Comparison

K8s Guide vs IT Playbook

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

K8s Guide

Prepare for Kubernetes certifications with adaptive quizzes and detailed lessons. Track your progress with a mastery dashboard and get instant feedback. Syncs across devices via iCloud, with no account creation or data collection.

Highlights
  • Adaptive quiz engine
  • Mastery dashboard
  • 600+ practice questions
  • 150+ in-depth lessons
  • iCloud sync
  • Home screen widgets
  • Local study reminders
Features
Read full description

K8s Guide is the complete way to learn Kubernetes - from your very first pod to Kubestronaut - and to pass all five Cloud Native certifications: CKA, CKAD, CKS, KCNA, and KCSA. Most Kubernetes apps are a static pile of flashcards. K8s Guide is built to make you actually understand Kubernetes, then prove it. LEARN IT - THE GUIDE A from-scratch path through Kubernetes, written for a phone screen instead of squeezed in from a website. 50 in-depth lessons across eight areas - Containers, Foundations, Workloads, Networking, Configuration, Security, Operations, and Ecosystem Tools - that build real understanding, absolute beginner to expert. • Starts before Kubernetes even begins: what a container is, how it differs from a VM, and why orchestration exists • Native diagrams drawn for mobile - traffic flows, control loops, and cluster architecture you can actually read on a phone, not pinch-to-zoom web images • Dense topics broken into clean tables, key-point lists, and step-by-step sequences instead of walls of text • Ecosystem Tools coverage beyond core Kubernetes - Argo CD, Istio, Prometheus, Cilium, Helm, Kustomize, cert-manager, OPA Gatekeeper, Kyverno, Falco, Trivy, and KEDA • Every concept explained in plain language, so it sticks PROVE IT - CERTIFICATION PREP All five CNCF certifications, fully built out, with 600+ practice questions and 160+ certification lessons across 30 exam domains. • Every quiz mixes multiple-choice with hands-on build tasks - fill in real YAML, assemble a kubectl command, order the steps, spot the bug - shuffled in like the real exam, not a separate mode • An adaptive quiz engine weights questions toward whatever you're getting wrong, so weak areas resurface instead of drilling what you already know • Study mode for instant feedback and explanations, or Test mode for a full exam simulation with results at the end • A mastery score per certification blends quiz accuracy with lesson coverage into a single readiness number - so you always know what to study next, and when you're actually ready EVERYTHING INCLUDED • The full Guide plus all five certification tracks - CKA, CKAD, CKS, KCNA, KCSA • Hands-on build questions mixed into every quiz, alongside multiple choice • Look Up - a fast reference search to find any concept, command, or term in seconds • Native, mobile-first diagrams throughout • Adaptive quizzing with per-certification readiness and weak-domain call-outs • A built-in Blog with the latest Kubernetes articles and release notes • Bookmark any lesson or question for later, synced across your devices • Home Screen widgets for your streak, active certification, and a rotating Kubernetes tidbit • Optional local study reminders on your own schedule • Kubestronaut badge tracking via your public Credly profile (entirely optional) • iCloud sync for progress, quiz history, and bookmarks - in your own private iCloud, not a server we run BUILT DIFFERENTLY, ON PURPOSE No account. No login. No data collection of any kind - your study data lives in your own iCloud and nowhere else. No ads, no paywalls, no subscriptions; every lesson and question is free. (There's an optional tip jar if you'd like to support development - but nothing is ever locked.) Kubernetes itself is open source, built on the idea that knowledge should be open to everyone. This app is built on the same idea. Whether you're chasing your first certification or going for the full Kubestronaut set, K8s Guide is built to get you there.

About

IT Playbook

Learn complex IT concepts through interactive lessons, narrated explanations, and hands-on simulations. Master topics from Python and Linux to Kubernetes and AI with engaging content and spaced repetition flashcards.

