Comparison
PodSteer vs kubenav
The navigator for your Kubernetes clusters, right in your pocket.
What kubenav is
kubenav is an MIT-licensed Kubernetes client for iOS and Android, built with Flutter on a Go core. It browses resources and custom resources, streams logs, opens a shell, port-forwards, and carries built-in views for Helm, Argo CD, Flux, cert-manager and Prometheus — on a phone. It used to have desktop builds too; its maintainer removed them in 2024 to concentrate on mobile, which is why people looking for kubenav on a laptop end up here.
Side by side
The differences that matter.
| Aspect | kubenav | PodSteer |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iOS and Android, from the App Store and Google Play; desktop builds ended with v4.2.3 in July 2023 | macOS: a signed, notarised universal .dmg and .zip, and a Homebrew cask. Linux (amd64, arm64): AppImage, .deb, .rpm and .zip. Windows (amd64): an installer and a .zip, not code-signed, so SmartScreen warns on first launch |
| Licence | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Built with | Flutter, with a Go core compiled for mobile | Go, on the OS webview |
| Account | None; an optional in-app sponsorship removes a banner in settings | None |
| Adding clusters | A kubeconfig, or sign-in through Google Cloud, AWS (including SSO), Azure, DigitalOcean, Rancher or OIDC | Your kubeconfig files |
| Helm | List, values, manifest, rollback and uninstall | Listed from labels; one revision read on request; rollback and uninstall shown as helm commands, not performed |
| Extensions | A fixed set built in: Argo CD, Flux, cert-manager, Helm and Prometheus | No plugin API, by design; typed panels built in for Argo CD, Flux, cert-manager, KEDA, Argo Rollouts, Trivy, Gateway API and more |
| Security | No security or vulnerability view | Reads a scanner’s reports and assesses pod specs, in the application |
| Latest release | v5.6.0, 14 September 2026 | Every release listed in the changelog |
| Opening view | An overview of resource status | A ranked assessment of the cluster |
Every claim about kubenav above was checked against the kubenav repository and the pull request removing desktop support and the v5.6.0 release and kubenav.io in November 2026. Projects change; if something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Be honest
When kubenav is the better choice.
Choose kubenav when you are away from a desk: on call with only a phone, it lets you check what is failing, read logs, open a shell, scale or restart a workload and reconcile an Argo CD or Flux application from your pocket. PodSteer cannot do any of that, because it has no mobile version at all. kubenav also adds clusters through cloud sign-in on the device and can roll back or uninstall a Helm release, which PodSteer deliberately leaves to the helm CLI.
The other way round
When PodSteer fits.
PodSteer fits the desk: a large window, several clusters open as tabs, a ranked assessment of what is wrong, a topology map, a security page and an MCP server for a coding agent — none of which a phone screen is for. The two answer different moments rather than competing for the same one, and nothing stops you using both.
Questions
What people ask about this comparison.
Does kubenav have a desktop app?
Not any more. kubenav removed desktop support in April 2024, and since version 5 it ships for iOS and Android only; the last desktop builds were v4.2.3, from July 2023. PodSteer is a desktop client for macOS, Linux and Windows.
Can I use kubenav and PodSteer together?
Yes. They suit different moments: kubenav on your phone when you are away from a desk, PodSteer at it. Neither needs an account.