GoCD 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.
Not the right match-up?
GoCD
Open-source continuous delivery server
VS
Tekton
Cloud-native CI/CD building blocks for Kubernetes
| Feature | GoCD | Tekton |
|---|---|---|
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,419 | ★ 9,030 |
| First released | 2014 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Jenkins | Jenkins, GitHub Actions |
Why pick each one
Choose GoCD if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 7.4k GitHub stars
Choose Tekton if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 9k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is GoCD or Tekton better?
Neither is universally better. Tekton has the larger community, while GoCD is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are GoCD and Tekton free and open-source?
Yes. GoCD is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Tekton under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GoCD and Tekton with Docker?
GoCD: yes. Tekton: check the project docs for container support.