diff --git a/.github/workflows/helm_vs_kustomize_verification.yaml b/.github/workflows/helm_vs_kustomize_verification.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2e10b68053
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/helm_vs_kustomize_verification.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+name: Verify Helm vs Kustomize Manifests
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    paths:
+    - .github/workflows/helm_vs_kustomize_verification.yaml
+    - tests/install_KinD_create_KinD_cluster_install_kustomize.sh
+    - tests/helm_install.sh
+    - tests/helm_kustomize_compare_manifests.sh
+    - tests/helm_kustomize_compare_manifests.py
+    - applications/spark/spark-operator/**
+    - common/cert-manager/**
+    - experimental/helm/scripts/**
+
+jobs:
+  build:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 15
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        component: [spark-operator, cert-manager]
+      fail-fast: false
+
+    steps:
+    - name: Checkout
+      uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+    - name: Install KinD, Create KinD cluster and Install kustomize
+      run: ./tests/install_KinD_create_KinD_cluster_install_kustomize.sh
+
+    - name: Install Helm
+      run: ./tests/helm_install.sh
+
+    - name: Setup Helm chart structure
+      run: ./experimental/helm/scripts/setup-test-chart.sh
+
+    - name: Generate Helm templates for ${{ matrix.component }}
+      run: ./experimental/helm/scripts/synchronize-${{ matrix.component }}.sh
+
+    - name: Run Helm vs Kustomize verification for ${{ matrix.component }}
+      run: ./tests/helm_kustomize_compare_manifests.sh ${{ matrix.component }}
+
+    - name: Cleanup generated Helm templates
+      if: always()
+      run: |
+        rm -rf experimental/helm/kubeflow/templates/external/${{ matrix.component }}
+        rm -f experimental/helm/kubeflow/crds/*-${{ matrix.component }}*.yaml
diff --git a/experimental/helm/.gitignore b/experimental/helm/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e0b5594428
--- /dev/null
+++ b/experimental/helm/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# Helm dependency charts
+**/charts/*.tgz
+**/Chart.lock
+ 
+# Helm temporary files
+*.tmp
+*.backup 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/experimental/helm/scripts/patch-templates.py b/experimental/helm/scripts/patch-templates.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..80b6f0a2a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/experimental/helm/scripts/patch-templates.py
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+import yaml
+import sys
+import os
+from pathlib import Path
+
+def patch_yaml_file(file_path, component):
+    """Patch a YAML file to add conditional rendering and namespace"""
+    with open(file_path, 'r') as f:
+        content = f.read()
+    
+    component_map = {
+        'spark-operator': 'sparkOperator.enabled',
+        'cert-manager': 'certManager.enabled',
+    }
+    
+    condition = component_map.get(component, f'{component}.enabled')
+    condition_check = f'{{{{- if .Values.{condition} }}}}'
+    
+    if condition_check in content:
+        return
+    
+    try:
+        docs = list(yaml.safe_load_all(content))
+        patched_docs = []
+        
+        for doc in docs:
+            if doc and isinstance(doc, dict):
+                if 'metadata' in doc and doc.get('kind') in [
+                    'Deployment', 'Service', 'ServiceAccount', 'Role', 'RoleBinding'
+                ]:
+                    if not isinstance(doc['metadata'].get('namespace'), str) or '{{' not in doc['metadata'].get('namespace', ''):
+                        if component == 'cert-manager':
+                            if doc.get('kind') in ['Role', 'RoleBinding'] and 'leaderelection' in doc['metadata'].get('name', ''):
+                                doc['metadata']['namespace'] = 'kube-system'
+                            else:
+                                doc['metadata']['namespace'] = '{{ .Values.global.certManagerNamespace }}'
