DevSpace vs Garden
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted developer tools & git options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | DevSpace | Garden |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 85 · Excellent |
| Category | Developer Tools & Git | Developer Tools & Git |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,189 | ★ 3,617 |
| First released | 2018 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Tilt, Skaffold | Skaffold, Tilt |
What are DevSpace and Garden?
DevSpace
DevSpace is an open-source client-only tool for developing and deploying cloud-native software with Kubernetes. It provides hot reloading, port forwarding, and a configurable workflow for self-hosted clusters.
- Hot reload for containers
- Port forwarding
- Client-only architecture
- Config-driven workflow
Garden
Garden is an open-source automation platform that speeds up building, testing, and developing applications on Kubernetes. It caches results and provides preview environments for self-hosted clusters.
- Kubernetes dev workflows
- Smart test caching
- Preview environments
- Multi-service builds
DevSpace vs Garden: key differences
DevSpace is written in Go, while Garden is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for DevSpace versus MPL-2.0 for Garden. DevSpace is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Garden.
Why pick each one
Choose DevSpace if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Mature project with 5.2k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Garden if…
- Released under the MPL-2.0 license
- Active community (3.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is DevSpace or Garden better?
Neither is universally better. DevSpace has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are DevSpace and Garden free and open-source?
Yes. DevSpace is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Garden under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run DevSpace and Garden with Docker?
DevSpace: check the project docs for container support. Garden: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, DevSpace or Garden?
DevSpace has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Garden. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.