diff --git a/cmd/containerd/builtins.go b/cmd/containerd/builtins.go
index 5baa9dacf..9386b1c18 100644
--- a/cmd/containerd/builtins.go
+++ b/cmd/containerd/builtins.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package main
 
 // register containerd builtins here
 import (
+	_ "github.com/containerd/containerd/differ"
 	_ "github.com/containerd/containerd/services/containers"
 	_ "github.com/containerd/containerd/services/content"
 	_ "github.com/containerd/containerd/services/diff"
diff --git a/cmd/containerd/config.go b/cmd/containerd/config.go
index d47951f8d..1a451add0 100644
--- a/cmd/containerd/config.go
+++ b/cmd/containerd/config.go
@@ -49,6 +49,9 @@ type config struct {
 	Metrics metricsConfig `toml:"metrics"`
 	// Snapshotter specifies which snapshot driver to use
 	Snapshotter string `toml:"snapshotter"`
+	// Differ specifies which differ to use. Differ is tightly coupled with the snapshotter
+	// so not all combinations may work.
+	Differ string `toml:"differ"`
 	// Plugins provides plugin specific configuration for the initialization of a plugin
 	Plugins map[string]toml.Primitive `toml:"plugins"`
 	// Enable containerd as a subreaper
diff --git a/cmd/containerd/config_linux.go b/cmd/containerd/config_linux.go
index 64863fa02..f88ed0266 100644
--- a/cmd/containerd/config_linux.go
+++ b/cmd/containerd/config_linux.go
@@ -12,5 +12,6 @@ func defaultConfig() *config {
 			Address: "/run/containerd/debug.sock",
 		},
 		Snapshotter: "overlay",
+		Differ:      "base",
 	}
 }
diff --git a/cmd/containerd/config_unix.go b/cmd/containerd/config_unix.go
index 358969bae..e26b5f821 100644
--- a/cmd/containerd/config_unix.go
+++ b/cmd/containerd/config_unix.go
@@ -14,5 +14,6 @@ func defaultConfig() *config {
 			Address: "/run/containerd/debug.sock",
 		},
 		Snapshotter: "naive",
+		Differ:      "base",
 	}
 }
diff --git a/cmd/containerd/config_windows.go b/cmd/containerd/config_windows.go
index eed74d1c0..dbeabe3fd 100644
--- a/cmd/containerd/config_windows.go
+++ b/cmd/containerd/config_windows.go
@@ -17,5 +17,6 @@ func defaultConfig() *config {
 			Address: `\\.\pipe\containerd-debug`,
 		},
 		Snapshotter: "windows",
+		Differ:      "base",
 	}
 }
diff --git a/cmd/containerd/main.go b/cmd/containerd/main.go
index b29a5f474..2f82e3f60 100644
--- a/cmd/containerd/main.go
+++ b/cmd/containerd/main.go
@@ -130,7 +130,13 @@ func main() {
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		services, err := loadServices(runtimes, store, snapshotter, meta)
+
+		differ, err := loadDiffer(snapshotter, store)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		services, err := loadServices(runtimes, store, snapshotter, meta, differ)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -351,6 +357,40 @@ func loadSnapshotter(store content.Store) (snapshot.Snapshotter, error) {
 	return nil, fmt.Errorf("snapshotter not loaded: %v", conf.Snapshotter)
 }
 
+func loadDiffer(snapshotter snapshot.Snapshotter, store content.Store) (plugin.Differ, error) {
+	for name, sr := range plugin.Registrations() {
+		if sr.Type != plugin.DiffPlugin {
+			continue
+		}
+		moduleName := fmt.Sprintf("diff-%s", conf.Differ)
+		if name != moduleName {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		log.G(global).Infof("loading differ plugin %q...", name)
+		ic := &plugin.InitContext{
+			Root:        conf.Root,
+			State:       conf.State,
+			Content:     store,
+			Snapshotter: snapshotter,
+			Context:     log.WithModule(global, moduleName),
+		}
+		if sr.Config != nil {
+			if err := conf.decodePlugin(name, sr.Config); err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			ic.Config = sr.Config
+		}
+		sn, err := sr.Init(ic)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
+		return sn.(plugin.Differ), nil
+	}
+	return nil, fmt.Errorf("differ not loaded: %v", conf.Differ)
+}
+
 func newGRPCServer() *grpc.Server {
 	s := grpc.NewServer(
 		grpc.UnaryInterceptor(interceptor),
@@ -359,7 +399,9 @@ func newGRPCServer() *grpc.Server {
 	return s
 }
 
