SHSelfHostIndex

Argo CD vs act

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted ci/cd & build options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
AR Argo CD Declarative GitOps continuous delivery for Kubernetes VS AC act Run GitHub Actions workflows locally for fast feedback
FeatureArgo CDact
CategoryCI/CD & BuildCI/CD & Build
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageGoGo
Setup difficultyHardEasy
Min. RAM1,024 MB256 MB
Deploymentkubernetes, helmbare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 23,867★ 71,417
First released20182019
ReplacesSpinnakerGitHub Actions

Why pick each one

Choose Argo CD if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Mature project with 23.9k GitHub stars
  • Written in Go
Argo CD details

Choose act if…

  • Test CI before pushing
  • Saves CI minutes
act details

Frequently asked questions

Is Argo CD or act better?

act is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Argo CD if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Argo CD and act free and open-source?

Yes. Argo CD is licensed under Apache-2.0 and act under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Argo CD and act with Docker?

Argo CD: check the project docs for container support. act: check the project docs for container support.

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