Side by side
Dagger vs Earthly
Both stand on container build tools. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+2
Dagger combines portable CI execution with GitHub-triggered Cloud Checks and modules for common project checks. The free Individual plan has a one-user limit; Team raises the user and event allowances for $50 a month after its 14-day trial.
Visit Dagger
Free plan APILinuxMac+3
Earthly Lunar focuses on applying organization-defined engineering policies across the development lifecycle. Its prebuilt guardrails, integrations, and staged enforcement options are relevant for teams seeking controls without rewriting CI pipelines.
Visit EarthlyThe facts
| Dagger | Earthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Team: $50 a month | Not published |
| Plans published | 3 | None |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | dagger.io | earthly.dev |
| On container build tools | #8 of 34 | #12 of 34 |
Dagger: what it does well
- Pipeline logic can run locally or in cloud
- Cloud Checks run after GitHub events
- Modules cover testing, linting, and more
- CLI instructions cover macOS, Linux, and Windows
- Self-hosting guide is available
What to know first
- Individual plan is limited to one user
- Individual includes one month of run history
- Team costs $50 a month after trial
Earthly: what it does well
- More than 200 prebuilt guardrails are included.
- Pipeline instrumentation needs no YAML changes.
- 66 integrations are listed.
- Custom collectors can use Bash scripts.
- Supports enforcement on pull requests and deployments.
What to know first
- Services and databases are hosted in the United States.
- Custom integrations require Bash scripts.
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