Dagger vs Earthly
Dagger and Earthly are both modern CI/CD tools that emphasize local parity and reproducibility, but they take fundamentally different approaches. Dagger uses programmable pipelines with CUE and TypeScript, allowing developers to define workflows as code that run identically in local and CI environments. Earthly, on the other hand, uses Dockerfile-like syntax to create repeatable builds with strong caching and local parity.
Dagger is ideal for teams that want full control over pipeline logic and prefer a code-first approach, while Earthly suits teams already familiar with Docker who want a simpler, more declarative build system. Both tools reduce the gap between local development and CI, but their learning curves and integration patterns differ.
Quick comparison
| Dagger | Earthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Open source core; paid cloud offering for caching and secrets | Open source core; paid Earthly Cloud for caching and parallel execution |
| Hosting / Self-Host | Self-hosted engine; can run on any CI or local | Self-hosted or Earthly Cloud; runs on any CI or local |
| License | Apache 2.0 (open source) | MPL 2.0 (open source) |
| Best For | Complex, multi-language pipelines needing custom logic | Docker-native teams wanting simple, repeatable builds |
| Learning Curve | Steep; requires understanding CUE or TypeScript | Moderate; familiar Dockerfile syntax |
Choose Dagger if you need full programmability and are comfortable with CUE or TypeScript to define complex, multi-stage pipelines that must run identically everywhere.
View detailsChoose Earthly if you prefer a Docker-like syntax, want strong caching out of the box, and need a simpler path to reproducible builds across local and CI.
View detailsFrequently asked questions
Can Dagger and Earthly be used with any CI system?
Yes, both tools are CI-agnostic and can run locally or in any CI environment (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, etc.) without vendor lock-in.
Which tool has better caching for builds?
Earthly has built-in layer caching similar to Docker, making it very efficient for repeated builds. Dagger relies on external caching mechanisms and requires more manual setup.
Do Dagger and Earthly support multi-stage builds?
Yes, both support multi-stage builds. Dagger allows arbitrary pipeline stages via code, while Earthly uses a Dockerfile-like target system with dependencies.