Development Tools · head to head
Buildkite vs Argo CD
Buildkite
Development Tools
CI/CD pipelines that run on your own compute
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
A
Argo CD
Development Tools
A declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Buildkite free plan caps at 5 users and 10 concurrent jobs, with 2,000 Linux vCPU minutes per month and 30 day build retention; Argo CD licensed under Apache License 2.0 per the project's GitHub repository (argoproj/argo-cd LICENSE); as open source software it has no paid tier or vendor price to compare
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Buildkite and Argo CD actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Development Tools).
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Buildkite
- Free plan caps at 5 users and 10 concurrent jobs, with 2,000 Linux vCPU minutes per month and 30 day build retention
- Pro plan is $30 per active user per month, capped at 50 users, with only 10 of the up to 250 concurrent agents included before extra usage
- Enterprise plan enforces a 30 user minimum even though pricing itself is custom
- Hosted compute beyond included minutes is metered at $0.004 per vCPU minute on Linux and $0.02 per vCPU minute on Mac
Argo CD
- Licensed under Apache License 2.0 per the project's GitHub repository (argoproj/argo-cd LICENSE); as open source software it has no paid tier or vendor price to compare
- The quick start installation requires the --server-side and --force-conflicts flags due to CRD size limitations, per argo-cd.readthedocs.io, a constraint the documentation states explicitly
Pricing, plan by plan
Buildkite
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Buildkite review.
Argo CD
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Argo CD review.
Which should you pick?
Questions people ask
- Is Buildkite or Argo CD better?
- Neither clearly leads. Buildkite starts at Free and Argo CD at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Buildkite or Argo CD?
- Buildkite starts at Free and Argo CD at Free.
- Does Buildkite or Argo CD run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Buildkite for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.