KinuxOTA vs Mender
Mender is the stronger choice when you build your own Linux images and need full-system updates that roll back by themselves. KinuxOTA is simpler when your devices run a standard Ubuntu, Debian or Raspberry Pi OS: install one agent, then update packages and files, run scripts and commands, without rebuilding images.
Mender is an open-source OTA update system for embedded Linux with a server and a client on each device, best known for robust full-system A/B updates.
Side by side
| Aspect | KinuxOTA | Mender |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A web dashboard and a small agent for Linux devices: OTA updates of packages, files and scripts, remote commands and device health. | An update system: a Mender Server schedules and monitors deployments, a Mender Client on each device installs them. |
| Operating system on the device | The device's own Ubuntu, Debian or Raspberry Pi OS (amd64, arm64, armhf). No special image. | An image integrated with Mender: built with the Yocto Project, or a Debian-family image converted with Mender Convert, with A/B partitions and a stateless root filesystem. |
| Getting started on a device | One command on each device installs the agent from a signed apt repository. | Build or convert the device image with Mender integrated, then flash it. |
| What it updates | apt packages, any files with a script, the agent itself. Not full-system images yet. | The full root filesystem (A/B), and applications or files through Update Modules. |
| If an update breaks the device | No automatic rollback of a failed update yet (full-system A/B updates are planned). | A full-system update that is not committed rolls back to the previous partition automatically. |
| Rolling out | Runs on up to 100 chosen devices at once, offline devices catch up, re-run only the failed ones. No groups or phased rollouts yet. | Deployments to device groups; orchestrated multi-component updates in the Enterprise plan. |
| Remote commands and scripts | Built in: run a command or a script with files on many devices and watch the output live. | Not the focus; changes are delivered as update artifacts. |
| Hosting | Hosted service (EU). No self-hosted edition. | Open-source server you host yourself, a hosted Mender service, and an Enterprise edition. |
| Price | Free during the pilot program, up to 3 devices per account for now. | See Mender's pricing page for the hosted plans. |
Choose Mender when
- You ship a product built as a Yocto or custom image and a failed update must never leave a device unbootable.
- You need to self-host the update server.
- You need staged deployments to groups today.
Choose KinuxOTA when
- Your devices run a standard Ubuntu, Debian or Raspberry Pi OS and you do not want to build images.
- Most of your updates are apt packages, configuration files and scripts.
- You also want to run commands and scripts on the devices and see their health, from one dashboard.
Using both
Some fleets use an image-based tool for the base system and KinuxOTA for packages, files, scripts and commands in between; the two do not conflict.
Try KinuxOTA on your own devices
Free during the pilot program (up to 3 devices per account for now). See which kinds of OTA update it does today.