Google Artifact Registry vs Quay.io
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Google Artifact Registry and Quay.io.
Quick Verdict
3.7/5
Google Artifact Registry
0 reviews
3.7/5
Quay.io
0 reviews
Both Google Artifact Registry and Quay.io are equally rated at 3.7/5. Google Artifact Registry stores Docker container images, Helm charts, npm, Maven, and Python packages in one place. Vulnerability scanning built-in. Integrates with Cloud Build and GKE. Red Hat's hosted container image registry: unlimited free public repos, per-private-repository pricing from $15/month, automatic Clair v4 CVE scanning, robot accounts, teams, and exportable audit logs.
Google Artifact Registry Universal package manager from Google Cloud | Quay.io Hosted container registry from Red Hat: free public repos, CVE scanning, per-private-repo pricing | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.7 (0 reviews) | 3.7 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best for | GCP-centric teams wanting one managed registry for images and packages with built-in scanning and deployment-policy hooks | Open-source projects needing free public image hosting, and Red Hat-centric enterprises wanting managed registries with SSO, robot accounts and audit logging |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tierapi accesseu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenter | free tierteam featuresssoapi access |
| Visit Google Artifact Registry → | Visit Quay.io → | |
Google Artifact Registry
Pros
- + One registry for container images and language/OS packages with unified IAM and audit
- + Free storage tier (0.5 GiB per billing account/month) and cheap per-GiB pricing beyond it
- + Remote/virtual repositories proxy and cache public upstreams behind one endpoint
- + Deep GCP integration: GKE, Cloud Build, Binary Authorization, VPC Service Controls, CMEK
Cons
- - Management plane is GCP-only — poor fit for multi-cloud portability requirements
- - Cross-region data transfer charges ($0.01–$0.15/GiB) can surprise teams with scattered repos
- - Vulnerability scanning billed separately via Artifact Analysis; enabling the API bills both new and legacy products
- - No product-specific published SLA
Quay.io
Pros
- + Unlimited free public repositories with automatic CVE scanning on every push
- + Public, predictable per-repository pricing from $15/month for 5 private repos
- + Robot accounts, team permissions, SSO and exportable audit logs aimed at compliance teams
- + Decade-plus production track record (launched 2013) with a supported upgrade path to self-managed Red Hat Quay
- + Full API, image rollback, zero-downtime garbage collection and Git build triggers
Cons
- - Per-repository billing punishes micro-repo layouts; large tiers get expensive fast
- - No published uptime SLA for the hosted service
- - Clair does not cover every language ecosystem, and remediation is entirely on the customer
- - Free tier fair-use caps (100 GB storage, 1 TB egress) are enforceable quotas
- - Overlapping product lineup (Quay.io vs Red Hat Quay vs OpenShift Platform Plus) complicates buying
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