Concourse CI 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?
Concourse CI
Pipeline-based continuous thing-doer
VS
Drone
Container-based continuous delivery platform
| Feature | Concourse CI | Drone |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,878 | ★ 37,713 |
| First released | 2014 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Jenkins, CircleCI | Jenkins, CircleCI |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Concourse CI or Drone better?
Drone 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 Drone free and open-source?
Yes. Concourse CI is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Drone under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Concourse CI and Drone with Docker?
Concourse CI: yes. Drone: yes.