Concourse CI vs Tekton
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 | Tekton |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,906 | ★ 9,066 |
| First released | 2014 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Jenkins, CircleCI | Jenkins, GitHub Actions |
What are Concourse CI and Tekton?
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
Tekton
Tekton is a Kubernetes-native open-source framework for creating CI/CD systems. It provides pipelines, tasks, and triggers as Kubernetes custom resources for portable automation.
- Kubernetes-native pipelines
- Reusable tasks and steps
- Event-driven triggers
- Cloud-portable
Concourse CI vs Tekton: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Tekton 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 Tekton arrived in 2018. Concourse CI lists first-class Docker deployment; Tekton does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Concourse CI if…
- Reproducible builds
- Strong isolation
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
Choose Tekton if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 9.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Concourse CI or Tekton better?
Neither is universally better. Tekton has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Concourse CI and Tekton free and open-source?
Yes. Concourse CI is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Tekton under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Concourse CI and Tekton with Docker?
Concourse CI: yes. Tekton: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Concourse CI or Tekton?
Tekton 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.