Source: https://seerepo.com/compare/k3s-io/k3s/vs/loft-sh/vcluster
Markdown source: https://seerepo.com/compare/k3s-io/k3s/vs/loft-sh/vcluster.md
Description: k3s and vcluster share 10 technologies: net/http, etcd, k8s.io/apiserver, github.com/sirupsen/logrus, Kubernetes, k8s.io/klog/v2, Prometheus, github.com/go-logr/logr, k8s.io/kubelet, and go.uber.org/zap. Both are written in Go.

# k3s vs vcluster

k3s and vcluster share 10 technologies: net/http, etcd, k8s.io/apiserver, github.com/sirupsen/logrus, Kubernetes, k8s.io/klog/v2, Prometheus, github.com/go-logr/logr, k8s.io/kubelet, and go.uber.org/zap. Both are written in Go.

- [k3s-io/k3s](https://seerepo.com/r/k3s-io/k3s): Lightweight Kubernetes
- [loft-sh/vcluster](https://seerepo.com/r/loft-sh/vcluster): vCluster creates tenant clusters: fully isolated environments delivered as managed Kubernetes, or as the foundation for Slurm, Ray, Run:ai and inference clusters. Each gets its own API server, CRDs and RBAC, and runs on an existing cluster or standalone on bare metal. CNCF Certified Kubernetes.

## What they share and what sets them apart

- In common: net/http, etcd, k8s.io/apiserver, github.com/sirupsen/logrus, Kubernetes, k8s.io/klog/v2, Prometheus, github.com/go-logr/logr, k8s.io/kubelet, go.uber.org/zap
- Only in k3s: go.etcd.io/etcd/client/v3, go.etcd.io/etcd/server/v3, go.etcd.io/etcd/client/pkg/v3, github.com/ipfs/go-ds-leveldb, MinIO, containerd, github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22, Docker, github.com/natefinch/lumberjack, github.com/containerd/zfs/v2, github.com/google/cadvisor/lib, github.com/ipfs/go-log/v2, github.com/Microsoft/hcsshim, github.com/prometheus/common, k8s.io/kube-proxy
- Only in vcluster: HashiCorp, SQLite, GitHub, sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime, github.com/olekukonko/tablewriter, golang.org/x/oauth2, github.com/invopop/jsonschema, github.com/go-openapi/loads, sigs.k8s.io/gateway-api, k8s.io/cluster-bootstrap, k8s.io/metrics, k8s.io/pod-security-admission, github.com/docker/docker, github.com/hashicorp/go-hclog

## Side by side

| | k3s | vcluster |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 61,448 lines written, 244 code files | 141,753 lines written, 554 code files |
| Who writes it | 0.1% of its commits signed by AI. With Claude Code | 1.3% of its commits signed by AI. With Claude Code and Cursor |
| Activity | Last push November 7, 2026, 3,674 commits, 34,351 stars | Last push November 11, 2026, 3,174 commits, 11,378 stars |
| Tests | 107 test files. 33.2% of its code files have a test that imports them | 257 test files. 39.4% of its code files have a test that imports them |

- Size: Lines written by people and agents, without generated ones; code files, without tests.
- Who writes it: A commit counts as AI's when it carries its signature: a Co-Authored-By line, its author name or the merge of its branch.
- Activity: From GitHub and its history, on the day SeeRepo read it.
- Tests: The files that test the code, and the share of code files a test imports.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which is bigger, k3s or vcluster?

vcluster, with 141,753 lines written; k3s has 61,448.

The proof: [loft-sh/vcluster's code at commit c5e9027](https://github.com/loft-sh/vcluster/tree/c5e9027e972df3f24b58137e9018929b61635641)

### Which has more GitHub stars, k3s or vcluster?

k3s, with 34,351 stars; vcluster has 11,378.

The proof: [k3s-io/k3s on GitHub](https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s)

### Which has more tests, k3s or vcluster?

vcluster, with 257 test files; k3s has 107.

The proof: [loft-sh/vcluster's code at commit c5e9027](https://github.com/loft-sh/vcluster/tree/c5e9027e972df3f24b58137e9018929b61635641)

### Which was updated more recently, k3s or vcluster?

vcluster: its last push was on November 11, 2026, and k3s's on November 7, 2026.

The proof: [loft-sh/vcluster's commits on GitHub](https://github.com/loft-sh/vcluster/commits)

### Which has more commits signed by AI, k3s or vcluster?

vcluster: an AI signed 1.3% of its commits, with Claude Code and Cursor; in k3s, 0.1%.

The proof: [the commits each tool signed in loft-sh/vcluster](https://seerepo.com/r/loft-sh/vcluster/ai)

## Sources

- k3s-io/k3s: Read on November 7, 2026, at commit dca306c (https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/tree/dca306c81c44fed1dd0621d5579785c980080ae8)
- loft-sh/vcluster: Read on November 12, 2026, at commit c5e9027 (https://github.com/loft-sh/vcluster/tree/c5e9027e972df3f24b58137e9018929b61635641)

## What is your repo built with?

Any public repo, with no account: https://seerepo.com/r/owner/repo/built, with the owner and name it has on GitHub.