Distribution vs Quay
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted developer tools & git options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Distribution | Quay |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Developer Tools & Git | Developer Tools & Git |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,623 | ★ 2,824 |
| First released | 2015 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Docker Hub | Docker Hub, Harbor |
What are Distribution and Quay?
Distribution
Distribution is the reference implementation of the OCI registry and the engine behind Docker Registry. It provides a simple, scalable self-hosted container image registry.
- OCI-compliant registry
- Pluggable storage backends
- Lightweight and fast
- Foundation of many registries
Quay
Project Quay is an open-source container image registry that stores, scans, and serves container images and artifacts. It includes vulnerability scanning, geo-replication, and fine-grained access control.
- Container image hosting
- Built-in vulnerability scanning
- Geo-replication
- Robot accounts and ACLs
Distribution vs Quay: key differences
Distribution is written in Go, while Quay is built with Python. Distribution is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Quay. Distribution is the more established project (first released 2015), while Quay arrived in 2019. Distribution has the considerably larger community, at 10,623 GitHub stars versus 2,824.
Why pick each one
Choose Distribution if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
Choose Quay if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Distribution or Quay better?
Distribution is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Quay if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Distribution and Quay free and open-source?
Yes. Distribution is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Quay under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Distribution and Quay with Docker?
Distribution: yes. Quay: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Distribution or Quay?
Distribution has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Quay. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.