kind (Kubernetes-in-Docker) still requires Docker, so its not a replacement for Docker Desktop (Windows/macOS). You'll need to run kind in minikube or kind in Docker Desktop.

From the kind readme[1]...

> kind was primarily designed for testing Kubernetes itself, but may be used for local development or CI.

minikube was designed for those who want a local kubernetes environment for development. It didn't work well for testing Kubernetes itself which led to kind. They had two different, though slightly overlapping, goals.

[1] https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind

minikube is good where you have to have a VM, which is development on Windows and OS X. Linux containers need Linux, much to the dismay of laptop buyers I guess.

I personally don't bother. I use Windows but just have a pet Linux VM where I actually do work, and then use kind (with podman; Docker seems to be turning the screws and I'm getting out ahead of that).

I prefer Minikube over Kind, because Minikube supports a lot more options and features, and has integrated the same features as Kind. Kind has not had a new release for almost a year.