Highlights
  • Narrated lessons with synchronized text
  • Interactive diagrams and simulations
  • Hands-free voice-controlled flashcards
  • Spaced repetition for memorization
  • Offline course access
  • Daily learning streaks
  • Regular content updates
Features
Read full description

What actually happens when you type git push? Why does Kubernetes bring a container back after you kill it? How does a database find one row among millions in a blink? IT Playbook answers questions like these in 31 courses, from your first line of Python to Linux, Docker and Kubernetes, the cloud, networking, security and AI. Each one is written like a good book: one idea at a time, in plain words, nothing skipped. READ IT, OR JUST LISTEN Every lesson is read aloud in a natural voice, sentence by sentence, and the sentence you are hearing lights up on the page. Follow along, or switch on Play in background, put the phone in your pocket and keep learning on a walk, in the car or at the gym: the narration keeps going with the screen off. DON'T JUST READ ABOUT IT. PLAY WITH IT. 344 diagrams in the courses are alive. Kill a pod and watch Kubernetes bring it back. Break one step of a CI pipeline and see where everything stops. Drop numbers into a search tree, let an algorithm find the shortest route, watch scattered points sort themselves into groups. Tap, change a value, and see what happens. Things that take a page to explain click in ten seconds when you can poke them yourself. FLASHCARDS, HANDS-FREE Every course comes with its own flashcards, built from its glossary: almost 7,000 terms in all. Switch on Hands-free and the trainer runs by voice. It reads a definition, you say the term out loud, it tells you whether you got it and moves on. No tapping, no looking at the screen. Do a round while you cook or walk the dog, and the words simply stay with you. A smart schedule brings each card back right before you would forget it. ALSO INSIDE - One beginner course free every month, in full, for anyone with a free account. No credit card needed. - On top of that, the first chapter of all 31 courses is free, so you can try any topic before you decide. - A short quiz after every lesson, with an explanation for every answer, the wrong ones too. - Two voices, the speed you like, and a pause between sentences you can stretch while an idea sinks in. - Whole courses saved for offline, so a flight or a tunnel is no reason to stop. - A daily streak that counts reading and flashcards, because you need both. - Courses re-checked against the official documentation on a regular schedule, so what you learn is still true today. FREE, AND PAID Chapter one of every course is free, and so is every chapter overview and one beginner course each month, in full. An All Courses subscription opens everything: $16.00 a month, or $119.99 a year. Half price for the first year: $8.00 a month for the first twelve months, or $60.00 for the first year. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and it can be managed or cancelled in your Apple Account settings at any time. ONE ACCOUNT EVERYWHERE Your progress, your streak and your flashcard schedule follow you between the iPhone, the iPad, the Mac and the website, because they are the same account and the same data. Start a lesson on a laptop, finish it on a bus. Sign in with Apple or with Google. Delete the account, and everything with it, from Settings whenever you want. Terms of Use: https://itplaybook.org/portal/academy/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://itplaybook.org/portal/academy/privacy.html

Screenshots

K8s Guide4 screens
IT Playbook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: K8s Guide at free against IT Playbook's freemium. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. K8s Guide sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and IT Playbook sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $16.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for K8s Guide against 5.0 for IT Playbook. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
K8s Guide versus IT Playbook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterK8s GuideIT Playbook
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings5 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAaron BraundmeierSERGEY OKINCHUK

Customer experience

K8s Guide

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

IT Playbook

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

K8s Guide

One-time3
  • Supporter$1.99
  • Backer$4.99
  • Champion$9.99
2 purchases

IT Playbook

Subscriptions2
  • All Courses, Monthly1 Month trial$16.001 Month
  • All Courses, Yearly1 Year trial$119.991 Year

Questions

Is K8s Guide free?
K8s Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is IT Playbook free?
IT Playbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, K8s Guide or IT Playbook?
K8s Guide and IT Playbook are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 5 and 4 ratings respectively.
Do K8s Guide or IT Playbook have ads?
Neither K8s Guide nor IT Playbook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, K8s Guide or IT Playbook?
K8s Guide ships an update every 4 days, and IT Playbook every 4 days. Most recently, K8s Guide was updated on November 5, 2026 and IT Playbook on November 6, 2026.

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