Earthly vs Gitea Act Runner
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?
Earthly
Repeatable, container-based builds for CI
VS
Gitea Act Runner
CI/CD runner for Gitea Actions
| Feature | Earthly | Gitea Act Runner |
|---|---|---|
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,049 | ★ 800 |
| First released | 2020 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Make, GitHub Actions | GitHub Actions |
Why pick each one
Choose Earthly if…
- Released under the MPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 12k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Choose Gitea Act Runner if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Earthly or Gitea Act Runner better?
Neither is universally better. Earthly has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Earthly and Gitea Act Runner free and open-source?
Yes. Earthly is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Gitea Act Runner under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Earthly and Gitea Act Runner with Docker?
Earthly: yes. Gitea Act Runner: yes.