+                        else:
+                            doc['metadata']['namespace'] = '{{ include "kubeflow.namespace" . }}'
+                
+                if doc.get('kind') == 'Deployment' and 'spec' in doc and component == 'spark-operator':
+                    if 'template' in doc['spec'] and 'metadata' in doc['spec']['template']:
+                        template_meta = doc['spec']['template']['metadata']
+                        if 'labels' not in template_meta:
+                            template_meta['labels'] = {}
+                        template_meta['labels']['sidecar.istio.io/inject'] = 'false'
+                
+                patched_docs.append(doc)
+        
+        with open(file_path, 'w') as f:
+            f.write(f'{condition_check}\n')
+            for doc in patched_docs:
+                f.write('---\n')
+                yaml.dump(doc, f, default_flow_style=False, sort_keys=False)
+            f.write('{{- end }}\n')
+    
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"Warning: Could not patch {file_path}: {e}")
+        with open(file_path, 'w') as f:
+            f.write(f'{condition_check}\n')
+            f.write(content)
+            f.write('{{- end }}\n')
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    if len(sys.argv) < 3:
+        print("Usage: patch-templates.py <templates_dir> <component>")
+        sys.exit(1)
+    
+    templates_dir = sys.argv[1]
+    component = sys.argv[2]
+    for yaml_file in Path(templates_dir).rglob("*.yaml"):
+        patch_yaml_file(str(yaml_file), component) 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/experimental/helm/scripts/setup-test-chart.sh b/experimental/helm/scripts/setup-test-chart.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..5ad73c239e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/experimental/helm/scripts/setup-test-chart.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
+HELM_DIR="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
+CHART_DIR="$HELM_DIR/kubeflow"
+
+
+mkdir -p "$CHART_DIR/templates/external"
+mkdir -p "$CHART_DIR/templates/integrations"
+mkdir -p "$CHART_DIR/templates/_helpers"
+mkdir -p "$CHART_DIR/crds"
+
+cat > "$CHART_DIR/Chart.yaml" << 'EOF'
+apiVersion: v2
+name: kubeflow
+description: Kubeflow All-in-One Helm Chart (Test Version)
+type: application
+version: 0.1.0
+appVersion: "v1.10.0"
+EOF
+
+cat > "$CHART_DIR/values.yaml" << 'EOF'
+# Global configuration
+global:
+  kubeflowNamespace: kubeflow
+  certManagerNamespace: cert-manager
+
+# Component configurations
+sparkOperator:
+  enabled: false
+  kubeflowRBAC:
+    enabled: false
+  spark:
+    jobNamespaces: []
+  webhook:
+    enable: true
+    port: 9443
+
+certManager:
+  enabled: false
+  installCRDs: true
+  global:
+    leaderElection:
+      namespace: kube-system
+  startupapicheck:
+    enabled: false
+  kubeflowIssuer:
+    enabled: true
+    name: kubeflow-self-signing-issuer
+EOF
+
+cat > "$CHART_DIR/templates/_helpers.tpl" << 'EOF'
+{{/*
+Common labels
+*/}}
+{{- define "kubeflow.labels" -}}
+app.kubernetes.io/name: {{ include "kubeflow.name" . }}
+app.kubernetes.io/instance: {{ .Release.Name }}
+app.kubernetes.io/version: {{ .Chart.AppVersion | quote }}
+app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: {{ .Release.Service }}
+{{- end }}
+
+{{/*
+Chart name
+*/}}
+{{- define "kubeflow.name" -}}
+{{- default .Chart.Name .Values.nameOverride | trunc 63 | trimSuffix "-" }}
+{{- end }}
+
+{{/*
+Kubeflow namespace
+*/}}
+{{- define "kubeflow.namespace" -}}
+{{- .Values.global.kubeflowNamespace | default "kubeflow" }}
+{{- end }}
+EOF
+
+cat > "$CHART_DIR/templates/integrations/spark-operator-rbac.yaml" << 'EOF'
+{{- if and .Values.sparkOperator.enabled .Values.sparkOperator.kubeflowRBAC.enabled }}
+---
+apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
+kind: ClusterRole
+metadata:
+  name: kubeflow-spark-admin
+  labels:
+    app: spark-operator
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: spark-operator
