Concourse CI vs Dagger
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted ci/cd & build options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Concourse CI | Dagger |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,906 | ★ 16,298 |
| First released | 2014 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Jenkins, CircleCI | GitHub Actions, CircleCI |
What are Concourse CI and Dagger?
Concourse CI
Concourse is an open-source CI/CD system built around the principles of declarative pipelines and reproducible builds. Every task runs in an isolated container for consistent, debuggable builds.
- Declarative YAML pipelines
- Container-isolated tasks
- Visual pipeline graph
- Resource-based design
Dagger
Dagger is an open-source CI/CD engine that lets developers define pipelines as code in their preferred language and run them anywhere with a containerized engine. It can be self-hosted to power portable build pipelines.
- Pipelines as code
- Runs anywhere with containers
- Multi-language SDKs
- Built-in caching
Concourse CI vs Dagger: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Dagger is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Concourse CI. Concourse CI is the more established project (first released 2014), while Dagger arrived in 2022. Dagger has the considerably larger community, at 16,298 GitHub stars versus 7,906.
Why pick each one
Choose Concourse CI if…
- Reproducible builds
- Strong isolation
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
Choose Dagger if…
- Pipelines as real code
- Runs identically anywhere
- Container-level caching
Watch out for
- New concepts to learn
- Container runtime required
Frequently asked questions
Is Concourse CI or Dagger better?
Dagger is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Concourse CI if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Concourse CI and Dagger free and open-source?
Yes. Concourse CI is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Dagger under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Concourse CI and Dagger with Docker?
Concourse CI: yes. Dagger: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Concourse CI or Dagger?
Dagger has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Concourse CI. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.