Is Syself Autopilot a Talos and Omni alternative?

On Hetzner, yes. Talos is a node OS and Omni manages Talos clusters across many kinds of infrastructure. Syself Autopilot is a managed service for Hetzner in which Syself also creates the servers and ships the in-cluster components.

Talos is open source. Is Syself Autopilot?

No. Talos is open source under MPL-2.0. Syself Autopilot runs on Syself’s own software, built and tested as one unit, which is what you pay for. Each release ships an SBOM, and you can recompute a node’s root hash from the published image. Your apps run on standard upstream Kubernetes, and your servers and data stay in your Hetzner account.

Does Omni support Hetzner?

Hetzner servers can join Omni, but Omni has no Hetzner provider. Its guide has you build a snapshot with Packer from Omni’s Hetzner image and create each server with hcloud; machines must reach Omni over WireGuard and port 443. With Syself Autopilot you set up an API token and SSH key once, then apply a Cluster object.

Can Talos run on Hetzner bare metal?

Yes. A setup on Sidero’s blog writes Talos with dd from the rescue system using custom scripts; Talos 1.12 can reduce that scripting. Omni’s bare-metal provider needs IPMI or Redfish and PXE on the same subnet.

How do upgrades compare?

Omni upgrades Talos and Kubernetes as separate steps, node by node, and Talos can roll a node back. Omni shows updated bootstrap manifests such as the CNI as a diff instead of applying them. On Syself Autopilot, one update moves Syself Linux, Kubernetes, networking, the Hetzner integration and storage together, tested as one set.

Who installs the network plugin, the Hetzner controller and storage?

On Talos, Flannel is the default, and other CNIs come through a manifest you supply. Sidero’s Hetzner guide points to Hetzner’s instructions for the cloud controller and does not cover storage. On Syself Autopilot, all of them ship in each tested release.

What does each vendor’s support cover?

Sidero’s support covers Talos, Omni and the Kubernetes core, with SLAs from 1 hour to 2 business days by tier. Cilium, MetalLB and Rook-Ceph get only guidance, and storage and ingress need a paid services engagement. Syself Autopilot includes support from the Syself team on business days; Premium Support adds a custom SLA and 24/7 cover. Syself fixes bugs and CVEs in the network plugin, Hetzner integration and storage in a new release.

Talos and Omni are free for small clusters. Why pay for Syself Autopilot?

Omni is free up to 10 nodes, then $25 a node a month up to 50; Talos Enterprise Linux is $1,000 a node a year, minimum 10 nodes. The image, servers, add-ons and upgrade testing stay with you, and so does patching: tracking CVEs, testing fixes and rolling them out to every node, at least monthly. Syself does it for a platform fee plus a usage-based fee tied to your infrastructure spend.

Can we self-host Omni?

Yes. Omni’s source is under the Business Source License: free for evaluation and home labs, while any environment your organization depends on needs a commercial license, with no free production tier. Sidero recommends updating a self-hosted Omni at least monthly.

Who migrates us and is on call around the clock?

Sidero sells 24x7 support and professional and managed services. Syself’s team helps you migrate and sells Premium Support with 24/7 cover and a custom SLA. You run the databases, or an agency runs them for you in your cluster.

Can we run databases and VMs in the cluster on bare metal?

Yes, on both. Talos documents installing KubeVirt, and Syself documents running databases with an operator and KubeVirt VMs on Hetzner bare-metal nodes. The operator and KubeVirt are yours to install and run on both. Hetzner Cloud servers lack nested virtualization, so VMs need bare metal.

Syself Autopilot vs Talos Linux + Omni: Which Is Right for Your Kubernetes on Hetzner?

Talos Linux is free, and Omni is free for up to 10 nodes. On Hetzner, you still build the image, create and replace servers, and keep the add-ons current. Syself Autopilot is a managed service in which Syself does that work and tests it as one release.

