Argo CD vs Spinnaker
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
Spinnaker
Multi-cloud continuous delivery platform
| Feature | Argo CD | Spinnaker |
|---|---|---|
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 23,867 | ★ 9,762 |
| First released | 2018 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Spinnaker | Harness |
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 Spinnaker if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 9.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Java
Frequently asked questions
Is Argo CD or Spinnaker better?
Neither is universally better. Argo CD has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Argo CD and Spinnaker free and open-source?
Yes. Argo CD is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Spinnaker under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Argo CD and Spinnaker with Docker?
Argo CD: check the project docs for container support. Spinnaker: check the project docs for container support.