-func loadServices(runtimes map[string]plugin.Runtime, store content.Store, sn snapshot.Snapshotter, meta *bolt.DB) ([]plugin.Service, error) {
+func loadServices(runtimes map[string]plugin.Runtime,
+	store content.Store, sn snapshot.Snapshotter,
+	meta *bolt.DB, differ plugin.Differ) ([]plugin.Service, error) {
 	var o []plugin.Service
 	for name, sr := range plugin.Registrations() {
 		if sr.Type != plugin.GRPCPlugin {
@@ -374,6 +416,7 @@ func loadServices(runtimes map[string]plugin.Runtime, store content.Store, sn sn
 			Content:     store,
 			Meta:        meta,
 			Snapshotter: sn,
+			Differ:      differ,
 		}
 		if sr.Config != nil {
 			if err := conf.decodePlugin(name, sr.Config); err != nil {
diff --git a/differ/differ.go b/differ/differ.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..10883df4e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/differ/differ.go
@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+package differ
+
+import (
+	"io"
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"os"
+
+	"github.com/containerd/containerd/archive"
+	"github.com/containerd/containerd/archive/compression"
+	"github.com/containerd/containerd/content"
+	"github.com/containerd/containerd/mount"
+	"github.com/containerd/containerd/plugin"
+	"github.com/containerd/containerd/snapshot"
+	digest "github.com/opencontainers/go-digest"
+	ocispec "github.com/opencontainers/image-spec/specs-go/v1"
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
+	"golang.org/x/net/context"
+)
+
+func init() {
+	plugin.Register("diff-base", &plugin.Registration{
+		Type: plugin.DiffPlugin,
+		Init: func(ic *plugin.InitContext) (interface{}, error) {
+			return newBaseDiff(ic.Content, ic.Snapshotter)
+		},
+	})
+}
+
+type BaseDiff struct {
+	store       content.Store
+	snapshotter snapshot.Snapshotter
+}
+
+var _ plugin.Differ = &BaseDiff{}
+
+var emptyDesc = ocispec.Descriptor{}
+
+func newBaseDiff(store content.Store, snapshotter snapshot.Snapshotter) (*BaseDiff, error) {
+	return &BaseDiff{
+		store:       store,
+		snapshotter: snapshotter,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+func (s *BaseDiff) Apply(ctx context.Context, desc ocispec.Descriptor, mounts []mount.Mount) (ocispec.Descriptor, error) {
+	// TODO: Check for supported media types
+	dir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "extract-")
+	if err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to create temporary directory")
+	}
+	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
+
+	if err := mount.MountAll(mounts, dir); err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to mount")
+	}
+	defer mount.Unmount(dir, 0)
+
+	r, err := s.store.Reader(ctx, desc.Digest)
+	if err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to get reader from content store")
+	}
+	defer r.Close()
+
+	// TODO: only decompress stream if media type is compressed
+	ds, err := compression.DecompressStream(r)
+	if err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, err
+	}
+	defer ds.Close()
+
+	digester := digest.Canonical.Digester()
+	rc := &readCounter{
+		r: io.TeeReader(ds, digester.Hash()),
+	}
+
+	if _, err := archive.Apply(ctx, dir, rc); err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, err
+	}
+
+	// Read any trailing data
+	if _, err := io.Copy(ioutil.Discard, rc); err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, err
+	}
+
+	return ocispec.Descriptor{
+		MediaType: ocispec.MediaTypeImageLayer,
+		Size:      rc.c,
+		Digest:    digester.Digest(),
+	}, nil
+}
+
+func (s *BaseDiff) DiffMounts(ctx context.Context, lower, upper []mount.Mount, media, ref string) (ocispec.Descriptor, error) {
+
+	aDir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "left-")
+	if err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to create temporary directory")
+	}
+	defer os.RemoveAll(aDir)
+
+	bDir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "right-")
+	if err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to create temporary directory")
+	}
+	defer os.RemoveAll(bDir)
+
+	if err := mount.MountAll(lower, aDir); err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to mount")
+	}
+	defer mount.Unmount(aDir, 0)
+
+	if err := mount.MountAll(upper, bDir); err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to mount")
+	}
+	defer mount.Unmount(bDir, 0)
+
+	cw, err := s.store.Writer(ctx, ref, 0, "")
+	if err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to open writer")
+	}
+
+	// TODO: Validate media type
+
+	// TODO: Support compressed media types (link compressed to uncompressed)
+	//dgstr := digest.SHA256.Digester()
+	//wc := &writeCounter{}
+	//compressed, err := compression.CompressStream(cw, compression.Gzip)
+	//if err != nil {
+	//	return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to get compressed stream")
+	//}
+	//err = archive.WriteDiff(ctx, io.MultiWriter(compressed, dgstr.Hash(), wc), lowerDir, upperDir)
+	//compressed.Close()
+
+	err = archive.WriteDiff(ctx, cw, aDir, bDir)
+	if err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to write diff")
+	}
+
+	dgst := cw.Digest()
+	if err := cw.Commit(0, dgst); err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to commit")
+	}
+
+	info, err := s.store.Info(ctx, dgst)
+	if err != nil {
+		return emptyDesc, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to get info from content store")
+	}
+
+	return ocispec.Descriptor{
+		MediaType: media,
+		Size:      info.Size,
+		Digest:    info.Digest,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+type readCounter struct {
+	r io.Reader
+	c int64
+}
+
+func (rc *readCounter) Read(p []byte) (n int, err error) {
+	n, err = rc.r.Read(p)
+	rc.c += int64(n)
+	return
+}
diff --git a/plugin/differ.go b/plugin/differ.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..80c3c6181
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugin/differ.go
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+package plugin
+
+import (
+	"github.com/containerd/containerd/mount"
+	ocispec "github.com/opencontainers/image-spec/specs-go/v1"
+	"golang.org/x/net/context"
+)
+
+type Differ interface {
+	Apply(ctx context.Context, desc ocispec.Descriptor, mount []mount.Mount) (ocispec.Descriptor, error)
+	DiffMounts(ctx context.Context, lower, upper []mount.Mount, media, ref string) (ocispec.Descriptor, error)
+}
diff --git a/plugin/plugin.go b/plugin/plugin.go
index 6310e9019..8248d6244 100644
--- a/plugin/plugin.go
+++ b/plugin/plugin.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ const (
 	GRPCPlugin
 	SnapshotPlugin
 	TaskMonitorPlugin
+	DiffPlugin
 )
 
