Earthly vs Laminar
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
Laminar
Lightweight and modular continuous integration service
| Feature | Earthly | Laminar |
|---|---|---|
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,049 | ★ 352 |
| First released | 2020 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Make, GitHub Actions | Jenkins |
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 Laminar if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Earthly or Laminar 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 Laminar free and open-source?
Yes. Earthly is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Laminar under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Earthly and Laminar with Docker?
Earthly: yes. Laminar: check the project docs for container support.