The native OpenLens alternative for Mac
OpenLens is the open-source core of Lens, and some of its capabilities now sit behind paid Lens Desktop. Kubius takes a different path: a genuinely native macOS app with cost, right-sizing and diagnostics built in - nothing to bolt on, no Electron.
Works with Google GKE, Amazon EKS, Azure AKS, DigitalOcean, self-managed & more · macOS Sonoma (14) or later
Why switch
Everything built in, nothing bolted on
- An Electron app - heavier on memory and battery than a native one
- Cost, right-sizing and deeper diagnostics need extensions or aren't there
- Some features have moved into the paid Lens Desktop
- Extensions to find, install and keep working across updates
- A native macOS app that launches instantly and stays light
- Cost & FinOps, right-sizing and node diagnostics built in
- One clear app with a one-time licence - no feature hunt
- Secret reveal gated behind Touch ID, all on your Mac
What you get out of the box
Truly native
Built in Swift for macOS, not an Electron shell. It's fast, quiet on resources, and at home in light or dark mode.
Live watch, everywhere
Every resource list streams live from the Kubernetes API - no manual refresh, no polling lag.
Cost & FinOps included
See spend by cluster, namespace and node, and where it's idle - no separate FinOps platform, no extension.
Right-sizing built in
Sampled recommendations for CPU and memory requests and limits, applied with a click.
Node diagnostics
Ranked findings for NotReady, pressure and OOM kills, with per-container memory - right there, not an add-on.
Secrets, protected
Reveal decoded Secret values behind a Touch ID gate, entirely on your machine.
Side by side
Kubius vs OpenLens
OpenLens is free and open source; Kubius is a native app with more built in.
| Kubius | OpenLens | |
|---|---|---|
| Native macOS app | Electron | |
| Live watch streams by default | ||
| Built-in cost & FinOps | ||
| Right-sizing recommendations | ||
| Node diagnostics & OOM attribution | ||
| Network policy simulator | ||
| Touch ID-gated Secret reveal | ||
| Pricing | €49 one-time | Free (open source) |
Simple, one-time pricing
Pay once. No subscription.
One-time licence from €49 - no subscription. 14-day free trial, no card required.
Free 14-day trial · macOS Sonoma (14) or later · No agents, nothing to install in-cluster
Questions, answered
How is Kubius different from OpenLens?
OpenLens is an Electron app and the open-source core of Lens; several capabilities now live in the paid Lens Desktop, and things like cost analysis or right-sizing rely on extensions. Kubius is a native macOS app with cost & FinOps, right-sizing and node diagnostics built in - no extensions to manage.
Is OpenLens not free? Why pay for Kubius?
OpenLens is free and open source - that's a genuine strength. You'd choose Kubius for the native performance and the built-in cost, right-sizing and diagnostics that you'd otherwise assemble from extensions or the paid Lens Desktop. Kubius is a one-time licence, not a subscription.
Will my clusters and auth just work?
Yes. Kubius reads your existing kubeconfig and reuses your cloud auth plugins (GKE, EKS, AKS), so connecting is the same as any tool that reads your kubeconfig.
Can I try it before switching?
Yes - there's a 14-day free trial with no card required, and it includes every feature so you can compare it against OpenLens on your own clusters.