Free Container Registries
Which container registries a startup can store and pull its Docker images from for free today, how many private repositories and how much storage the free plan includes, its pull limits, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Container registries change their free plans from time to time: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you rely on it.
Container registries a startup can use for free today include Docker Hub (Unlimited public repos), Harbor (Open source registry software), GitHub Container Registry (Public packages are free), CNCF Distribution (Open source, Apache license), and GitLab Container Registry (Container registry in every project). Each of the 11 free plans below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, its storage and pull limits, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
Every container you deploy is pulled from a registry, and most hosted registries have a free plan or a free allowance, while open-source registries run free on your own servers.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. Public images are usually free while private ones are capped or paid, pulls can be rate limited, and cloud registries bill storage and transfer past a small free allowance. Each registry below shows what is free, its main limit, its storage and pull limits, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which registries we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which registries are listed or where.
Container registries with a free plan
Store public and private images on a hosted registry, free to start.
- 1
Docker Hub
Public images on a free personal account
Docker Personal allows unlimited public Docker Hub repos and one private repo, with a pull limit of 100 an hour per user. The first paid plan, Pro, is from $9 per user a month.
- What's free
- Unlimited public repos (source: docker.com)
- Main limit
- 1 private repo (source: docker.com)
- Storage and pulls
- 100 pulls an hour per user (source: docker.com)
- First paid plan
- Pro: from $9 per user a month (source: docker.com)
- 2
GitHub Container Registry
Images that ship from a GitHub repository
GitHub says usage is free for public packages, and that container image storage and bandwidth are currently free. Private packages on the Free plan get 500MB of Packages storage.
- Storage and pulls
- Container image storage free for now (source: docs.github.com)
- First paid plan
- Team: $4 per user a month (source: github.com)
Start free at GitHubTerms read on docs.github.com on GitHub Container Registry: the free allowance and how to start - 3
GitLab Container Registry
Teams already hosting code on GitLab.com
The integrated container registry stores images for each GitLab project on the Free tier, and no credit card is required. Private top-level groups are limited to 5 users, and Premium is $29 per user a month billed annually.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: about.gitlab.com)
Start free at GitLabTerms read on docs.gitlab.com on GitLab Container Registry: the free allowance and how to start - 4
Quay.io
Public images for open-source projects
Quay.io lists unlimited public repos on its plans page. Private repositories are priced by number, and the Developer plan is $15 a month for 5 private repositories.
- What's free
- Unlimited public repos (source: quay.io)
- Main limit
- Private repos are paid (source: quay.io)
- First paid plan
- Developer: $15 a month, 5 private repos (source: quay.io)
- 5
Amazon ECR
Teams already running on AWS
Public repositories get 50 GB of always-free storage, and new customers get 500 MB of private storage per month for one year. Beyond that, storage is charged at $0.10 per GB.
- Storage and pulls
- 500 GB of public pulls a month, anonymous (source: aws.amazon.com)
- First paid plan
- $0.10 per GB of storage a month (source: aws.amazon.com)
Start free at Amazon Web ServicesTerms read on aws.amazon.com on Amazon ECR: the free allowance and how to start - 6
Google Artifact Registry
Google Cloud projects with small image sets
Artifact Registry is in the Google Cloud Free Tier, which includes 0.5 GB of storage per month. Storage above 0.5 gibibyte is billed at $0.000136986 per gibibyte hour.
Start free at Google CloudTerms read on cloud.google.com on Google Artifact Registry: the free allowance and how to start - 7
DigitalOcean Container Registry
One private registry for a single app
The Starter plan is a free offering with one registry and one repository, and it receives 500 MiB of storage per full month. The first paid plan, Basic, costs $5.00 per month.
Start free at DigitalOceanTerms read on docs.digitalocean.com on DigitalOcean Container Registry: the free allowance and how to start - 8
Scaleway Container Registry
Public images with a free 75GB allowance
Public images are free up to 75GB. Private images are billed for the stored images, so the free allowance covers public images only.
- Storage and pulls
- Free up to 75GB of public images (source: scaleway.com)
Start free at ScalewayTerms read on scaleway.com on Scaleway Container Registry: the free allowance and how to start
Open-source registries you can self-host
Run your own image registry, free.
- 1
Harbor
Teams that want to run their own registry
Harbor is an open source registry with policies and role-based access control, so a team can run it on its own infrastructure.
- 2
CNCF Distribution
A plain registry you run and control yourself
The Registry is open-source, under the permissive Apache license, so teams can run it themselves as their own image registry.
Start free at CNCFTerms read on distribution.github.io on CNCF Distribution: the free allowance and how to start - 3
Zot
A self-hosted OCI registry on your own machines
Zot is released as an open source project under the Apache2 License, and it is a registry you run on your own machines.
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How this comparison is built
The list covers container registries a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each registry's terms. Every term comes from the registry's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A cap on private repositories or storage, pull rate limits, data transfer charged after a free allowance can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these registries pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a registry appears, and no registry pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free container registry?
By the terms each provider states, Docker Hub gives unlimited public repos and 1 private repo, GitHub Container Registry keeps public packages free, Amazon ECR includes 50 GB of always-free public storage, and DigitalOcean Container Registry's Starter plan is free for 1 repository.
What are the Docker Hub free plan limits?
Docker Hub's free Personal plan includes unlimited public repositories and 1 private repository, with pulls limited to 100 an hour per authenticated user. Pro starts from $9 per user a month.
Can I store private container images for free?
In small amounts. Docker Hub includes 1 private repo, DigitalOcean's free Starter plan 1 repository with 500 MiB, Google Artifact Registry 0.5 GB of storage, and Amazon ECR 500 MB of private storage for new customers for one year. Quay.io and Scaleway charge for private images.
Can I host my own container registry?
Yes. Harbor is open source registry software, and CNCF Distribution and Zot are open source under the Apache license.
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