Earthly 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 | Earthly | Tekton |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 53 · Fair | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | MPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,048 | ★ 9,066 |
| First released | 2020 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Make, GitHub Actions | Jenkins, GitHub Actions |
What are Earthly and Tekton?
Earthly
Earthly is an open-source build automation tool that runs reproducible builds inside containers using a syntax that combines Dockerfiles and Makefiles. It works the same on any CI system or locally.
- Reproducible container builds
- Works on any CI
- Parallel build execution
- Build cache support
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
Earthly vs Tekton: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Earthly versus Apache-2.0 for Tekton. Earthly is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Tekton. Tekton is the more established project (first released 2018), while Earthly arrived in 2020. Earthly lists first-class Docker deployment; Tekton does not.
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 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 Earthly or Tekton better?
Earthly is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Tekton if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Earthly and Tekton free and open-source?
Yes. Earthly is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Tekton under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Earthly and Tekton with Docker?
Earthly: yes. Tekton: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Earthly or Tekton?
Earthly has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Tekton. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.