Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Kubernetes Permission Manager, Free and OSS Tool to Manage RBAC/Users

Permission Manager is a project that brings sanity to Kubernetes RBAC and Users management, Web UI FTW - sighupio/permission-manager

Kubernetes Permission Manager is an open-source tool for managing role-based access control and users in Kubernetes clusters. It simplifies RBAC administration by providing a user interface for configuring permissions… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Kubernetes Permission Manager, Free and OSS Tool to Manage RBAC/Users launched in 2020; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Kubernetes Certificate Manager – Native Let's Encrypt Integration▲186

   Manage Lets Encrypt certificates for a Kubernetes cluster. - kelseyhightower/kube-cert-manager

   2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Kloak, A secret manager that keeps K8s workload away from secrets▲63

   Kloak - Kubernetes eBPF Secret Interceptor for HTTPS. Secure secret management without application changes or sidecars.

   Apr 2026 · getkloak.io · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Permit.io▲677

   The new Permit.io CLI brings developer-first workflows to access control. Define, test, deploy, and enforce fine-grained authorization using AI, CI/CD, GitOps, and OpenAPI — all from your terminal

   2023 · permit.io · its alternatives →

4. 4
   K8s Gatekeeper Policy Manager, Easily Visualize Policies and Violations▲26

   A simple to use, open-source, web-based tool to see the OPA Gatekeeper's policies deployed in your cluster and their status.

   2020 · blog.sighup.io · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Portainer – A lightweight management UI for Docker▲146

   Portainer is one platform to deploy, run, secure, and govern Kubernetes across your whole fleet, from a single control plane. A platform is a product, not a project.

   2016 · portainer.io · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Kaptn▲70

   Create and manage your K8s clusters with a user friendly GUI

   2023 · kaptn.io · its alternatives →

7. 7
   AccessOwl 2.0▲369

   Discover and manage your teams SaaS access

   2023 · accessowl.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Glasskube – Open Source Kubernetes Package Manager, alternative to Helm▲266

   Hello HN, we're Philip and Louis from Glasskube (https://github.com/glasskube/glasskube). We're working on an open-source package manager for Kubernetes. It's an alternative to tools like Helm or Kustomize, primarily focused on making deploying, updating, and configuring Kubernetes packages simpler and a lot faster. Here is a demo video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIeTHGWsG2c#t=17s) with quick start instructions. Most developers working with Kubernetes use Helm, an open-source tool created during a hackathon nine years ago. However, with the rapid…

   2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Own your Kubernetes: installation, addons, best practices – as code▲122

   Fully fledged (HA) Kubernetes Cluster using official kubeadm, ansible and helm. Tested on RHEL/CentOS/Ubuntu with support of http_proxy, dashboard installed, ingress controller, heapster - using official helm charts - ReSearchITEng/kubeadm-playbook

   2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Glasskube▲260

    The next generation package manager for Kubernetes

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    A password manager using Keybase for encryption and storage▲172

    A secret manager backed by Keybase and KBFS. Contribute to kbsecret/kbsecret development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    konfd – Manage Kubernetes secrets and configmaps with Go templates▲115

    Manage application configuration using Kubernetes secrets, configmaps, and Go templates. - kelseyhightower/konfd

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Kubernetes Manager – A Kubernetes Dashboard / Status Page▲6

    This project is a browser-based interface to the Kubernetes API. The idea is to provide most of the functionality of the kubectl.sh command-line tool. Additionally, it should give you a quick overview of the health status of your Kubernetes cluster. - mlamina/Kubernetes-Manager

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Open-source Role management and Permissions Library▲7

    Open source RBAC library. Associate users with roles and permissions. - Permify/go-role

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Kubescape 2.0▲112

    End-to-end Kubernetes security open-source platform

    2022 · cloud.armosec.io · its alternatives →

16. 16
    KUR8▲71

    Overview of Kubernetes architecture and Prometheus metrics

    2021 · kur8.io · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Permify 1.0 – Open-source fine-grained authorization service▲154

    Permify was born out of our repeated struggles with authorization. Like any other piece of software, authorization starts small but as things grow scaling it becomes a real pain and begins to hinder product development processes. Ad-hoc authorization systems scattered throughout your app’s codebase are hard to manage, reason about, and iterate on as the company grows. Also you will need to have more specific access controls as things grow. Traditional approaches like RBAC is inefficient for defining granular permissions such as resource-specific, hierarchical, or context-aware permissions.…

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

18. 18PA
    PKHub a Developer's Password Manager▲5

    Security for developers, Store and share passwords, environments, certificates, database/server account information securely and with ease. More than just a password manager. Manage Kubernetes Secrets and Container Environments securely.

    2019 · pkhub.io · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Komodor - Kubernetes Troubleshooting▲152

    The Kubernetes native troubleshooting platform

    2021 · komodor.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Kerno▲132

    Hey HN! Anibal, Sean, Vlad, Maxi and Karim here we're the co-founders of Kerno (https://www.kerno.io/). We're building a zero-hassle tool to help developers monitor and troubleshoot their services in a way that makes sense. No complex rollouts, no custom infra, no tons of instrumentation, no sidecars… none of that! Just a minimum effort, out-of-the box, highly contextualized and interactive experience so you and your team can focus on shipping! We basically scan your cluster resources, build usable abstractions on top of all the kubernetes craziness, identify monitor your…

    Dec 2025 · kerno.io · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Kubespy, a CLI tool for observing Kubernetes resources in real time▲99

    Tools for observing Kubernetes resources in real time, powered by Pulumi. - pulumi/kubespy

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Kubenav – An open source mobile app to manage Kubernetes cluster▲57

    kubenav is the navigator for your Kubernetes clusters right in your pocket. - kubenav/kubenav

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Kubescape▲65

    Kubernetes security made for developers

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Secure Remote Access Toolkit▲78

    Support, manage & protect your remote workforce’s endpoints

    2020 · manageengine.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →