Kapten vs. a traditional PaaS
The simplicity of a PaaS. In an account you own.
A platform-as-a-service runs your app on the vendor’s infrastructure. Kapten aims for a similar developer experience while provisioning everything in your cloud account, on standard Kubernetes.
At a glance
Six questions, two answers.
Our honest read of where each option sits, including the rows where traditional paas comes out ahead.
| Dimension | Kapten | Traditional PaaS | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership of infra and data | High | Low | Kapten |
| Setup effort (lower is better) | Medium | Low | Traditional PaaS |
| Operational load on your team (lower is better) | Medium | Low | Traditional PaaS |
| Control | Medium | Low | Kapten |
| Speed to first deploy | Medium | High | Traditional PaaS |
| Scaling path | High | Medium | Kapten |
The short answer
If you want the fastest possible start and are comfortable with your workloads and data on a vendor’s infrastructure, a traditional PaaS is a strong choice. Kapten is for teams that want that ease of use without giving up ownership of the account, the region, the bill and the exit.
Side by side
Traditional PaaS and Kapten, point by point.
| Topic | Traditional PaaS | Kapten |
|---|---|---|
| Where workloads run | On the vendor’s infrastructure, in regions they offer. | In your cloud account, in the region you choose. |
| Who owns the data | Stored with the vendor; export depends on their tooling. | Stays in your account; Kapten does not store application data. |
| Billing | One vendor bill, with infrastructure marked up into plan prices. | Infrastructure on your own cloud bill; credits and commitments still apply. |
| Time to first deploy | Usually minutes, with no cloud account needed. | Longer the first time: you connect a cloud account and provision a foundation. |
| Underlying platform | Proprietary runtime and conventions. | Standard Kubernetes and managed cloud services. |
| Using other cloud services | Through the vendor’s add-ons or over the public internet. | Directly, in the same account and network. |
| Leaving | Rebuild the deployment elsewhere. | Revoke the role; the infrastructure keeps running in your account. |
| Compliance and residency | Depends on the vendor’s certifications and regions. | Follows your account, region and existing cloud controls. |
| Operational work | Fully handled by the vendor. | Handled by Kapten’s control plane and agents, with your team owning approvals. |
| Agent access | Varies by vendor. | MCP server with observe, plan and act tiers and per-plan approval. |
| Maturity | Often mature, well-documented, large ecosystems. | In early access; capabilities confirmed per project during onboarding. |
Choose traditional paas if
- You want to deploy today without a cloud account.
- Data location and cloud ownership are not requirements for you or your customers.
- You prefer a mature product with a large ecosystem over early access.
Choose Kapten if
- You want your infrastructure, data and bill in your own cloud account.
- You have cloud credits or commitments you want to use.
- You want to use other managed services in the same account and network.
- You want an exit that does not involve a migration.
A few practical questions.
Is Kapten harder to use than a PaaS?
The first setup takes longer because a cloud account is connected and a foundation is provisioned. After that, the aim is the same day-to-day experience: push, deploy, roll back.
Can I move from a PaaS to Kapten?
Applications that already run in containers or standard runtimes usually move well. Plan the database migration and DNS cut-over separately; they are the parts that need care.
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Build with Kapten
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