+ Omni

What it is: Talos Linux is a minimal node OS with no SSH, no shell and no package manager, managed only through its API; Omni creates, configures and upgrades Talos clusters from one console.²⁴³²
Who does the work: Sidero Labs builds Talos and runs Omni as SaaS, or you self-host Omni, which needs a commercial license in production.³²²⁹ On Hetzner, you install, upgrade and test the Hetzner controller, storage driver and any network plugin besides Flannel, and recreate failed servers.¹⁹²⁷²⁸²¹
Where it runs: Omni has infrastructure providers for bare metal over IPMI or Redfish, KubeVirt, libvirt, vSphere and Proxmox, and none for Hetzner; on Hetzner you build the image and create each server yourself.²¹²⁰

What it is: A managed service run by Syself: standard upstream Kubernetes on Hetzner, on Syself’s own software (Syself Linux, KubeGate and the node controllers), tested as one release.¹⁴⁷ Nodes are repaired automatically.⁴
Who does the work: Syself builds and patches Syself Linux, sets up each Hetzner server and keeps the network plugin and Hetzner integration in step.³⁵²¹⁴ You choose when to roll out each Cluster Stack release. Syself Autopilot includes support from the Syself team.¹³
Where it runs: After a one-time API token and SSH key setup, you apply a Cluster object and Syself creates the cloud servers in your Hetzner account. For bare metal, renting the servers is the only manual step; Syself installs and joins them.⁷⁸⁹

Which One Fits You?

Tick what applies. Some needs point to Talos and Omni.

Talos Linux + Omni · 0Syself Autopilot · 0

Tick what applies to you

The answer updates as you go. Every need on the list counts, including the ones that point away from us.

Syself Autopilot vs Talos and Omni at a Glance

One short fact per side for each theme, each linked to its source.

Theme	+ Omni OS + fleet manager	fully managed, on your servers
Delivery model	Talos Linux + Omni Talos is open source (MPL-2.0); Omni is SaaS or self-hosted under the Business Source License¹⁸²⁹	Syself Autopilot Managed; Syself runs the management cluster, on its side or in your Hetzner account. Clusters keep running if it is unreachable, but can’t scale or upgrade¹³⁹
Hetzner Cloud servers	Talos Linux + Omni No Omni provider for Hetzner; build a Talos snapshot with Packer and create each server with hcloud²⁰²¹	Syself Autopilot Installed from the rescue system before first boot, so a booting node downloads nothing; replaced on failure⁵⁷
Hetzner bare metal	Talos Linux + Omni Not covered by Omni’s Hetzner guide; one documented setup writes Talos with dd from the rescue system using custom scripts²⁰²³	Syself Autopilot Renting the server is the only manual step; Syself checks the disks, installs Syself Linux from the rescue system and joins the node⁹
Node OS	Talos Linux + Omni Talos: no SSH, shell or package manager; managed through its API²⁴	Syself Autopilot Syself Linux: read-only, replaced rather than patched, key-only SSH for debugging. A security team tracks each CVE, checks whether your clusters are exposed and ships the fix in a tested release; support is included³
Machine config	Talos Linux + Omni Given as user data at first boot or sent over its API, stored on the node and changeable while it runs¹⁹²⁴²⁵	Syself Autopilot Written before boot, then sealed and checked block by block like the OS³
OS updates	Talos Linux + Omni In place by default: the node writes the new image to its spare A/B slot, reboots via kexec and keeps its config and state; the previous image is kept for rollback²⁵²⁶	Syself Autopilot No update on the node: each node is replaced from a new tested image, one at a time, with nothing carried over and no rollback²¹⁰
Boot trust	Talos Linux + Omni Secure Boot with TPM-bound disk encryption on servers with UEFI Secure Boot and a TPM; if Omni holds the disk keys, a node must reach Omni to unlock its disk on restart³⁶⁴⁰	Syself Autopilot Every block checked against a published hash as it’s read, in software, so it needs no TPM and works the same on every Hetzner server³¹⁵
Security posture	Talos Linux + Omni Kernel hardened to KSPP, CIS-aligned Kubernetes defaults with secrets encrypted in etcd, a kube-bench guide and an SBOM per release; CVE SLAs and curated VEX on Enterprise; the Hetzner controller, storage driver and any CNI you add are yours to scan⁴¹³⁸¹⁸²⁸	Syself Autopilot CIS-hardened control plane and kubelet and a sealed OS; node image and platform components rescanned on a schedule, each CVE with a VEX verdict in the Version Hub; nodes report tampering; your workloads are yours to scan⁴²³⁷¹⁵¹¹
Kubernetes upgrades	Talos Linux + Omni A separate step from the Talos upgrade; Omni rolls control plane first, checking etcd health²⁶	Syself Autopilot Tested updates every week, listed in the Version Hub; Kubernetes moves with the OS and components when you trigger one²
Network, Hetzner controller, storage	Talos Linux + Omni Flannel by default; Hetzner cloud controller and storage driver yours to install and update²⁷¹⁹²⁶	Syself Autopilot Pinned, installed and upgraded together in every release²
Release testing	Talos Linux + Omni Talos supports up to five prior Kubernetes versions; the add-ons you combine are yours to test³³²⁸	Syself Autopilot More than 400 tests on real clusters per release, including every supported upgrade path; a release ships only when every test passes⁶
Node repair	Talos Linux + Omni On Hetzner, a failed server is yours to recreate; Omni has no provider to create one²¹	Syself Autopilot Cloud nodes rebooted, then replaced if they don’t recover; bare-metal nodes rebooted, and Syself tells you what broke when the hardware is at fault⁴
Recovering a lost cluster	Talos Linux + Omni Scheduled etcd backups to local storage or S3 once you set an interval³¹	Syself Autopilot Recreated from its Cluster object and your manifests in Git; no etcd backup needed. Data comes back from your own backups¹²
Support	Talos Linux + Omni Community, or 24x7 support with SLAs from 1 hour to 2 business days on a paid contract; covers Talos, Omni and the Kubernetes core, with only guidance for Cilium, MetalLB and Rook-Ceph³⁰	Syself Autopilot Support from the Syself team on business days included with Syself Autopilot; Premium Support with a custom SLA and 24/7 cover; migration by Syself or agencies¹³¹⁴
Price	Talos Linux + Omni Omni free up to 10 nodes; $25 a node a month up to 50 nodes; Talos Enterprise Linux $1,000 a node a year, minimum 10 nodes, Omni included¹⁸	Syself Autopilot A platform fee plus a usage-based fee tied to your infrastructure spend, not to nodes or clusters; request a 14-day trial without limits or a free plan for one cluster of up to 5 nodes of any size¹³