 type Registration struct {
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@ type InitContext struct {
 	Content     content.Store
 	Meta        *bolt.DB
 	Snapshotter snapshot.Snapshotter
+	Differ      Differ
 	Config      interface{}
 	Context     context.Context
 	Monitor     TaskMonitor
diff --git a/services/diff/client.go b/services/diff/client.go
index 359e9328d..1fe1390fd 100644
--- a/services/diff/client.go
+++ b/services/diff/client.go
@@ -54,6 +54,14 @@ func (r *remote) DiffMounts(ctx context.Context, a, b []mount.Mount, media, ref
 	return toDescriptor(resp.Diff), nil
 }
 
+func toDescriptor(d *descriptor.Descriptor) ocispec.Descriptor {
+	return ocispec.Descriptor{
+		MediaType: d.MediaType,
+		Digest:    d.Digest,
+		Size:      d.Size_,
+	}
+}
+
 func fromDescriptor(d ocispec.Descriptor) *descriptor.Descriptor {
 	return &descriptor.Descriptor{
 		MediaType: d.MediaType,
diff --git a/services/diff/service.go b/services/diff/service.go
index 165a041f2..79da2ba5c 100644
--- a/services/diff/service.go
+++ b/services/diff/service.go
@@ -1,22 +1,10 @@
 package diff
 
 import (
-	"io"
-	"io/ioutil"
-	"os"
-
 	diffapi "github.com/containerd/containerd/api/services/diff"
-	"github.com/containerd/containerd/api/types/descriptor"
 	mounttypes "github.com/containerd/containerd/api/types/mount"
-	"github.com/containerd/containerd/archive"
-	"github.com/containerd/containerd/archive/compression"
-	"github.com/containerd/containerd/content"
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/mount"
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/plugin"
-	"github.com/containerd/containerd/snapshot"
-	digest "github.com/opencontainers/go-digest"
-	ocispec "github.com/opencontainers/image-spec/specs-go/v1"
-	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"golang.org/x/net/context"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc"
 )
@@ -25,21 +13,15 @@ func init() {
 	plugin.Register("diff-grpc", &plugin.Registration{
 		Type: plugin.GRPCPlugin,
 		Init: func(ic *plugin.InitContext) (interface{}, error) {
-			return newService(ic.Content, ic.Snapshotter)
+			return &service{
+				diff: ic.Differ,
+			}, nil
 		},
 	})
 }
 
 type service struct {
-	store       content.Store
-	snapshotter snapshot.Snapshotter
-}
-
-func newService(store content.Store, snapshotter snapshot.Snapshotter) (*service, error) {
-	return &service{
-		store:       store,
-		snapshotter: snapshotter,
-	}, nil
+	diff plugin.Differ
 }
 
 func (s *service) Register(gs *grpc.Server) error {
@@ -53,143 +35,31 @@ func (s *service) Apply(ctx context.Context, er *diffapi.ApplyRequest) (*diffapi
 
 	mounts := toMounts(er.Mounts)
 
