Alternatives
Best Balena alternatives in 2026
Data compiled by Toolradar Updated How we rate
Cite this list: Toolradar, best Balena alternatives 2026, toolradar.com/alternatives/balena
3 direct alternatives to Balena and 5 more tools in the same category, compared on pricing, features, and best-for use cases. Pick the right replacement without the marketing fluff.
Quick answer
- Northflank is the top alternative to Balena on our list, followed by Garden and Keptn.
- 6 of the 8 alternatives have a free plan, starting with Northflank.
- Highest rated: Google Cloud Storage, 4.7 out of 5 from 2,892 ratings, Sep 2026.
- 8 alternatives
- 3 direct
- 6 with a free plan
Top 3 alternatives to Balena
Northflank
#1 Top pickDeploy any project in seconds, in our cloud or yours, with a comprehensive developer platform.
Pricing
Free plan
4.9 /5 on G2 · 11 ratings, Sep 2026
Our take
Best overall
Garden
#2Accelerate software development by eliminating CI/CD and security wait times with a universal acceleration layer.
Pricing
Not published
4.3 /5 on G2 · 6 ratings, Mar 2026
Keptn
#3Automate and standardize your cloud-native application delivery.
Pricing
Free
Balena vs 8 alternatives
| Tool | Starting price (Nov 2026) | Free plan | Rating | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Price: $159/mo | Free plan: Yes | 4.8 out of 5, from 24 ratings on G2 (24) | |
| Price: Free + paid | Free plan: Yes | 4.9 out of 5, from 11 ratings on G2 (11) | Direct alternative |
| Price: Not published | Free plan: No | 4.3 out of 5, from 6 ratings on G2 (6) | Direct alternative |
| Price: Free | Free plan: Yes | n/a | Direct alternative |
 | Price: $29/mo | Free plan: Yes | 4.5 out of 5, from 875 ratings on G2 (875) | Same category as Balena |
 | Price: Usage-based | Free plan: No | 4.7 out of 5, from 2,892 ratings across G2 and Capterra (2,892) | Same category as Balena |
 | Price: $21/mo | Free plan: Yes | 4.5 out of 5, from 1,192 ratings across G2 and Capterra (1,192) | Same category as Balena |
 | Price: $12/mo | Free plan: Yes | 4.6 out of 5, from 1,535 ratings across SourceForge, Trustpilot, G2 and more (1,535) | Same category as Balena |
 | Price: $10/mo | Free plan: Yes | 4.4 out of 5, from 783 ratings across G2 and Capterra (783) | Same category as Balena |
Why people consider alternatives to Balena
Balena provides a comprehensive platform for developing, deploying, managing, and scaling fleets of IoT Linux devices. It leverages secure container-based technology to enable over-the-air (OTA) updates, full API and SDK access, and Linux…
Teams most often switch away when one of these starts to bite:
- Pricing at scale as usage or premium tiers add up.
- Missing integrations with the rest of your stack.
- Performance or scale limits as your needs grow.
- A specific feature gap you have hit in devops.
The 3 direct alternatives below cover the same core job (DevOps) with different trade-offs. The 5 tools marked "Same category as Balena" fit the category but replace Balena less directly.
Balena by the numbers
Toolradar data: Balena's entry paid plan ($159/mo, billed monthly) ranks #11 of 17 for price among the IoT Platforms tools with a verified entry price and no stated unit, where the median is $75/mo. As of Nov 2026.
| Metric | Balena | Peer median | Position (1 is best) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry paid plan | $159/mo, billed monthly | $75/mo | #11 of 17 tools with no stated price unit, verified price |
| Free plan | Yes | 36% have one | n/a |
| Listed as an alternative to | 2 tools | 3 | #43 of 84 (joint) |
| User rating | 4.8/5 (across the web, 24 ratings) | 4.5/5 | #3 of 22 (joint) tools with 20+ reviews |
Listed as an alternative to: #41 on 2026-10-16 to #43 on 2026-11-02 (rank among 84 tools, 1 is best).
Each position is counted among the tools that have data for that row, as noted under it. A lower entry price ranks higher; prices are read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis. All IoT Platforms data · How we compute this. Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position.
Cite this: Toolradar, “Balena by the numbers”, Nov 2026.
DevOps leaderboards from Toolradar data
Toolradar ranks DevOps tools on one measure at a time, only where at least 8 tools have data. As of Nov 2026.
