# Klustr compared with other Kubernetes UIs > Lens, k9s and Headlamp are all good tools with different shapes. This page puts them next to Klustr on the questions people ask before switching, and links to a page for each. ## At a glance 20 rows, reviewed 2026-10-16. ### The project | Criterion | Klustr | Lens | k9s | Headlamp | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | License and price | Apache-2.0, free | Proprietary. Free Personal plan with eligibility limits, paid plans beyond | Apache-2.0, free | Apache-2.0, free | | Runtime | Go + OS webview. Wails, no bundled browser | Electron. Bundled Chromium and Node.js | Go terminal UI | Electron or in-cluster web. Go backend, React frontend | | Platforms | macOS, Linux, Windows. Windows build not code-signed | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Linux, Windows | macOS, Windows, Linux, browser | ### What it needs from your cluster | Criterion | Klustr | Lens | k9s | Headlamp | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Installed in the cluster | Nothing. Optional one-click metrics-server, removable from Klustr | Nothing required. Optional metrics stack | Nothing | Optional. Desktop app runs locally; web mode is deployed in-cluster | | Account or sign-in | None. Your kubeconfig is the only credential | Lens ID required. Needed to activate the desktop app | None | None on desktop. Token or OIDC when deployed in-cluster | ### Working across clusters | Criterion | Klustr | Lens | k9s | Headlamp | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Several clusters at once | Aggregated table. Two or more contexts in one list, named groups, color tags | One cluster per view. Catalog and hotbar to switch | One context at a time. Switch with :ctx | Multi-cluster view. Select clusters and compare side by side | | RBAC | Access Review matrix. Subject to effective permissions with the binding chain | Roles and bindings | RBAC and policy views. Reverse lookup for a user, group or ServiceAccount | Roles and bindings | ### Platform tooling | Criterion | Klustr | Lens | k9s | Headlamp | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Helm | Built in. Install, upgrade, rollback, uninstall with a dry-run diff; repo search | Built in. Charts and releases, upgrade and rollback | Release view. Values, history and rollback; no install or upgrade | Via plugin. App Catalog plugin, bundled with the desktop app | | Argo CD and Flux | Built in, through the API. Sync, refresh, reconcile, suspend; no CLIs | Built in, paid plans. Not in the free Personal plan | Community plugins. Sync, refresh, reconcile, suspend; Flux needs the flux CLI | Via plugins. Official Flux plugin and Argo CD plugin (alpha) | | Tekton | Typed views. PipelineRun task table, step logs, cancel and rerun; no tkn | Generic CRDs | Generic CRDs | Generic CRDs | | Gateway API | Typed views. Listeners, rule matrix, RouteParentStatus | Built in. Including TCP, UDP and TLS routes and ListenerSets | Generic CRDs | Built in. Including TCPRoute and UDPRoute | | Istio | Typed views. VirtualServices, DestinationRules, PeerAuthentications | Generic CRDs. A community extension draws them in a traffic graph | Generic CRDs | Via plugin. Community Istio plugins | | Cilium | Typed views. Policies as rule tables, endpoints, IP pools, BGP | Generic CRDs | Generic CRDs | Generic CRDs | | cert-manager | Typed views. Issuance chain and one-click renew | Generic CRDs | Community plugin. Status and renew through cmctl | Via plugin. Official cert-manager plugin | | Kyverno | Typed views. Policies, exceptions, policy reports and each policy’s violations | Via extension. Community extension; installing extensions needs a paid plan | Generic CRDs | Via plugin. Official plugin with policy reports | | Karpenter | Typed views. NodePools against their limits, NodeClaims, EC2NodeClasses | Generic CRDs | Community plugin. Jumps between NodePools, NodeClaims and Nodes | Via plugin. Official plugin, marked alpha | | KEDA | Triggers on the HPA. ScaledObjects stay in the generic CRD browser | Generic CRDs | Community plugin. Pause and resume ScaledObjects | Via plugin. Official KEDA plugin | ### Day-to-day operations | Criterion | Klustr | Lens | k9s | Headlamp | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Logs | Multi-pod stream. Per-pod colors, follow, regex, save | Per container | Per pod or workload. Aggregated for a deployment, filters | Per container | | Shell access | Exec, debug container, node shell | Pod and node shell | Pod and node shell. Node shell behind a feature gate | Pod terminal | | Local terminal | Drawer per context. KUBECONFIG preset to the active context | Built in | Is the terminal | None | ## Head-to-head pages Each page goes row by row and says where that tool is the better pick. - [Klustr vs Lens](https://klustr.dev/compare/lens/): The best-known Kubernetes IDE. Electron, cross-platform, with an extension marketplace, team features and paid plans. Activation needs a Lens ID. - [Klustr vs k9s](https://klustr.dev/compare/k9s/): Keyboard-driven terminal UI in Go. One context at a time, fast to navigate, extensible through plugins and hotkeys. Apache-2.0. - [Klustr vs Headlamp](https://klustr.dev/compare/headlamp/): Kubernetes SIG UI project with a plugin system. Runs as an Electron desktop app or is deployed into the cluster as a web UI. Apache-2.0. ## How this table is kept honest Every cell about another tool comes from that tool’s public documentation, README or release notes, and the table was last reviewed on 2026-10-16. Cells are worded as capabilities, not judgements, and where a feature exists only through plugins or extensions the cell says so. There are no memory or speed numbers here because none have been measured side by side. If a row is wrong or out of date, [open an issue](https://github.com/SametKUM/klustr/issues) with a link to the source and it will be corrected.