Comparison

Earthly vs GitHub Actions

On the evidence we track, GitHub Actions leads this comparison with a composite score of 70/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Earthly42
★GitHub Actions70
Score
vioscaleAI score
Earthly42 / 100medium · 50%
GitHub Actions70 / 100medium · 71%
Pricing
Free tier
Earthly–
GitHub Actions✓
Model
Earthlycommercial
GitHub Actionsfreemium
Price level
Earthlyunknown
GitHub Actionslow
Transparent
Earthly–
GitHub Actions✓
Integrations
Count
Earthly6
GitHub Actions23
Security
Certifications
Earthly–
GitHub ActionsSOC 2 Type II
Disclosure policy
Earthly–
GitHub Actions✓
Gdpr
Earthly–
GitHub Actions✓
Iso27001
Earthly–
GitHub Actions✓
Soc2
Earthly✓
GitHub Actions✓
Reliability
Status page
Earthly✓
GitHub Actions✓
Adoption
Stackoverflow questions
Earthly–
GitHub Actions42,000
Market
Availability
Earthly–
Content
Faq
Earthly5 items
GitHub Actions7 items
Hosting
Model
Earthly–
GitHub Actionscloud

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for ci/cd tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Deployment
Hosting
EarthlyCloud only
GitHub ActionsCloud + self-hosted
Self-hosted runners
Earthly-
GitHub Actions✓
Core
Config-as-code pipelines
Earthly✓
GitHub Actions✓
Matrix / parallel builds
Earthly-
GitHub Actions✓
Build
Container-native builds
Earthly-
GitHub Actions✓
Performance
Build caching
Earthly-
GitHub Actions✓
Security
Secrets management
Earthly-
GitHub Actions✓
Delivery
Deployment environments & approvals
Earthly-
GitHub Actions✓
Ecosystem
Reusable actions / marketplace
Earthly✓
GitHub Actions✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Earthly

A compliance and governance system that verifies code repositories meet organizational standards for security, reliability, quality, and compliance. It runs guardrails as code on every pull request and in AI coding workflows, integrating with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and GitHub Actions to provide real-time feedback and continuous audit trails.

Independently observed

GitHub Actions

Leader

Built-in automation tooling that enables developers to create reusable workflow steps for continuous integration and deployment, supporting multiple runner environments and languages.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Earthly

Quote-based
as of verify ↗

GitHub Actions

Leader
SubscriptionFree tier30-day trial

Free tier available. Paid plans from Pro tier upward.

  • FreeFree
  • Pro-
  • GitHub Enterprise CloudContact sales
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Earthly✓
GitHub Actions✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Earthly✓
GitHub Actions✓
Self-hosted
Earthly✗
GitHub Actions✓
On-premise
Earthly✗
GitHub Actions✓
Hybrid
Earthly✗
GitHub Actions✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (1)
  • Claude

Earthly

10 total - 9 not shared
  • GitHub
  • OpenAPI
  • Swagger
  • GitHub Actions
  • Claude Code
  • Cursor
  • Codex
  • Dependabot
  • Renovate
Independently observed

GitHub Actions

Leader
31 total - 30 not shared
  • Jira
  • npm
  • Docker
  • GitHub Packages
  • GitHub Pages
  • CodeQL
  • Slack
  • AWS
  • Azure
  • Google Cloud
  • Kubernetes
  • TruffleHog
  • Prowler
  • Gosec
  • Super-Linter
  • OpenCommit
  • Render
  • Linear
  • CodeRabbit
  • Codemagic CI/CD
  • Codecov
  • Azure Pipelines
  • Zenhub
  • Codacy
  • +6 more
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Earthly or GitHub Actions: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.