Lowest entry price, plans with no stated unit
Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.
Counted among 124 tools with no stated price unit, verified price.
| # | Tool | Entry plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HashiCorp Vault | $0.50/mo, billed monthly |
| 1 | Route 53 | $0.50/mo, billed monthly |
| 3 | Coroot | $1/mo, billed monthly |
| 4 | LogDNA | $1.50/mo, billed monthly |
| 5 | Kubiya | $2/mo, billed monthly |
Lowest entry price, per-user plans
Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.
Counted among 27 tools priced per user, verified price.
| # | Tool | Entry plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Passwork | $3/user/mo, billed monthly |
| 2 | Bodhiorchard | $4/user/mo, billed monthly |
| 3 | NetBird | $5/user/mo, billed monthly |
| 3 | VictorOps | $5/user/mo, billed monthly |
| 5 | Azure DevOps | $6/user/mo, billed monthly |
Most media coverage, last 30 days
Number of distinct articles published in the last 30 days by independent press, blogs and newsletters that mention the tool. A story carried by several outlets counts once; the vendor's own blog, review sites, forums and republishing sites do not count.
Counted among 11 tools mentioned in the last 30 days.
| # | Tool | Articles |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GitLab | 13 articles |
| 2 | GitHub Actions | 4 articles |
| 3 | Docker Hub | 3 articles |
| 4 | OpenTelemetry | 2 articles |
| 5 | Buildkite | 1 article |
A position exists only when at least 8 tools have data for that metric. 151 of 453 DevOps tools have a verified price; the others publish none we could read (often "contact sales"). Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source. How we compute this. Cite this: Toolradar, “DevOps leaderboards”, Nov 2026. Data licensed CC BY 4.0. All DevOps statistics.
8 alternatives to Balena
Direct alternatives come first, ranked by G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editor review. Tools marked "Same category as Balena" follow, ranked the same way.
- 1
Northflank
Free planDeploy any project in seconds, in our cloud or yours, with a comprehensive developer platform.
4.9 /5 on G2 · 11 ratings, Sep 2026
Free plan available; paid prices not published
- 2
Garden
PaidAccelerate software development by eliminating CI/CD and security wait times with a universal acceleration layer.
4.3 /5 on G2 · 6 ratings, Mar 2026
Price not published
- 3
Keptn
100% freeAutomate and standardize your cloud-native application delivery.
Free
- 4
GitLab
Free planThe most comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps platform for secure and accelerated software delivery.
4.5 /5 on G2 · 875 ratings, Mar 2026
From $29/user/mo, billed yearly; free plan available
Same category as Balena
- 5
Google Cloud Storage
Paid Battle-tested at scaleObject storage by Google Cloud
4.7 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 2,892 ratings, Sep 2026
Price not published
Same category as Balena
- 6
PagerDuty
Free plan Battle-tested at scaleOrchestrate incident detection, response, and reviews
4.5 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 1,192 ratings, Sep 2026
From $21/seat/mo, billed yearly; free plan available
Same category as Balena
- 7
UptimeRobot
Free plan Battle-tested at scaleMonitor your websites, APIs, and servers from multiple locations
4.6 /5 across SourceForge, Trustpilot, G2 and more · 1,535 ratings, Sep 2026
From $12/mo, billed yearly; free plan available
Same category as Balena
- 8
New Relic
Free planFull-stack observability with 50+ monitoring capabilities
4.4 /5 across G2 and Capterra · 783 ratings, Sep 2026
From $10/mo; free plan available
Same category as Balena
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Balena?
Based on real-signal scoring (G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editorial review), the top alternatives to Balena are Northflank, Garden, Keptn. Each solves the same core job with different trade-offs on pricing, features, and integrations.
Is there a free alternative to Balena?
Yes. Keptn is 100% free (no paid upgrade path) (Automate and standardize your cloud-native application delivery). Freemium tools on this list offer a free tier with paid upgrades; they are not the same as fully free.
Why do people look for Balena alternatives?
Common reasons teams switch away from Balena: pricing that scales aggressively, missing integrations with the rest of their stack, performance or scale limits, or a specific feature gap in devops. The alternatives on this page solve the same core problem with different trade-offs.
Side-by-side comparisons
In-depth comparison pages for Balena versus each alternative.
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