diff --git a/modules/kotest/build.gradle b/modules/kotest/build.gradle
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..393b72ee5fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/kotest/build.gradle
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+plugins {
+    id "org.jetbrains.kotlin.jvm" version "1.3.71"
+    id "org.jetbrains.kotlin.kapt" version "1.3.71"
+}
+
+ext {
+    kotestVersion = "4.0.3"
+}
+
+sourceCompatibility = 1.8
+
+repositories {
+    mavenCentral()
+}
+
+dependencies {
+    compile project(':testcontainers')
+    api("io.kotest:kotest-runner-junit5-jvm:$kotestVersion")
+    implementation("org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-stdlib-jdk8")
+    testImplementation("io.kotest:kotest-assertions-core-jvm:$kotestVersion")
+}
+
+
+test {
+    useJUnitPlatform()
+}
+
+compileTestKotlin {
+    kotlinOptions {
+        jvmTarget = "1.8"
+        javaParameters = true
+    }
+}
+compileKotlin {
+    kotlinOptions {
+        jvmTarget = "1.8"
+    }
+}
diff --git a/modules/kotest/src/main/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/Extensions.kt b/modules/kotest/src/main/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/Extensions.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2701a2e601e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/kotest/src/main/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/Extensions.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+package org.testcontainers.containers
+
+import io.kotest.core.listeners.TestListener
+import org.testcontainers.lifecycle.Startable
+
+fun Startable.perTest(): TestListener = StartablePerTestListener(this)
+fun Startable.perSpec(): TestListener = StartablePerSpecListener(this)
diff --git a/modules/kotest/src/main/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/StartablePerSpecListener.kt b/modules/kotest/src/main/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/StartablePerSpecListener.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..fb66f608ff6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/kotest/src/main/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/StartablePerSpecListener.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+package org.testcontainers.containers
+
+import io.kotest.core.listeners.TestListener
+import io.kotest.core.spec.Spec
+import io.kotest.core.test.TestCase
+import io.kotest.core.test.TestResult
+import kotlinx.coroutines.Dispatchers
+import kotlinx.coroutines.withContext
+import org.testcontainers.lifecycle.Startable
+import org.testcontainers.lifecycle.TestLifecycleAware
+
+
+/**
+ * [StartablePerSpecListener] starts the given [startable] before execution of any test in the spec
+ * and stops after execution of all tests. If the [startable] also inherit from [TestLifecycleAware]
+ * then its [beforeTest] and [afterTest] method are also called by the listener.
+ *
+ * [startable] can any of [GenericContainer] [DockerComposeContainer] [LocalStackContainer] etc.
+ *
+ * This listener should be used when you want to use a single container for all tests in a single spec class.
+ *
+ * @see
+ * [StartablePerTestListener]
+ * */
+
+internal class StartablePerSpecListener(private val startable: Startable) : TestListener {
+    private val testLifecycleAwareListener = TestLifecycleAwareListener(startable)
+
+    override suspend fun beforeSpec(spec: Spec) {
+        withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
+            startable.start()
+        }
+    }
+
+    override suspend fun beforeTest(testCase: TestCase) {
+        withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
+            testLifecycleAwareListener.beforeTest(testCase)
+        }
+    }
+
+    override suspend fun afterSpec(spec: Spec) {
+        withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
+            startable.stop()
+        }
+    }
+
+    override suspend fun afterTest(testCase: TestCase, result: TestResult) {
+        withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
+            testLifecycleAwareListener.afterTest(testCase, result)
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/modules/kotest/src/main/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/StartablePerTestListener.kt b/modules/kotest/src/main/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/StartablePerTestListener.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..43cb3c338e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/kotest/src/main/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/StartablePerTestListener.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+package org.testcontainers.containers
+
+import io.kotest.core.listeners.TestListener
+import io.kotest.core.test.TestCase
+import io.kotest.core.test.TestResult
+import kotlinx.coroutines.Dispatchers
+import kotlinx.coroutines.withContext
+import org.testcontainers.lifecycle.Startable
+import org.testcontainers.lifecycle.TestLifecycleAware
+
+
+/**
+ * [StartablePerTestListener] starts the given [startable] before execution of each test in the spec
+ * and stops after execution of each test. If the [startable] also inherit from [TestLifecycleAware]
+ * then its [beforeTest] and [afterTest] method are also called by the listener.