Sidero Labs changes plans and limits; check siderolabs.com/pricing for the current offer. Price your servers for Syself Autopilot in the pricing calculator.

Who Does the Work of Running Kubernetes

Every Kubernetes setup on Hetzner covers four layers: servers, operating system, Kubernetes and in-cluster components. See which jobs stay with you on each side.

+ Omni OS + fleet manager

7 of 15 jobs left to you, 4 shared

fully managed, on your servers

0 of 15 jobs left to you, 4 shared

Each segment is one job. Point at it to see which job it is, or click it to read why.

Left to you Shared Handled by the vendor, or not needed

Servers Create, provision and replace the machines
Add a Hetzner Cloud server to a cluster With Omni you build a Talos snapshot with Packer, create each server with hcloud and pass its machine config at first boot.²⁰¹⁹ Syself builds each node in the rescue system, so it boots with nothing to download or configure.⁵

Talos Linux + Omni You
Syself Autopilot Syself
Bring a bare-metal server into a cluster Hetzner has no server types or instant delivery for bare metal, so renting is the only manual step. Syself checks its disks, installs Syself Linux and joins it. With Talos you script the rescue-system install yourself.⁹²³

Talos Linux + Omni You
Syself Autopilot Syself
Replace a server that fails Syself Autopilot replaces a cloud node that doesn’t recover. On bare metal it reboots the node and, when the hardware is at fault, tells you what broke so you can open the Hetzner ticket. Omni has no Hetzner provider to create a replacement.⁴²¹

Talos Linux + Omni You
Syself Autopilot Shared
Operating system Install it, patch it and keep every node the same
Keep every node identical Talos is immutable and Omni reconciles machine config from a template; Syself replaces each node from one sealed image.²⁴³²³

Talos Linux + Omni Shared
Syself Autopilot Syself
Know about and patch OS CVEs Sidero fixes the OS in new Talos releases, with CVE SLAs on Enterprise. Syself checks each CVE against the release SBOM and ships the fix in a tested release; a release with an overdue CVE does not ship.¹⁸¹⁴³⁷

