On August 28, 2025, Bitnami is flipping the switch on its container image distribution model, effectively ending free access to production-grade container images that power millions of Kubernetes clusters worldwide. If you’re running Postgres, Redis, Kafka, RabbitMQ, NGINX, or any of Bitnami’s 280+ application catalog, this seismic shift demands your immediate attention.

For Draftt.io customers, you’re a step ahead, our platform flagged affected resources a month ago and provided tailored mitigation plans to ease this transition.

Here’s why this change is a game-changer for the cloud-native ecosystem and what you need to do now.

The Nuclear Option: What’s Actually Happening

Bitnami is pulling a “freemium to premium” move, reshaping its entire catalog:

What’s Disappearing (Free Tier):

• All versioned container images (anything not tagged “latest”)
• Most of the 280+ application catalog
• Regular security updates for free users
• Production-ready container images without a subscription
• Debian-based community images (replaced with Photon Linux or distroless bases)

What’s Left for Free:

• A small subset of “development-only” images
• Only “latest” tags (no version pinning)
• Limited application catalog
• No production support or guarantees

What’s Paywalled:

• Bitnami Secure Images (BSI): Full version history, hardened distroless bases, SBOMs, KEV transparency, attestations, and enterprise support for a price starting at $72,000 per year ($6,000/month) based on some reports on Reddit.

Exceptions:

• Sealed Secrets and minideb continue as usual under docker.io/bitnami.

The Bitnami charts repo, with ~10,000 stars and forks, is embedded in CI/CD pipelines, Helm charts, and clusters everywhere. This isn’t a niche issue. It’s a supply chain event.

The True Cost: Beyond the Price Tag

Immediate Financial Impact

The reported $72,000/year subscription for Bitnami Secure Images could translate to six-figure cost increases for organizations running hundreds of workloads across multiple clusters. For many, this is a budget shock for infrastructure that was previously free.

The Upgrade Treadmill Trap

Bitnami’s model forces a brutal choice:

1. Pay for BSI: Shell out $72,000/year for what used to be free.
2. Use “latest” tags: Abandon version control, risking deployment chaos, compatibility issues and compliance violations.

Version pinning is non-negotiable for reproducible deployments, rollbacks, and compliance. Both options break modern DevOps practices.

Dependency Hell Multiplied

Bitnami images underpin countless Helm charts, CI/CD pipelines, and automated systems. This change triggers cascading failures:

• Helm Charts Breaking: Charts expecting specific image versions will fail.
• CI/CD Pipeline Failures: Missing image references will halt automation.
• Security Scanning Disruption: Tools relying on consistent tags will break.
• Compliance Violations: Audits requiring specific versions are now at risk.

Silent Breakage Risk

Post-August 28, clusters pulling docker.io/bitnami/<app>:<version> may hit ErrImagePull or ImagePullBackOff if the image has moved to the unmaintained bitnamilegacy/ repository.

The Migration Nightmare: Three Bad Options

Bitnami offers three paths, none ideal:

Option 1: Legacy Repository Limbo

• Repoint to bitnamilegacy/<image>.
• Pros: Buys time.
• Cons: No security updates, no support, compliance risks, and a temporary fix.

Option 2: Pay the Broadcom Enterprise Tax

• Subscribe to Bitnami Secure Images for $72,000/year.
• Pros: Hardened images, regular updates, full version catalog, enterprise support.
• Cons: High cost for what was once free.

Option 3: “Latest” Tag Russian Roulette

• Use free “latest” tags from the limited community catalog.
• Pros: Free, minimal setup.
• Cons: No version control, unpredictable updates, impossible rollbacks, unsuitable for production.

Industry-Wide Implications

This isn’t just about Bitnami. it’s a warning for the cloud-native ecosystem:

• Precedent Problem: If Bitnami’s paywall succeeds, expect Docker Hub, Quay, or others to follow.
• Supply Chain Vulnerability: Over-reliance on free third-party images exposes systemic risks.
• Open Source Impact: Projects dependent on Bitnami images face tough distribution choices.