-	dir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "extract-")
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to create temporary directory")
-	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
-
-	if err := mount.MountAll(mounts, dir); err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to mount")
-	}
-	defer mount.Unmount(dir, 0)
-
-	r, err := s.store.Reader(ctx, desc.Digest)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to get reader from content store")
-	}
-	defer r.Close()
-
-	// TODO: only decompress stream if media type is compressed
-	ds, err := compression.DecompressStream(r)
+	ocidesc, err := s.diff.Apply(ctx, desc, mounts)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	defer ds.Close()
 
-	digester := digest.Canonical.Digester()
-	rc := &readCounter{
-		r: io.TeeReader(ds, digester.Hash()),
-	}
+	return &diffapi.ApplyResponse{
+		Applied: fromDescriptor(ocidesc),
+	}, nil
 
-	if _, err := archive.Apply(ctx, dir, rc); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	// Read any trailing data
-	if _, err := io.Copy(ioutil.Discard, rc); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	resp := &diffapi.ApplyResponse{
-		Applied: &descriptor.Descriptor{
-			MediaType: ocispec.MediaTypeImageLayer,
-			Digest:    digester.Digest(),
-			Size_:     rc.c,
-		},
-	}
-
-	return resp, nil
 }
 
 func (s *service) Diff(ctx context.Context, dr *diffapi.DiffRequest) (*diffapi.DiffResponse, error) {
 	aMounts := toMounts(dr.Left)
 	bMounts := toMounts(dr.Right)
 
-	aDir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "left-")
+	ocidesc, err := s.diff.DiffMounts(ctx, aMounts, bMounts, dr.MediaType, dr.Ref)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to create temporary directory")
-	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(aDir)
-
-	bDir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "right-")
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to create temporary directory")
-	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(bDir)
-
-	if err := mount.MountAll(aMounts, aDir); err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to mount")
-	}
-	defer mount.Unmount(aDir, 0)
-
-	if err := mount.MountAll(bMounts, bDir); err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to mount")
-	}
-	defer mount.Unmount(bDir, 0)
-
-	cw, err := s.store.Writer(ctx, dr.Ref, 0, "")
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to open writer")
-	}
-
-	// TODO: Validate media type
-
-	// TODO: Support compressed media types (link compressed to uncompressed)
-	//dgstr := digest.SHA256.Digester()
-	//wc := &writeCounter{}
-	//compressed, err := compression.CompressStream(cw, compression.Gzip)
-	//if err != nil {
-	//	return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to get compressed stream")
-	//}
-	//err = archive.WriteDiff(ctx, io.MultiWriter(compressed, dgstr.Hash(), wc), lowerDir, upperDir)
-	//compressed.Close()
-
-	err = archive.WriteDiff(ctx, cw, aDir, bDir)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to write diff")
-	}
-
-	dgst := cw.Digest()
-	if err := cw.Commit(0, dgst); err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to commit")
-	}
-
-	info, err := s.store.Info(ctx, dgst)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to get info from content store")
-	}
-
-	desc := ocispec.Descriptor{
-		MediaType: dr.MediaType,
-		Digest:    info.Digest,
-		Size:      info.Size,
+		return nil, err
 	}
 
 	return &diffapi.DiffResponse{
-		Diff: fromDescriptor(desc),
+		Diff: fromDescriptor(ocidesc),
 	}, nil
 }
 
-type readCounter struct {
-	r io.Reader
-	c int64
-}
-
-func (rc *readCounter) Read(p []byte) (n int, err error) {
-	n, err = rc.r.Read(p)
-	rc.c += int64(n)
-	return
-}
-
-func toDescriptor(d *descriptor.Descriptor) ocispec.Descriptor {
-	return ocispec.Descriptor{
-		MediaType: d.MediaType,
-		Digest:    d.Digest,
-		Size:      d.Size_,
-	}
-}
-
 func toMounts(apim []*mounttypes.Mount) []mount.Mount {
 	mounts := make([]mount.Mount, len(apim))
 	for i, m := range apim {