Talos Linux + Omni Sidero Labs
Syself Autopilot Syself
Roll an OS update across nodes Omni updates Talos node by node once you start it; Syself replaces nodes one at a time once you trigger an update.²⁶²

Talos Linux + Omni Sidero Labs
Syself Autopilot Syself
Kubernetes Install, configure and upgrade the components
Upgrade Kubernetes without breaking workloads Omni sequences control plane and workers and checks etcd health, as a separate step from the OS. Your workloads still need replicas and disruption budgets on both.²⁶⁶

Talos Linux + Omni Sidero Labs
Syself Autopilot Syself
Replace a control-plane node Omni checks etcd before a control-plane node leaves; on Hetzner you create the new server. Syself replaces a cloud control-plane node like any other cloud node.²⁶⁴

Talos Linux + Omni Shared
Syself Autopilot Syself
Test each platform update before it ships Syself runs more than 400 tests on real clusters for every release. With Talos, the add-ons you combine are yours to test. Replicas, PodDisruptionBudgets and removed-API checks are yours on both.⁶²⁸

Talos Linux + Omni You
Syself Autopilot Syself
Inside the cluster The network plugin, the Hetzner integration and storage
Install the Hetzner controller and storage driver Sidero’s Hetzner guide enables an external cloud provider and points to Hetzner’s instructions; it does not cover the storage driver.¹⁹

Talos Linux + Omni You
Syself Autopilot Syself
Upgrade the network plugin, Hetzner controller and storage driver together Kubernetes ships about three minor versions a year.⁴³ With Omni, picking, upgrading and testing matching add-ons for each stays with you; Omni shows manifest diffs or syncs a manifest you supply.²⁶²⁷ A Cluster Stack moves them with Kubernetes.²

Talos Linux + Omni You
Syself Autopilot Syself
Track and patch CVEs in the network plugin, Hetzner controller and storage driver Syself scans its platform component images with every release and tracks a fix deadline for each CVE.³⁷ On Talos, the Hetzner controller, storage driver and any non-default network plugin are yours, so their CVEs are too.²⁸

Talos Linux + Omni You
Syself Autopilot Syself
Day to day Backups, access, logs and the workloads
Recover a lost cluster Omni runs scheduled etcd backups once you set an interval.³¹ Syself recreates a lost cluster from its Cluster object and your manifests in Git, so there is no etcd snapshot to restore.¹²

Talos Linux + Omni Sidero Labs
Syself Autopilot Shared
Be on call when a cluster breaks Sidero sells 24x7 support with SLAs; Syself sells Premium Support with 24/7 cover and a custom SLA.³⁰¹³ Syself replaces a failed cloud node without a ticket; with Omni on Hetzner, the replacement server is yours.⁴²¹

Talos Linux + Omni Shared
Syself Autopilot Shared
Lock down access, networking and logs Omni gates access through SAML or OIDC.³² Syself can limit the API server to trusted IPs and supports OIDC.³⁴³⁵ etcd encryption and SSH lockdown are your steps on Syself; Talos has both built in.¹¹⁴¹ RBAC, policies and logs are yours.⁴⁴

Talos Linux + Omni Shared
Syself Autopilot Shared

On every option, Syself Autopilot included, you still back up workloads and data, run monitoring and alerting, and set access, encryption and network policies. See what you own and what Syself manages.

What Each One Costs

The Hetzner bill is the same. Talos is free and Omni is free up to 10 nodes, but the server and add-on work stays with you.¹⁸³⁰ Syself Autopilot does that work, tests it and includes support from the Syself team.⁴⁵¹³

+ Omni OS + fleet manager

Talos Linux Community Edition; Omni Hobby up to 10 nodes and 2 users: $0
Omni Startup, per node per month, up to 50 nodes: $25
Talos Enterprise Linux, per node per year, minimum 10 nodes, Omni included: $1,000

fully managed, on your servers

What Syself runs for you

Servers, OS, Kubernetes and cluster components
Releases tested on real clusters, with SBOM and VEX
Support from the Syself team

Platform fee Usage-based fee

Usage-based fee tied to your infrastructure spend, not to nodes or clusters.

Estimate your price or tell us about your setup for a tailored price

Request a 14-day trial without limits or a free plan for one cluster of up to 5 nodes of any size, no vCPU cap, bare metal included.

