Bitnami alternatives

This is an on-going study, started in October 2025, about secured container images and Helm charts for individuals and companies.

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This report is shared for informational purposes only. It was prepared objectively and may not be exhaustive. Please share any feedback by creating an Issue.

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Context

Bitnami, acquired by VMware in 2019 (and later under Broadcom in 2023), has long provided popular open-source container images and Helm charts for applications like PostgreSQL, Redis, WordPress, and more.

These were freely available on Docker Hub and as OCI artifacts, making them a staple for Kubernetes deployments.

However, effective August 28, 2025 (with public catalog deletion postponed to September 29, 2025, after community feedback), Bitnami announced major changes (bitnami/charts #35164) under the "Bitnami Secure Images" initiative:

• Free tier limitations: Only a curated subset of hardened images (under docker.io/bitnamisecure) remains freely available, limited to the latest tag for development use. No versioned tags, no updates for legacy images
• Legacy migration: All existing images and charts move to docker.io/bitnamilegacy without further support
• Paid model: Full access to hardened, production-ready images, charts, SBOMs, CVE transparency, and enterprise support requires a subscription
• Helm charts impact: The source code at bitnami/charts remains open (Apache 2.0 license), but deploying them will fail out-of-the-box as the container images do not exist anymore

Community alternatives

Bitnami latest secure images

We can keep using charts.bitnami.com/bitnami by switching to images from hub.docker.com/bitnamisecure.

Pros:

• 🟢 Easiest path to keep using Bitnami Helm charts
• 🟢 Important list of applications

Cons:

• 🔴 Images with latest tag only

CloudPirates

CloudPirates, a German company created in 2021, provide Cloud Native Solutions.

Pros:

• 🟢 Free
• 🟢 Open source Helm charts

Cons:

• 🟠 Not a global company
• 🟠 Doesn't provide images
• 🔴 Limited catalog (14 applications)

Related blog posts:

• Bitnami Helm Charts: What will change from August 2025 (and what you should do now) - July 24, 2025
• Our open source Helm Charts as a Bitnami alternative - August 22, 2025

Invidual contributors

Some individuals produce good quality content, such as 11notes images (code are minimal, rootless builds (reddit post).

Pros:

• 🟢 Free
• 🟢 Open source

Cons:

• 🟠 Artifact quality may vary (CVEs, ease-of-use, documentation)
• 🔴 No support or guarantee

Official upstream images

For many technologies, official images are availables Docker Hub and Helm charts on Artifact Hub.

Pros:

• 🟢 Free
• 🟢 Open source Helm charts

Cons:

• 🟠 Artifact quality may vary (CVEs, ease-of-use)
• 🔴 Multiple sources to monitor and maintain

Percona

Percona is an open source database software, support, and services company started in 2006.

Pros:

• 🟢 Free
• 🟢 Open source Helm charts

Cons:

• 🟠 Specific to databases
• 🟠 Not the easiest to install and use
• 🔴 Not on the most recent versions

Company offerings

ActiveState

ActiveState provides secure container images.

Pros:

• 🟢 Free catalog of secured images
• 🔵 Full customization for paid customers

Cons:

• 🟠 Only 24 applications in the free catalog
• 🔴 No Helm charts

Related blog post:

• Navigate the Upcoming Bitnami Changes with ActiveState - September 4, 2025

Broadcom

Bitnami Secure Images is the new offering that replaces original Bitnami application catalog.

Pros:

• 🟢 Easiest path to keep using Bitnami Helm charts
• 🟢 Important list of applications

Cons:

• 🟠 Not open source
• 🔴 No free access

ChainGuard

Chainguard images is an offering from the trending company Chainguard, created in 2021.

Pros:

• 🟢 Important list of applications (1 753)
• 🟢 Free to start using with the "Starter Images"
• 🟢 Focus on security
• 🔵 Helm charts for paid customers

Cons:

• 🟠 Not open source
• 🔴 "Starter Images" with latest tag only

Docker

Hardened Images is a Premium service offered by Docker.

Pros:

• 🟢 Interesting catalog of secured images

Cons:

• 🔴 No free access
• 🔴 No Helm charts

Related blog post:

• Broadcom’s New Bitnami Restrictions? Migrate Easily with Docker - Aug 30, 2025

Minimus

Minimus product is focused on security.

Pros:

• 🟢 Invidual plan is free
• 🟢 All manadatory features in organization plan (FIPS/STIG, air gap)
• 🔵 Helm charts for paid customers

Cons:

• 🟠 No self-registering
• 🟠 Not open source
• 🔴 Images with latest tag only in individual plan

RapidFort

RapidFort Curated Images is an offering part of RapidFort platform.

Pros:

• 🟢 Focused on security and minimal images with a unique approach
• 🟢 Open source community images
• 🟢 Fast reply on contacts
• 🔵 Very large catalog
• 🔵 Web platform with Kubernetes monitoring (agent)

Cons:

• 🟠 No self-registering
• 🔴 No Helm charts

Related blog post:

• Bitnami Goes Behind Paywall: RapidFort's Curated Near-Zero CVE Images Offer Superior Alternative - September 5, 2025

Red Hat

Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog is provided by Red Hat partner ecosystem.

Pros:

• 🟢 Provided by a leader in Linux / Cloud Native

Cons:

• 🟠 Not open source
• 🔴 No free access

SUSE

SUSE Application Collection is a service provided by the company which provided the first Linux distribution for enterprises.

Pros:

• 🟢 Provided by a company with extensive expertise on securing systems
• 🟢 Very nice websites / user experience
• 🟢 Helm charts
• 🟢 Catalog keeps growing with priority given on customer requests

Cons:

• 🟠 Limited set of applications
• 🟠 Not open source
• 🔴 No free/individual access

Use cases

MongoDB server

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Vulnerabilities were checked with Trivy and size retrieved with Skopeo

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