+ *
+ * [startable] can any of [GenericContainer] [DockerComposeContainer] [LocalStackContainer] etc.
+ *
+ * This should be used when you want a fresh container for each test.
+ *
+ * @see[StartablePerSpecListener]
+ * */
+internal class StartablePerTestListener(private val startable: Startable) : TestListener {
+    private val testLifecycleAwareListener = TestLifecycleAwareListener(startable)
+
+    override suspend fun beforeTest(testCase: TestCase) {
+        withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
+            testLifecycleAwareListener.beforeTest(testCase)
+            startable.start()
+        }
+    }
+
+    override suspend fun afterTest(testCase: TestCase, result: TestResult) {
+        withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
+            testLifecycleAwareListener.afterTest(testCase, result)
+            startable.stop()
+        }
+    }
+}
+
diff --git a/modules/kotest/src/main/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestLifecycleAwareListener.kt b/modules/kotest/src/main/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestLifecycleAwareListener.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1640a58f33b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/kotest/src/main/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestLifecycleAwareListener.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+package org.testcontainers.containers
+
+import io.kotest.core.listeners.TestListener
+import io.kotest.core.test.TestCase
+import io.kotest.core.test.TestResult
+import org.testcontainers.lifecycle.Startable
+import org.testcontainers.lifecycle.TestDescription
+import org.testcontainers.lifecycle.TestLifecycleAware
+import java.net.URLEncoder
+import java.util.*
+
+internal class TestLifecycleAwareListener(startable: Startable) : TestListener {
+    private val testLifecycleAware = startable as? TestLifecycleAware
+
+    override suspend fun beforeTest(testCase: TestCase) {
+        testLifecycleAware?.beforeTest(testCase.toTestDescription())
+    }
+
+    override suspend fun afterTest(testCase: TestCase, result: TestResult) {
+        testLifecycleAware?.afterTest(testCase.toTestDescription(), Optional.ofNullable(result.error))
+    }
+}
+
+private fun TestCase.toTestDescription() = object : TestDescription {
+
+    override fun getFilesystemFriendlyName(): String {
+        return URLEncoder.encode(name, "UTF-8")
+    }
+
+    override fun getTestId(): String {
+        return description.id()
+    }
+}
diff --git a/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/StartableTestLifecycleAware.kt b/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/StartableTestLifecycleAware.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..eff76f6a5db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/StartableTestLifecycleAware.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+package org.testcontainers.containers
+
+import org.testcontainers.lifecycle.TestDescription
+import org.testcontainers.lifecycle.TestLifecycleAware
+import java.util.*
+
+internal class StartableTestLifecycleAware : TestStartable(), TestLifecycleAware {
+    val testDescriptions = mutableListOf<TestDescription?>()
+
+    override fun beforeTest(description: TestDescription?) {
+        testDescriptions.add(description)
+    }
+
+    override fun afterTest(description: TestDescription?, throwable: Optional<Throwable>?) {
+    }
+}
diff --git a/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/StartableTestLifecycleAwareTest.kt b/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/StartableTestLifecycleAwareTest.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..cfec9feb538
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/StartableTestLifecycleAwareTest.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+package org.testcontainers.containers
+
+import io.kotest.core.spec.style.StringSpec
+import io.kotest.matchers.collections.shouldHaveSize
+
+class StartableTestLifecycleAwareTest : StringSpec({
+    val startableTestLifecycleAwareForPerTest = StartableTestLifecycleAware()
+    val startableTestLifecycleAwareForPerSpec = StartableTestLifecycleAware()
+
+    listeners(startableTestLifecycleAwareForPerTest.perTest(), startableTestLifecycleAwareForPerSpec.perSpec())
+
+    "beforeTestCount for first test should be one" {
+        startableTestLifecycleAwareForPerTest.testDescriptions shouldHaveSize 1
+        startableTestLifecycleAwareForPerSpec.testDescriptions shouldHaveSize 1