Your servers Billed separately by your cloud or bare-metal provider

Sidero prices as published on 2026-10-15; self-hosted Omni needs a commercial license in production.¹⁸²⁹ Syself Autopilot: a platform fee plus a usage-based fee tied to your infrastructure spend.¹³

Questions Teams Ask Before Switching

Short answers, each linked to Syself’s and Sidero Labs’ documentation.

: On Hetzner, yes. Talos is a node OS and Omni manages Talos clusters across many kinds of infrastructure.²⁴³² Syself Autopilot is a managed service for Hetzner in which Syself also creates the servers and ships the in-cluster components.¹²
: No. Talos is open source under MPL-2.0.¹⁸ Syself Autopilot runs on Syself’s own software, built and tested as one unit, which is what you pay for.⁴⁷ Each release ships an SBOM, and you can recompute a node’s root hash from the published image.³⁷³ Your apps run on standard upstream Kubernetes, and your servers and data stay in your Hetzner account.¹
: Hetzner servers can join Omni, but Omni has no Hetzner provider.²¹ Its guide has you build a snapshot with Packer from Omni’s Hetzner image and create each server with hcloud; machines must reach Omni over WireGuard and port 443.²⁰ With Syself Autopilot you set up an API token and SSH key once, then apply a Cluster object.⁷⁸
: Yes. A setup on Sidero’s blog writes Talos with dd from the rescue system using custom scripts; Talos 1.12 can reduce that scripting.²³ Omni’s bare-metal provider needs IPMI or Redfish and PXE on the same subnet.²²
: Omni upgrades Talos and Kubernetes as separate steps, node by node, and Talos can roll a node back.²⁶²⁵ Omni shows updated bootstrap manifests such as the CNI as a diff instead of applying them.²⁶ On Syself Autopilot, one update moves Syself Linux, Kubernetes, networking, the Hetzner integration and storage together, tested as one set.²⁶
: On Talos, Flannel is the default, and other CNIs come through a manifest you supply.²⁷ Sidero’s Hetzner guide points to Hetzner’s instructions for the cloud controller and does not cover storage.¹⁹ On Syself Autopilot, all of them ship in each tested release.²⁶
: Sidero’s support covers Talos, Omni and the Kubernetes core, with SLAs from 1 hour to 2 business days by tier. Cilium, MetalLB and Rook-Ceph get only guidance, and storage and ingress need a paid services engagement.³⁰ Syself Autopilot includes support from the Syself team on business days; Premium Support adds a custom SLA and 24/7 cover.¹³ Syself fixes bugs and CVEs in the network plugin, Hetzner integration and storage in a new release.²³⁷
: Omni is free up to 10 nodes, then $25 a node a month up to 50; Talos Enterprise Linux is $1,000 a node a year, minimum 10 nodes.¹⁸ The image, servers, add-ons and upgrade testing stay with you, and so does patching: tracking CVEs, testing fixes and rolling them out to every node, at least monthly.²⁰²¹²⁸ Syself does it for a platform fee plus a usage-based fee tied to your infrastructure spend.⁶¹³
: Yes. Omni’s source is under the Business Source License: free for evaluation and home labs, while any environment your organization depends on needs a commercial license, with no free production tier.²⁹ Sidero recommends updating a self-hosted Omni at least monthly.³³
: Sidero sells 24x7 support and professional and managed services.³⁰ Syself’s team helps you migrate and sells Premium Support with 24/7 cover and a custom SLA.¹³¹⁴ You run the databases, or an agency runs them for you in your cluster.
: Yes, on both. Talos documents installing KubeVirt, and Syself documents running databases with an operator and KubeVirt VMs on Hetzner bare-metal nodes.⁴⁶¹⁷¹⁶ The operator and KubeVirt are yours to install and run on both. Hetzner Cloud servers lack nested virtualization, so VMs need bare metal.¹⁶

Other Comparisons

Running Talos on Hetzner Today?

Tell us about your setup, and Syself will show you what a Cluster object replaces. You can price your servers in the pricing calculator before you talk to anyone.

Run the Numbers Talk to Us

Syself Autopilot vs Talos Linux + Omni: vs + Omni Which Is Right for Your Kubernetes on Hetzner?