+    rbac.authorization.kubeflow.org/aggregate-to-kubeflow-admin: "true"
+rules: []
+---
+apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
+kind: ClusterRole
+metadata:
+  name: kubeflow-spark-edit
+  labels:
+    app: spark-operator
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: spark-operator
+    rbac.authorization.kubeflow.org/aggregate-to-kubeflow-edit: "true"
+    rbac.authorization.kubeflow.org/aggregate-to-kubeflow-admin: "true"
+rules:
+  - apiGroups:
+      - sparkoperator.k8s.io
+    resources:
+      - sparkapplications
+      - scheduledsparkapplications
+    verbs:
+      - create
+      - delete
+      - get
+      - list
+      - patch
+      - update
+      - watch
+  - apiGroups:
+      - sparkoperator.k8s.io
+    resources:
+      - sparkapplications/status
+      - scheduledsparkapplications/status
+    verbs:
+      - get
+---
+apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
+kind: ClusterRole
+metadata:
+  name: kubeflow-spark-view
+  labels:
+    app: spark-operator
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: spark-operator
+    rbac.authorization.kubeflow.org/aggregate-to-kubeflow-view: "true"
+rules:
+  - apiGroups:
+      - sparkoperator.k8s.io
+    resources:
+      - sparkapplications
+      - scheduledsparkapplications
+    verbs:
+      - get
+      - list
+      - watch
+  - apiGroups:
+      - sparkoperator.k8s.io
+    resources:
+      - sparkapplications/status
+      - scheduledsparkapplications/status
+    verbs:
+      - get
+{{- end }}
+EOF
+
diff --git a/experimental/helm/scripts/synchronize-all-charts.sh b/experimental/helm/scripts/synchronize-all-charts.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..89ce88ef48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/experimental/helm/scripts/synchronize-all-charts.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Master script to sync all upstream charts for Kubeflow AIO Helm chart
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
+HELM_DIR="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
+CHART_DIR="$HELM_DIR/kubeflow"
+
+COMPONENTS=(
+    "spark-operator"
+    "cert-manager"
+    # Add more components as we implement them
+    # "training-operator"
+    # "istio"
+    # "oauth2-proxy"
+    # "dex"
+)
+
+for component in "${COMPONENTS[@]}"; do
+    sync_script="$SCRIPT_DIR/synchronize-${component}.sh"
+    if [ -f "$sync_script" ]; then
+        echo "Syncing $component..."
+        bash "$sync_script"
+    fi
+done
+
+cd "$CHART_DIR"
+helm template kubeflow . --debug --dry-run > /dev/null && echo "Success: AIO chart templates correctly!" 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/experimental/helm/scripts/synchronize-cert-manager.sh b/experimental/helm/scripts/synchronize-cert-manager.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..a2ff9f274c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/experimental/helm/scripts/synchronize-cert-manager.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Script to sync Cert Manager templates for AIO Helm chart
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
+HELM_DIR="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
+CHART_DIR="$HELM_DIR/kubeflow"
+
+COMPONENT="cert-manager"
+VERSION="v1.16.1"
+REPO="https://charts.jetstack.io"
+TEMPLATES_DIR="$CHART_DIR/templates/external/${COMPONENT}"
+CRDS_DIR="$CHART_DIR/crds"
+NAMESPACE="cert-manager"
+
+rm -rf "$TEMPLATES_DIR"
+mkdir -p "$TEMPLATES_DIR"
+mkdir -p "$CRDS_DIR"
+
+TEMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
+cd "$TEMP_DIR"
+
+# Generate templates using same settings as existing Kustomize setup
+# Disable startupapicheck to match Kustomize manifests that don't include it
+helm template "$COMPONENT" "$COMPONENT" \
+    --version "$VERSION" \
+    --repo "$REPO" \
+    --namespace "$NAMESPACE" \
+    --include-crds \
+    --set installCRDs=true \
+    --set global.leaderElection.namespace="kube-system" \
+    --set startupapicheck.enabled=false \
+    --output-dir .