+    }
+
+    "beforeTestCount for second test should be two" {
+        startableTestLifecycleAwareForPerTest.testDescriptions shouldHaveSize 2
+        startableTestLifecycleAwareForPerTest.testDescriptions shouldHaveSize 2
+    }
+})
diff --git a/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestContainerKotestIntegrationPerTest.kt b/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestContainerKotestIntegrationPerTest.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5670ebbf228
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestContainerKotestIntegrationPerTest.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+package org.testcontainers.containers
+
+import io.kotest.core.spec.style.StringSpec
+import io.kotest.matchers.shouldBe
+
+class TestContainerKotestIntegrationPerTest : StringSpec({
+    val testStartable = TestStartable()
+    listeners(testStartable.perTest())
+
+    "start count for first test should be one" {
+        testStartable.startCount shouldBe 1
+    }
+
+    "start count for second test should be two" {
+        testStartable.startCount shouldBe 2
+    }
+})
diff --git a/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestLifecycleAwareListenerTest.kt b/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestLifecycleAwareListenerTest.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a2236b334c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestLifecycleAwareListenerTest.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+package org.testcontainers.containers
+
+import io.kotest.core.spec.style.StringSpec
+import io.kotest.matchers.shouldBe
+
+class TestLifecycleAwareListenerTest : StringSpec({
+    val startableTestLifecycleAware = StartableTestLifecycleAware()
+    val startable = TestStartable()
+    val testLifecycleAwareListener = TestLifecycleAwareListener(startableTestLifecycleAware)
+    val anotherTestLifecycleAwareListener = TestLifecycleAwareListener(startable)
+
+    listeners(testLifecycleAwareListener, anotherTestLifecycleAwareListener)
+
+    "it should not break for listener having startable which is not of type testLifecycleAware" {
+        startable.startCount shouldBe 0
+    }
+
+    "test id in test description should be combination of test name and package name" {
+        val testDescription = startableTestLifecycleAware.testDescriptions[1]
+        testDescription?.testId shouldBe "org.testcontainers.containers.TestLifecycleAwareListenerTest/test id in test" +
+            " description should be combination of test name and package name"
+    }
+
+    "fileSystemFriendlyName .. in /// test description should be encoded test name" {
+        val testDescription = startableTestLifecycleAware.testDescriptions[2]
+        val encodedTestName = "fileSystemFriendlyName+..+in+%2F%2F%2F+test+description+should+be+encoded+test+name"
+
+        testDescription?.filesystemFriendlyName shouldBe encodedTestName
+    }
+})
diff --git a/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestStartable.kt b/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestStartable.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..32abd20af06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestStartable.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+package org.testcontainers.containers
+
+import org.testcontainers.lifecycle.Startable
+
+internal open class TestStartable : Startable {
+    var startCount = 0
+    override fun start() {
+        startCount++
+    }
+    override fun stop() {
+    }
+}
diff --git a/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestcontainerKotestIntegrationPerSpec.kt b/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestcontainerKotestIntegrationPerSpec.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2d14f696c82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/kotest/src/test/kotlin/org/testcontainers/containers/TestcontainerKotestIntegrationPerSpec.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+package org.testcontainers.containers
+
+import io.kotest.core.spec.style.StringSpec
+import io.kotest.matchers.shouldBe
+
+class TestcontainerKotestIntegrationPerSpec : StringSpec({
+    val testStartable = TestStartable()
+    listeners(testStartable.perSpec())
+
+    "start count for first test should be one" {
+        testStartable.startCount shouldBe 1
+    }
+
+    "start count for second test should also be one" {
+        testStartable.startCount shouldBe 1
+    }
+})