# Feature Parity with Sonatype Cloud

This page provides an overview of major differences between Sonatype Cloud and the self-hosted versions of Sonatype solutions.

##  Sonatype Nexus Repository

| Feature | Self-Hosted | Sonatype Cloud |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Hosting Model** | **Customer Managed**<br>(On-premise, AWS, Azure, GCP, etc.) | **Sonatype Managed**<br>(SaaS, Single-tenant isolation option) |
| **Maintenance & Upgrades** | **Manual**<br>Customer schedules upgrades, OS patches, and Java updates. | **Automated**<br>Zero-downtime updates and patching managed by Sonatype. |
| **High Availability (HA)** | **Configurable**<br>Requires manual clustering setup and load balancer configuration. | **Built-in**<br>Automatic failover and multi-zone redundancy included by default. |
| **Backups** | **Manual/Scripted**<br>Customer manages database and blob store backup strategies. | **Automated**<br>Managed by Sonatype with disaster recovery inclusion. |
| **Format Support** | **Extensive (20+)**<br>Includes Maven, Docker, npm, PyPI, NuGet, Yum, APT, Go, Helm, etc. See [Formats](https://help.sonatype.com/en/formats.html "Formats"). | **All the Same Formats as Self-Hosted**<br>Plus, Sonatype Nexus Repository Cloud deployments are the first to get access to new formats. |
| **Storage Limits** | **Hardware Dependent**<br>Limited by the provisioned disk/blob store size. | **Elastic / Unlimited**<br>Scales automatically with usage (consumption-based). |
| **Cleanup Policies** | **Available**<br>Fully configurable retention and cleanup rules. | **Available**<br>Standard cleanup policies supported to manage storage costs. |
| **User Authentication** | **Flexible**<br>Local users, LDAP, Active Directory, SAML/SSO, User Token. | **Centralized SSO**<br>SSO via Auth0-supported identity provider connectors (more comprehensive than self-hosted); no direct LDAP or local user management. |
| **Realms** | **Configurable**<br>Users can activate, deactivate, and prioritize security realms from Settings > Security. | **Sonatype Managed**<br>Realms are pre-configured by Sonatype; realm configuration is not accessible in Cloud. |
| **Repository Firewall** | **Integration Available**<br>Requires separate installation/license of IQ Server. | **Built-in / Integrated**<br>Can be enabled natively within the SaaS platform (if licensed). |
| **Anonymous Access** | **Configurable**<br>Can allow unauthenticated read access. | **Not Available**<br>All access typically requires authentication for security. |
| **Email Notifications** | **Available**<br>Fully configurable SMTP server settings for system-generated messages. | **Not Available**<br>The Email Server UI and REST API are not accessible in Cloud. |

##  Sonatype Lifecycle,  Sonatype Repository Firewall,  Sonatype SBOM Manager

| Feature | Self-Hosted | Sonatype Cloud |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Deployment & Management** | **Customer Managed**<br>Initialized and deployed by the customer; system resources managed by the customer. | **Sonatype Managed**<br>Initialized, deployed, and system resources fully managed by Sonatype. |
| **Database & Maintenance** | **Manual**<br>External database recommended; manual upgrades and backups managed by the customer. | **Automated**<br>Database, automatic backups, and upgrades are managed by Sonatype. |
| **Server & Data Access** | **Direct Access**<br>Full customer access to server configuration and data on disk. | **Managed Access**<br>Access to configuration, data on disk, and inbound traffic is via Sonatype Support. |
| **Logs** | **Direct Access**<br>Customer direct access to system logs, audit logs, policy evaluation logs. | **Direct Access**<br>Customer direct access via API to audit logs, policy evaluation logs. |
| **Integrations & Tooling** | **Available**<br>Supports SCM onboarding/integrations, CI systems, Jira, CLI, REST APIs, and Webhooks. | **Available**<br>Supports SCM onboarding/integrations, CI systems, Jira, CLI, REST APIs, and Webhooks. |
| **Email Notifications** | **Configurable**<br>Fully configurable SMTP server settings for IQ Server notifications (policy violations, continuous monitoring alerts, and other system-generated messages). | **Available**<br>Notifications and verification emails via Twilio SendGrid.