Bamboo vs Drone
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?
| Feature | Bamboo | Drone |
|---|---|---|
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | ⊘ Proprietary | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | — | ★ 37,713 |
| First released | 2020 | 2014 |
| Replaces | — | Jenkins, CircleCI |
Why pick each one
Choose Bamboo if…
- Released under the ⊘ Proprietary license
- Written in Java
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Bamboo or Drone better?
Neither is universally better. Drone has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Bamboo and Drone free and open-source?
Yes. Bamboo is licensed under ⊘ Proprietary and Drone under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bamboo and Drone with Docker?
Bamboo: check the project docs for container support. Drone: yes.