Is Kustomize free?
Yes, Kustomize is free and open source. It's actually built into kubectl now - you can use 'kubectl apply -k' directly.
What is Kustomize?
Kustomize lets you customize Kubernetes configurations without templates. You write patches that modify base configurations, keeping things declarative and readable.
Kustomize vs Helm?
Kustomize uses patching; Helm uses templating. Kustomize is simpler and built into kubectl. They're often used together - Helm for packages, Kustomize for environment-specific tweaks.