+
+for file in "$COMPONENT/templates/"*.yaml; do
+    if [ -f "$file" ] && [[ ! "$(basename "$file")" == crds.yaml ]]; then
+        cp "$file" "$TEMPLATES_DIR/"
+    fi
+done
+cat "$COMPONENT/templates/crds.yaml" > "$CRDS_DIR/cert-manager-crds.yaml"
+
+python3 "$SCRIPT_DIR/patch-templates.py" "$TEMPLATES_DIR" "$COMPONENT"
+
+# Add namespace template since cert-manager chart doesn't include it
+cat > "$TEMPLATES_DIR/namespace.yaml" << 'EOF'
+{{- if .Values.certManager.enabled }}
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Namespace
+metadata:
+  name: {{ .Values.global.certManagerNamespace }}
+  labels:
+    pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce: restricted
+{{- end }}
+EOF
+
+# Create kubeflow-issuer template
+mkdir -p "$TEMPLATES_DIR/kubeflow-issuer"
+cat > "$TEMPLATES_DIR/kubeflow-issuer/cluster-issuer.yaml" << 'EOF'
+{{- if .Values.certManager.enabled }}
+apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1
+kind: ClusterIssuer
+metadata:
+  name: kubeflow-self-signing-issuer
+  labels:
+    {{- include "kubeflow.labels" . | nindent 4 }}
+    app.kubernetes.io/component: cert-manager
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: cert-manager
+    kustomize.component: cert-manager
+spec:
+  selfSigned: {}
+{{- end }}
+EOF
+
+cd "$CHART_DIR"
+rm -rf "$TEMP_DIR"
+
+helm template kubeflow . --debug --dry-run > /dev/null
+
+echo "Cert Manager templates synchronized successfully" 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/experimental/helm/scripts/synchronize-spark-operator.sh b/experimental/helm/scripts/synchronize-spark-operator.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..c4bc21a05f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/experimental/helm/scripts/synchronize-spark-operator.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Script to sync Spark Operator templates for AIO Helm chart
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
+HELM_DIR="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
+CHART_DIR="$HELM_DIR/kubeflow"
+
+COMPONENT="spark-operator"
+VERSION="2.2.0"
+REPO="https://kubeflow.github.io/spark-operator"
+TEMPLATES_DIR="$CHART_DIR/templates/external/${COMPONENT}"
+CRDS_DIR="$CHART_DIR/crds"
+NAMESPACE="kubeflow"
+
+rm -rf "$TEMPLATES_DIR"
+mkdir -p "$TEMPLATES_DIR"
+mkdir -p "$CRDS_DIR"
+
+TEMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
+cd "$TEMP_DIR"
+
+# Generate templates using same settings as existing Kustomize sync
+helm template "$COMPONENT" "$COMPONENT" \
+    --version "$VERSION" \
+    --repo "$REPO" \
+    --namespace "$NAMESPACE" \
+    --include-crds \
+    --set "spark.jobNamespaces={}" \
+    --set webhook.enable=true \
+    --set webhook.port=9443 \
+    --output-dir .
+
+cp -r "$COMPONENT/templates/"* "$TEMPLATES_DIR/"
+
+[ -d "$COMPONENT/crds" ] && {
+    cp -r "$COMPONENT/crds/"* "$CRDS_DIR/"
+}
+
+python3 "$SCRIPT_DIR/patch-templates.py" "$TEMPLATES_DIR" "$COMPONENT"
+
+cd "$CHART_DIR"
+rm -rf "$TEMP_DIR"
+
+helm template kubeflow . --debug --dry-run > /dev/null 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/helm_install.sh b/tests/helm_install.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..1ef315c799
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/helm_install.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+
+HELM_VERSION="v3.16.4"
+
+echo "Install Helm..."
+{
+    curl -Lo ./helm.tar.gz https://get.helm.sh/helm-${HELM_VERSION}-linux-amd64.tar.gz
+    tar -xzf helm.tar.gz linux-amd64/helm
+    chmod +x linux-amd64/helm
+    sudo mv linux-amd64/helm /usr/local/bin/helm
+    rm -rf helm.tar.gz linux-amd64
+} || { echo "Failed to install Helm"; exit 1; }
+
+echo "Helm ${HELM_VERSION} installed successfully" 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/helm_kustomize_compare_manifests.py b/tests/helm_kustomize_compare_manifests.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5c431e149f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/helm_kustomize_compare_manifests.py
@@ -0,0 +1,197 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+import yaml
