Compare

Four Kubernetes UIs, compared honestly.

K8Lens is built for diagnosis, not management. Here’s where that helps, where it doesn’t yet, and when one of the others is the better pick.

Snapshot · 2026-09-27 · K8Lens v0.2.0
01 — The field

Three live projects, one archived.

All four are open source. They differ in where they run, who maintains them, and whether they’re meant for changing a cluster or understanding it.

Diagnosev0.2.0
K8Lens
Read-only web UI that explains what’s broken and why. One container, no agents.
Web · containerMITSince 2026
Managev0.45.0
Headlamp
The official SIG UI web app. Full read-write, plugins, OIDC. In-cluster or desktop.
Web + desktopApache-2.0~7.3k ★
Operatev1.10.3
Freelens
Desktop Kubernetes IDE, forked from OpenLens. Terminal, port-forwarding, Helm, many clusters.
Desktop · ElectronMIT~5.6k ★
Archivedchart 7.14
Kubernetes Dashboard
The original official web UI. No longer maintained; its README points users to Headlamp.
Web · in-clusterApache-2.0~15.4k ★
02 — Capabilities

Feature by feature.

K8Lens leads on diagnostics. It trails on write actions and extensibility — those are on the roadmap, not shipped.

Capability
K8Lens
Headlamp
Freelens
K8s Dashboard
Built-in resource pagesObserve
YesWorkloads, network, config, storage, RBAC
Yes
Yes
Yes
CRDs / custom resourcesObserve
PartialLists CRDs
Yes
Yes
Partial
Container logsObserve
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
CPU & memory metricsObserve
YesMetrics Server, Kubelet fallback
PartialPrometheus via plugin
YesPrometheus stack
Yesmetrics-scraper
Works without PrometheusObserve
Yes
Yes
PartialCharts need it
Yes
Plain-language diagnosticsDiagnose
Yes28 resource pages
No
No
No
Cluster health scoreDiagnose
Yes
No
No
No
Blast-radius analysisDiagnose
Yes
No
No
No
Dependency / topology graphDiagnose
YesPer resource + cluster map
YesMap view
No
No
Cost estimationDiagnose
PartialEstimated from requests
PartialOpenCost plugin
No
No
Helm releasesOperate
YesView releases, values
PartialVia plugin
YesInstall, upgrade, rollback
No
Edit / apply YAMLOperate
SoonRoadmap
YesSchema-aware editor
Yes
Yes
Create / delete resourcesOperate
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Scale, restart, rollbackOperate
SoonRoadmap
Yes
Yes
PartialScale, restart
Cordon / drain nodesOperate
SoonRoadmap
Yes
Yes
No
Exec / shell into podOperate
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Port-forwardingOperate
No
YesDesktop
Yes
No
Integrated kubectl terminalOperate
No
No
Yes
No
Multi-clusterPlatform
YesImport contexts
Yes
YesCore feature
NoOne per install
OIDC / SSOPlatform
No
YesBuilt-in
PartialVia exec plugins
PartialAuth proxy
RBAC-aware UIPlatform
YesHides what it can’t read
YesAdapts actions
Partial
Partial
Plugin systemPlatform
Soonv1.0
YesArtifact Hub
YesLens extensions
No
Mobile-responsivePlatform
Yes
Partial
NoDesktop
Partial
● Yes◐ Partial○ No→ On roadmap
03 — Footprint & posture

What it costs to run, and what it can touch.

Install shape, cluster footprint, auth and default access — the questions a platform team asks before approving any UI.