Action Items: What You Need to Do RIGHT NOW

If you’re a Draftt.io customer, you’re ahead of the curve. We flagged all affected Bitnami resources in your infrastructure a month ago and provided mitigation plans to streamline your response. Not a customer? Here’s how to catch up:

Phase 1: Immediate Assessment (Complete by August 1st)

1. Audit Your Image Dependencies

# Cluster inventory

kubectl get pods -A -o jsonpath='{range .items[*]}{.metadata.namespace}{"\t"}{.metadata.name}{"\t"}{range .spec.initContainers[*]}{.image}{"\n"}{end}{range .spec.containers[*]}{.image}{"\n"}{end}' | grep -E '(^|/)bitnami/'

# Helm releases

helm ls -A -o json | jq -r '.[] | [.name,.namespace] | @tsv' | while IFS=$'\t' read -r rel ns; do echo "=== $ns/$rel ==="; helm get values "$rel" -n "$ns" | grep -nE '(^\s*image:|repository:).*bitnami'; done

# Git repos

git grep -nE 'image:.*(docker\.io/)?bitnami/'

Identify Critical Workloads

• List applications using Bitnami images.
• Classify by business impact (critical/high/medium/low).
• Document version pins and update needs.

Calculate Financial Impact

• Count Bitnami image dependencies.
• Estimate BSI costs ($72,000/year).
• Compare against alternative solutions.

Phase 2: Strategic Decision Making (Complete by August 15th)

Evaluate Alternatives

Popular Apps (PostgreSQL, Redis, MySQL):

• Official Images: postgres:15, redis:7-alpine, mysql:8
• Cloud Provider Images: AWS RDS, Azure Cache
• Alternative Vendors: Crunchy Data, Redis Enterprise

Complex Apps (Kafka, Elasticsearch):

• Operator-based: Strimzi, ECK
• Cloud Managed: Amazon MSK, Elastic Cloud
• Enterprise: DataStax, Confluent

Dev Tools:

• Official Docker images
• GitLab/GitHub Container Registry

Build Migration Strategy

• Create an image migration matrix.
• Identify apps requiring BSI.
• Plan testing for alternative images.
• Document configuration changes.

Phase 3: Implementation (Start Immediately)

1. Gradual Migration

# Before: image: bitnami/postgresql:15.3.0

# After: image: postgres:15.3-alpine

1. Update CI/CD Pipelines

• Modify build scripts for new images.
• Update manifests and test deployments.
• Revise documentation and runbooks.

2. Security and Compliance

• Update scanning tools for new images.
• Verify compliance with new images.
• Monitor for vulnerabilities.

Phase 4: Risk Mitigation

Image Registry Strategy

• Set up a private registry (Harbor, AWS ECR, Google Artifact Registry).
• Mirror critical images to avoid external dependencies.
• Implement image promotion workflows.

Monitoring and Alerting

• Monitor image pull success rates.
• Alert on ErrImagePull or ImagePullBackOff.
• Track vulnerabilities and deployment success.

Alternative Solutions: Your Escape Routes

For Small to Medium Organizations

Option A: Official Images + Cloud Services Hybrid

• Use official Docker images and managed cloud services.
• Cache images in a private registry.
• Cost: Moderate, predictable.

Option B: Alternative Container Providers

• Chainguard Images, Google Distroless, Red Hat UBI.
• Cost: Varies, often cheaper than BSI.

For Enterprise Organizations

Option C: Container Platform Strategy

• Private registry with governance.
• Cost: High upfront, better long-term control.

Option D: Multi-Cloud Strategy

• Distribute workloads across cloud providers.
• Use managed services to reduce third-party dependency.
• Cost: Increased complexity, better diversification.

Conclusion: Act Fast, Plan Smart

Bitnami’s August 28th deadline is non-negotiable, and unprepared organizations face security risks, operational toil, or steep costs. Draftt.io customers got a head start with early alerts and mitigation plans, but everyone needs to act now. The silver lining? This disruption forces stronger, vendor-independent infrastructure. Teams that tackle this head-on will build more resilient systems.

The clock is ticking. August 28th is coming.

Need Help?

Are you facing this challenge? We’ve helped teams navigate complex cloud-native transitions and can assist with:

• Infrastructure dependency auditing. Understand your current state and existing risks.
• Migration, upgrade and risk mitigation planning
• Automating End-of-Life Identification, Prioritization and Mitigation

Don’t wait until August 27th.

Book a call using this link: https://calendly.com/draftt/intro

Let’s turn this crisis into an opportunity for better systems.