sveltos | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | GitOps & Continuous Delivery | Multi-cluster Orchestration | Policy Management | Application Deployment |
| Architecture | Control plane + agents | Control plane + API servers | Control plane + agents | Control plane + installers |
| Standard K8s API | ❌ (uses CRDs) | ✅ | ❌ (uses CRDs) | ❌ (uses CRDs) |
| GitOps Native | ✅ | Optional | ✅ | ✅ |
| UI Complexity | Moderate | High | Low | Moderate |
| Learning Curve | Moderate | Steep | Gentle | Moderate |
| Maturity | Very High (CNCF Graduated) | High (CNCF Incubating) | Medium | Medium-High |
| Community Size | Very Large | Large | Growing | Medium |
The Kubernetes cluster management landscape continues to evolve rapidly in 2025, with different tools addressing various aspects of the multi-cluster challenge:
- Argo CD remains the gold standard for GitOps-based delivery to Kubernetes clusters, with a mature feature set and extensive community support.
- Karmada excels in true multi-cluster orchestration with its Kubernetes-native approach and sophisticated scheduling capabilities.
- Sveltos offers a lightweight yet powerful approach to policy management across cluster fleets.
- Plural tackles both infrastructure provisioning and application deployment, creating a more integrated experience.
