Nomad
Flexible workload orchestrator for containers and more
The Lens
Nomad runs containers, VMs, and standalone executables across a cluster of servers without the complexity of Kubernetes. It's a workload orchestrator: you tell it 'run 3 copies of this service' and it handles placement, restarts, rolling updates, and health checks.
What's free: The Nomad binary is free to download and use. Source-available under BSL 1.1 (same license change as Terraform). All core scheduling, service mesh (Consul integration), and multi-region features work without paying.
Nomad's pitch is simplicity. A single binary, no etcd, no API server fleet. Just nomad agent on your nodes. You can go from zero to a running cluster in 30 minutes. It handles Docker containers, Java JARs, raw executables, even Windows services. That flexibility is rare.
The catch: the BSL 1.1 license means it's not truly open source anymore. You can use it freely but competitors can't build products on it. The ecosystem is a fraction of Kubernetes' size. Fewer tutorials, fewer integrations, fewer people who know it. And while it's simpler than K8s, 'simpler' still means distributed systems complexity. You'll want Consul for service discovery and Vault for secrets, pulling you deeper into the HashiCorp ecosystem.
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Free vs Self-Hosted vs Paid
source available### What's Free The Nomad binary and all core features. Job scheduling, multi-region federation, service mesh (with Consul), CSI volumes, Sentinel policies. BSL 1.1 license -- free to use, restricted for competing products.
### HCP Nomad (Managed) HashiCorp Cloud Platform offers managed Nomad: - **Development**: ~$0.03/hr (~$22/mo) for a small cluster. - **Standard**: ~$0.08/hr (~$58/mo). Multi-node, production-ready. - **Plus/Enterprise**: Custom pricing. SSO, audit logging, dedicated support.
### Self-Hosting Cost - **Minimum viable**: 3 server nodes + N client nodes. On cheap VPSes ($5-10/node), a small cluster runs $25-60/mo. - **Production**: 3-5 server nodes with 4GB+ RAM each. $60-200/mo depending on provider. - **You'll also want**: Consul ($0 self-hosted) + Vault ($0 self-hosted, paid for cloud).
### The Kubernetes Comparison Nomad is cheaper to operate at small scale. A 3-node Nomad cluster needs ~1GB RAM per server. A comparable K8s control plane needs ~2-4GB. The real savings are in ops time -- Nomad's simpler architecture means less to debug.
### When to Pay for HCP When you don't want to manage the server cluster. HCP handles upgrades, backups, and HA. Worth it at $22-58/mo if your time is worth more than $20/hr.
Binary is free. Self-host a cluster for $25-200/mo. HCP managed starts at ~$22/mo if you don't want the ops burden.
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