+import sys
+import json
+
+def clean_helm_metadata(obj):
+    """Remove ONLY helm-specific metadata from objects"""
+    if isinstance(obj, dict):
+        if 'metadata' in obj:
+            metadata = obj['metadata']
+            
+            if 'labels' in metadata:
+                labels = metadata['labels']
+                helm_specific_labels = [
+                    'helm.sh/chart', 
+                    'app.kubernetes.io/managed-by',
+                    'app.kubernetes.io/instance',
+                    'app.kubernetes.io/version'
+                ]
+                for label in helm_specific_labels:
+                    if label in labels:
+                        del labels[label]
+            
+            if 'annotations' in metadata:
+                annotations = metadata['annotations']
+                helm_specific_annotations = [
+                    'meta.helm.sh/release-name', 
+                    'meta.helm.sh/release-namespace'
+                ]
+                for annotation in helm_specific_annotations:
+                    if annotation in annotations:
+                        del annotations[annotation]
+        
+        for key, value in list(obj.items()):
+            if isinstance(value, (dict, list)):
+                clean_helm_metadata(value)
+    
+    elif isinstance(obj, list):
+        for item in obj:
+            clean_helm_metadata(item)
+    
+    return obj
+
+def json_diff(obj1, obj2, path=""):
+    """Simple recursive comparison showing differences"""
+    differences = []
+    
+    if type(obj1) != type(obj2):
+        differences.append(f"{path}: type mismatch ({type(obj1).__name__} vs {type(obj2).__name__})")
+        return differences
+    
+    if isinstance(obj1, dict):
+        all_keys = set(obj1.keys()) | set(obj2.keys())
+        for key in sorted(all_keys):
+            key_path = f"{path}.{key}" if path else key
+            if key not in obj1:
+                differences.append(f"{key_path}: missing in kustomize")
+            elif key not in obj2:
+                differences.append(f"{key_path}: missing in helm")
+            else:
+                differences.extend(json_diff(obj1[key], obj2[key], key_path))
+    
+    elif isinstance(obj1, list):
+        if len(obj1) != len(obj2):
+            differences.append(f"{path}: list length mismatch ({len(obj1)} vs {len(obj2)})")
+        else:
+            for i, (item1, item2) in enumerate(zip(obj1, obj2)):
+                differences.extend(json_diff(item1, item2, f"{path}[{i}]"))
+    
+    elif obj1 != obj2:
+        differences.append(f"{path}: '{obj1}' != '{obj2}'")
+    
+    return differences
+
+def load_and_index(file_path):
+    """Load YAML and index by kind/name"""
+    with open(file_path) as f:
+        content = f.read()
+        if not content.strip():
+            return {}
+        docs = list(yaml.safe_load_all(content))
+    
+    indexed = {}
+    for doc in docs:
+        if doc and isinstance(doc, dict) and 'kind' in doc and 'metadata' in doc:
+            kind = doc['kind']
+            name = doc['metadata'].get('name', 'unnamed')
+            key = f"{kind}/{name}"
+            
+            if kind == "ClusterIssuer" and 'webhooks' in doc:
+                del doc['webhooks']
+                    
+            indexed[key] = doc
+    
+    return indexed
+
+def main():
+    if len(sys.argv) < 3:
+        print("Usage: compare-manifests.py <kustomize-file> <helm-file> [component] [namespace] [kubeflow-rbac-enabled]")
+        sys.exit(1)
+    
+    kustomize_file = sys.argv[1]
+    helm_file = sys.argv[2]
+    component = sys.argv[3] if len(sys.argv) > 3 else "component"
+    namespace = sys.argv[4] if len(sys.argv) > 4 else "kubeflow"
+    kubeflow_rbac_enabled = sys.argv[5].lower() == 'true' if len(sys.argv) > 5 else False
+
+    if component not in ["spark-operator", "cert-manager"]:
+        print(f"ERROR: Unsupported component '{component}'. Only 'spark-operator' and 'cert-manager' are supported.")
