Argo CD vs Earthly
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?
Argo CD
Declarative GitOps continuous delivery for Kubernetes
VS
Earthly
Repeatable, container-based builds for CI
| Feature | Argo CD | Earthly |
|---|---|---|
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | binary, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 23,867 | ★ 12,049 |
| First released | 2018 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Spinnaker | Make, GitHub 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
Choose Earthly if…
- Released under the MPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 12k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Argo CD or Earthly better?
Neither is universally better. Argo CD has the larger community, while Earthly is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Argo CD and Earthly free and open-source?
Yes. Argo CD is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Earthly under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Argo CD and Earthly with Docker?
Argo CD: check the project docs for container support. Earthly: yes.