Nomad generally uses less CPU and RAM than K3s for the same basic cluster functionality. Nomad is widely regarded as one of the most efficient and lightweight orchestrators available.
For your 5-VPS setup, Nomad's single-binary, minimal approach will result in lower resource utilization and operational overhead compared to K3s, which, despite being "lightweight," still runs the full set of Kubernetes control plane components.
The difference in resource consumption stems from the architectural complexity of the two systems.
| Resource | Nomad Agent (Server/Client) | K3s Agent / Server |
|---|