$ k8scalc compare longhorn rook/ceph
Longhorn vs Rook/Ceph
Longhorn vs Rook/Ceph for Kubernetes distributed storage — compare setup complexity, resource usage, performance, object storage, and production suitability.
Verdict
Longhorn is the right choice for small to medium clusters (under 20 nodes). It installs in minutes via Helm, includes a web UI, automatic replica healing, and built-in S3 backup. Rook/Ceph is for large-scale storage requirements: it adds object storage (Ceph RGW), shared filesystems (CephFS), and handles petabyte-scale with better performance. But Ceph requires significantly more resources (1–2 GB RAM per OSD node) and operational expertise. For a self-hosted Hetzner cluster with a few nodes, Longhorn is the obvious choice.
Related tool
K8s Cluster Cost
Calculate the monthly cost of running a self-managed Kubernetes cluster on Hetzner Cloud, Vultr, or DigitalOcean. Choose server types for control planes, workers, and load balancers with HA mode.