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+    kustomize = load_and_index(kustomize_file)
+    helm = load_and_index(helm_file)
+
+    kustomize_keys = set(kustomize.keys())
+    helm_keys = set(helm.keys())
+
+    kustomize_crds = {key for key in kustomize_keys if key.startswith('CustomResourceDefinition/')}
+    helm_crds = {key for key in helm_keys if key.startswith('CustomResourceDefinition/')}
+    extra_helm_crds = helm_crds - kustomize_crds
+
+    expected_extra_helm = set()
+    if component == "spark-operator" and kubeflow_rbac_enabled:
+        expected_extra_helm = {
+            'ClusterRole/kubeflow-spark-admin',
+            'ClusterRole/kubeflow-spark-edit', 
+            'ClusterRole/kubeflow-spark-view'
+        }
+    elif component == "cert-manager":
+        expected_extra_helm = {
+            'ValidatingWebhookConfiguration/cert-manager-webhook'
+        }
+
+    expected_extra_helm.update(extra_helm_crds)
+
+    extra_kustomize = kustomize_keys - helm_keys
+    extra_helm = helm_keys - kustomize_keys
+    unexpected_extra_helm = extra_helm - expected_extra_helm
+
+    success = True
+    
+    if extra_kustomize:
+        print(f"CRITICAL: Resources missing in Helm output: {', '.join(sorted(extra_kustomize))}")
+        success = False
+
+    if unexpected_extra_helm:
+        print(f"WARNING: Unexpected extra resources in Helm: {', '.join(sorted(unexpected_extra_helm))}")
+        
+    print(f"\nCOMPARISON SUMMARY:")
+    print(f"  Component: {component}")
+    print(f"  Namespace: {namespace}")
+    print(f"  Kustomize resources: {len(kustomize_keys)}")
+    print(f"  Helm resources: {len(helm_keys)}")
+    print(f"  Common resources: {len(kustomize_keys & helm_keys)}")
+    print(f"  Resources only in Kustomize: {len(extra_kustomize)}")
+    print(f"  Resources only in Helm: {len(extra_helm)}")
+    print(f"  Expected extra Helm resources: {len(expected_extra_helm)}")
+
+    common = kustomize_keys & helm_keys
+    resources_with_differences = []
+    
+    for key in sorted(common):
+        kustomize_doc = json.loads(json.dumps(kustomize[key]))
+        helm_doc = json.loads(json.dumps(helm[key]))
+        
+        clean_helm_metadata(kustomize_doc)
+        clean_helm_metadata(helm_doc)
+        
+        differences = json_diff(kustomize_doc, helm_doc)
+        
+        if differences:
+            print(f"\nDifferences in {key}:")
+            for diff in differences[:10]:  
+                print(f"   {diff}")
+            if len(differences) > 10:
+                print(f"   ... and {len(differences) - 10} more differences")
+            resources_with_differences.append(key)
+
+    if not success or resources_with_differences:
+        if resources_with_differences:
+            print(f"\nFAILED: Found differences in {len(resources_with_differences)} resources:")
+            for resource in resources_with_differences:
+                print(f"   - {resource}")
+        if extra_kustomize:
+            print(f"\nFAILED: {len(extra_kustomize)} resources are missing in Helm output.")
+            print("Helm templates need to be implemented for:")
+            for resource in sorted(extra_kustomize):
+                print(f"   - {resource}")
+        print("\nREASON: Manifests are NOT equivalent!")
+        sys.exit(1)
+    else:
+        print(f"\nSUCCESS: All {len(common)} common resources match!")
+        print("Manifests are equivalent (ignoring only helm-specific metadata)!")
+        sys.exit(0)
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/helm_kustomize_compare_manifests.sh b/tests/helm_kustomize_compare_manifests.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..a0ed3b20f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/helm_kustomize_compare_manifests.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,175 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Compare Helm vs Kustomize manifests for Kubeflow components
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+COMPONENT=${1:-"cert-manager"}
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
+ROOT_DIR="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
+HELM_DIR="$ROOT_DIR/experimental/helm"
+
+case $COMPONENT in
+    "spark-operator")
+        KUSTOMIZE_PATH="applications/spark/spark-operator/base"
+        NAMESPACE="kubeflow"
+        ;;
+    "cert-manager")
+        KUSTOMIZE_PATH="common/cert-manager/base"
+        NAMESPACE="cert-manager"
+        ;;
+    *)
+        echo "ERROR: Unsupported component: $COMPONENT"
+        echo "Only 'spark-operator' and 'cert-manager' are supported."
+        echo "Centraldashboard support has been removed in favor of dynamic generation."
+        exit 1
+        ;;
+esac
+
+cd "$ROOT_DIR"
+
+# Check if we're running in an environment where Helm templates should be generated
+# (like GitHub Actions) vs using existing templates
+HELM_CHART_DIR="$HELM_DIR/kubeflow"
+if [ ! -d "$HELM_CHART_DIR" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: Helm chart directory not found: $HELM_CHART_DIR"
+    echo "This script expects Helm templates to be generated first."
+    echo "Run the appropriate synchronization script from experimental/helm/scripts/ first."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+HELM_TEMPLATE_PATH="$HELM_CHART_DIR/templates/external/$COMPONENT"
+if [ ! -d "$HELM_TEMPLATE_PATH" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: Helm template directory does not exist: $HELM_TEMPLATE_PATH"
+    echo "Run: experimental/helm/scripts/synchronize-${COMPONENT}.sh"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+TEMPLATE_FILES=$(find "$HELM_TEMPLATE_PATH" -name "*.yaml" -o -name "*.yml" -o -name "*.tpl" | wc -l)
+if [ "$TEMPLATE_FILES" -eq 0 ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: No Helm template files found in $HELM_TEMPLATE_PATH"
+    echo "Please run the synchronization script: experimental/helm/scripts/synchronize-${COMPONENT}.sh"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "Generating Kustomize manifests for $COMPONENT..."
