Agola vs Buildkite Agent
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Agola
CI/CD redefined for cloud-native workflows
VS
Buildkite Agent
Self-hosted CI/CD agent for your own infrastructure
| Feature | Agola | Buildkite Agent |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Git Hosting & Forges | CI/CD & Build |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,622 | ★ 1,035 |
| First released | 2019 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Drone, GitHub Actions | GitHub Actions, CircleCI |
Why pick each one
Choose Agola if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (1.6k GitHub stars)
Choose Buildkite Agent if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Agola or Buildkite Agent better?
Neither is universally better. Agola has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Agola and Buildkite Agent free and open-source?
Yes. Agola is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Buildkite Agent under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Agola and Buildkite Agent with Docker?
Agola: yes. Buildkite Agent: yes.