Runs as
K8LensOne container, locally or in-cluster
HeadlampIn-cluster web app or desktop app
FreelensNative desktop app
K8s DashboardIn-cluster only, several containers + Kong
Cluster footprint
K8LensNone when run locally
HeadlampNone (desktop) or one deployment
FreelensNone
K8s DashboardNamespace, deployments, Kong, RBAC
Install
K8Lensdocker run
HeadlampHelm, manifest or desktop installer
FreelensDMG, MSI, DEB, Flatpak, Homebrew…
K8s DashboardHelm chart
Default access
K8LensRead-only (get / list / watch)
HeadlampRead-write, limited by RBAC
FreelensRead-write, limited by kubeconfig
K8s DashboardRead-write, limited by token
Auth
K8Lenskubeconfig upload, bearer token, service account
Headlampkubeconfig, token, OIDC
Freelenskubeconfig + exec plugins
K8s DashboardBearer token
Telemetry
K8LensOn by default, opt-out
HeadlampNone by default
FreelensSee project docs
K8s DashboardNone
Maintained by
K8LensCodeScapes, independent
HeadlampKubernetes SIG UI
FreelensIndependent community
K8s DashboardNobody — archived
04 — The honest verdict

Pick the tool for the job you have.

Many teams run K8Lens next to Headlamp or Freelens: one to find the cause, the other to apply the fix.

A read-only view that explains what’s broken and why, with no Prometheus or agents→ K8Lens
A maintained, general-purpose web UI for a team, with SSO and plugins→ Headlamp
A desktop IDE with terminal, port-forwarding, Helm management and many clusters→ Freelens
You’re still on Kubernetes Dashboard→ Migrate
Where K8Lens leads
+Diagnostics, health score, blast radius and dependency graphs are built in, not plugins
+Read-only by design — safe to point at production with a view ClusterRole
+No monitoring stack: Metrics Server, falling back to the Kubelet Summary API
+One container, nothing installed in the cluster
Where K8Lens trails
—No write actions yet: no edit, scale, delete, rollback, exec or port-forward
—No plugin system until v1.0
—No OIDC/SSO and no official Helm chart yet
—Young project with a small community
—Anonymous telemetry is on by default (opt out with TELEMETRY_DISABLED=true)

Snapshot as of 2026-09-27. Figures from each project’s GitHub repo and README.

05 — Questions

What people ask before switching.

Short answers to the questions that come up most when teams replace the Kubernetes Dashboard.

Is the Kubernetes Dashboard still maintained?

No. The kubernetes/dashboard project was archived in January 2026 and moved to kubernetes-retired/dashboard. It no longer receives updates or security patches, and its README recommends Headlamp as the replacement.

What is the best Kubernetes Dashboard alternative?

It depends on the job. Headlamp is the official, general-purpose successor with read-write access, OIDC and plugins. Freelens is a free desktop IDE with a terminal, port-forwarding and Helm management. K8Lens is a read-only web UI focused on diagnosis: it explains what broke and why, with no agents or Prometheus.

Is K8Lens free and open source?

Yes. K8Lens is released under the MIT License, with no paid tier. The source is on GitHub at CodeScapes-dev/k8lens-app.

Does K8Lens need Prometheus or an agent in the cluster?

No. K8Lens reads straight from the Kubernetes API server. CPU and memory come from Metrics Server, with a Kubelet Summary API fallback, and nothing is installed in the cluster when you run it locally.

Can K8Lens change resources in my cluster?

Not today. K8Lens only needs get, list and watch permissions. Editing, scaling, rollback and cordon or drain are on the roadmap; exec and port-forwarding are not supported.

How is K8Lens different from Headlamp?

Headlamp is built to manage clusters: it edits resources, supports plugins and SSO, and runs in-cluster or as a desktop app. K8Lens is built to diagnose them: plain-language diagnostics, a health score, blast-radius analysis and dependency graphs, in one read-only container. Many teams use one to find the cause and the other to apply the fix.

Which Kubernetes platforms does K8Lens work with?

Kubernetes 1.24 and newer. It is tested on kind, k3s, Amazon EKS, Google GKE and Azure AKS, and connects with a kubeconfig, a bearer token or an in-cluster service account.

Try it next to what you already run.

One docker run. Read-only by design.

Read the quickstart →