+KUSTOMIZE_OUTPUT="/tmp/kustomize-${COMPONENT}.yaml"
+case $COMPONENT in
+    "cert-manager")
+        {
+            kustomize build "$KUSTOMIZE_PATH"
+            kustomize build "common/cert-manager/kubeflow-issuer/base"
+        } > "$KUSTOMIZE_OUTPUT"
+        ;;
+    *)
+        kustomize build "$KUSTOMIZE_PATH" > "$KUSTOMIZE_OUTPUT"
+        ;;
+esac
+
+echo "Generating Helm manifests for $COMPONENT..."
+cd "$HELM_CHART_DIR"
+HELM_OUTPUT="/tmp/helm-aio-${COMPONENT}.yaml"
+TEMP_VALUES_FILE="/tmp/test-values-${COMPONENT}.yaml"
+
+  # Create values file with only the target component enabled
+create_values_for_component() {
+    local component=$1
+    
+    cat > "$TEMP_VALUES_FILE" << EOF
+# Global settings
+global:
+  kubeflowNamespace: kubeflow
+  certManagerNamespace: cert-manager
+
+# Disable all components by default
+sparkOperator:
+  enabled: false
+certManager:
+  enabled: false
+trainingOperator:
+  enabled: false
+istio:
+  enabled: false
+oauth2Proxy:
+  enabled: false
+dex:
+  enabled: false
+centraldashboard:
+  enabled: false
+profiles:
+  enabled: false
+jupyter:
+  enabled: false
+pipelines:
+  enabled: false
+kserve:
+  enabled: false
+katib:
+  enabled: false
+tensorboard:
+  enabled: false
+volumesWebApp:
+  enabled: false
+admissionWebhook:
+  enabled: false
+pvcviewerController:
+  enabled: false
+modelRegistry:
+  enabled: false
+EOF
+    
+    case $component in
+        "cert-manager")
+            cat >> "$TEMP_VALUES_FILE" << EOF
+
+# Enable cert-manager
+certManager:
+  enabled: true
+  installCRDs: true
+  global:
+    leaderElection:
+      namespace: kube-system
+  startupapicheck:
+    enabled: false
+  kubeflowIssuer:
+    enabled: true
+    name: kubeflow-self-signing-issuer
+EOF
+            ;;
+        "spark-operator")
+            cat >> "$TEMP_VALUES_FILE" << EOF
+
+# Enable spark-operator
+sparkOperator:
+  enabled: true
+  spark:
+    jobNamespaces: []
+  webhook:
+    enable: true
+    port: 9443
+  kubeflowRBAC:
+    enabled: true
+EOF
+            ;;
+    esac
+}
+
+create_values_for_component "$COMPONENT"
+
+helm template kubeflow . --namespace "$NAMESPACE" --include-crds --values "$TEMP_VALUES_FILE" > "$HELM_OUTPUT"
+rm -f "$TEMP_VALUES_FILE"
+
+KUBEFLOW_RBAC_ENABLED="false"
+if [ "$COMPONENT" = "spark-operator" ]; then
+    INTEGRATIONS_FILE="$HELM_CHART_DIR/templates/integrations/spark-operator-rbac.yaml"
+    if [ -f "$INTEGRATIONS_FILE" ]; then
+        KUBEFLOW_RBAC_ENABLED="true"
+    fi
+fi
+
+echo "Comparing manifests for $COMPONENT..."
+cd "$ROOT_DIR"
+python3 "$ROOT_DIR/tests/helm_kustomize_compare_manifests.py" "$KUSTOMIZE_OUTPUT" "$HELM_OUTPUT" "$COMPONENT" "$NAMESPACE" "$KUBEFLOW_RBAC_ENABLED"
+
+rm -f "$KUSTOMIZE_OUTPUT" "$HELM_OUTPUT"
+
+echo "Comparison completed for $COMPONENT" 
\ No newline at end of file