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Dagger vs Evidence

Dagger logo

Dagger

Developer Tools

Programmable CI/CD engine that runs your pipeline as containers on any runner

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit DaggerFull review
Evidence logo

Evidence

Business Intelligence

Business intelligence as code for teams and AI agents

From
$2500/month
Free plan
No
Visit EvidenceFull review

The short version

  • Dagger has a free plan, then $50/mo; Evidence starts at $2500/mo.
  • Only Dagger lists local and CI parity; only Evidence lists analytics Agent.
  • Where Evidence falls short: high starting price at $2,500/month limits small team adoption.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dagger and Evidence actually diverge.

Attributes where Dagger and Evidence differ
AttributeDaggerEvidence
Starting priceFree$2500/month
Pricing modelPer month per team for Dagger CloudFlat team pricing with no per-user fees
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Self-hostedWeb, Embedded
CategoryDeveloper ToolsBusiness Intelligence

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Dagger

  • Pipelines as code
  • Local and CI parity
  • Content-addressed caching
  • Dagger Functions and modules
  • CI-provider agnostic
  • Dagger Cloud traces
  • GitHub Checks integration
  • Container-native execution

Only in Evidence

  • Analytics Agent
  • Code-based infrastructure
  • Development environment
  • Visualization tools
  • Embedded analytics
  • Enterprise security
  • Multi-channel access

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Dagger

  • A platform team maintaining near-identical build YAML across forty repositories that wants one versioned module every repository calls insteadnot Evidence
  • An engineering organisation migrating off a CI provider that does not want to rewrite every pipeline as part of the migrationnot Evidence
  • A team whose engineers waste hours pushing commits to debug CI-only failures and needs to reproduce the exact run locallynot Evidence
  • A monorepo where most commits touch a small subset of services and cache-accurate step skipping cuts build minutes materiallynot Evidence

Evidence

  • Building version-controlled analytics infrastructurenot Dagger
  • Enabling AI agents to answer business questionsnot Dagger
  • Delivering analytics through multiple channels (web, Slack, ChatGPT)not Dagger
  • Embedding white-labeled analytics in productsnot Dagger

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Dagger

  • Dagger is not a CI provider, so you keep paying for GitHub Actions or GitLab runners underneath it; the Dagger Cloud subscription is an addition to your CI bill, not a replacement for it
  • Writing pipelines in Go or TypeScript raises the barrier to entry: a release engineer who could edit a YAML step now needs to read code, and the people who can fix a broken build shrink to those comfortable with the SDK
  • The engine runs as a container on the runner and needs a persistent cache volume to deliver its main benefit, so ephemeral CI runners give you correctness without the speed, and provisioning durable cache storage is extra platform work
  • The Team plan caps at ten users and ten million events per month; an organisation of any size crosses that quickly and moves to Enterprise pricing that is not published, so cost at scale is unknowable up front
  • The module ecosystem is young and thinly maintained relative to the marketplace of a mature CI provider, so integrations that exist as a one-line Action often have to be written yourself as a Dagger function

Evidence

  • High starting price at $2,500/month limits small team adoption
  • No freemium option for evaluation or learning
  • Code-based approach has steeper learning curve than visual tools
  • AI credits limited on Team plan; additional credits cost extra
  • Requires Git workflow familiarity for effective collaboration

Pricing, plan by plan

Dagger

Free
  • IndividualFree
    • One user
    • One million events per month
    • Workflow logs and function call traces
  • Team$50/mo
    • Up to ten users
    • Ten million events per month
    • Module insights and module catalogue
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Custom user and event limits
    • SSO
    • Managed single-tenant deployment

Evidence

$2500/month
  • Team$2,500/mo
    • Unlimited users
    • Monthly billing
    • Analytics Agent
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • All Team features
    • SSO/SAML authentication
    • SCIM directory sync

Which should you pick?

Choose Dagger if

  • You need pipelines as code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted.
  • You also want local and ci parity.
Dagger review

Choose Evidence if

  • You need analytics agent.
  • You work on Web, Embedded.
  • You also want code-based infrastructure.
Evidence review

Questions people ask

Is Dagger or Evidence better?
Neither clearly leads. Dagger starts at Free and Evidence at $2500/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dagger or Evidence?
Dagger has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Dagger and $2500/month for Evidence.
Does Dagger or Evidence run on more platforms?
Dagger runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted. Evidence runs on Web, Embedded.
Can I use Dagger for free?
Yes. Dagger has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Evidence starts at $2500/month.
What is Dagger best used for?
Dagger is most often used for a platform team maintaining near-identical build yaml across forty repositories that wants one versioned module every repository calls instead, an engineering organisation migrating off a ci provider that does not want to rewrite every pipeline as part of the migration, a team whose engineers waste hours pushing commits to debug ci-only failures and needs to reproduce the exact run locally, a monorepo where most commits touch a small subset of services and cache-accurate step skipping cuts build minutes materially. Of those, a platform team maintaining near-identical build yaml across forty repositories that wants one versioned module every repository calls instead and an engineering organisation migrating off a ci provider that does not want to rewrite every pipeline as part of the migration are not what Evidence is typically brought in for.
What can Dagger do that Evidence cannot?
Dagger covers Pipelines as code, Local and CI parity, Content-addressed caching, Dagger Functions and modules. Evidence covers Analytics Agent, Code-based infrastructure, Development environment, Visualization tools.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Dagger: Does Dagger replace GitHub Actions?

No. Dagger runs inside GitHub Actions or any other CI. It replaces the YAML that describes your pipeline steps, not the trigger and runner layer.

Evidence: Does Evidence have per-user pricing?

No, Evidence offers one flat price for unlimited users at $2,500/month on the Team plan with a 30-day free trial.

Source
Dagger: Is the engine open source?

Yes, the Dagger engine and SDKs are open source and free. Dagger Cloud, the observability product, is what costs money.

Evidence: How many AI credits come with Team plan?

Team plan includes 20,000 AI credits monthly at $0.01 per additional credit. Enterprise offers custom credit packages.

Source
Dagger: What is an event in the pricing?

Dagger Cloud meters pipeline telemetry events. One million per month is free; the Team plan at 50 USD per month allows ten million.

Evidence: What is included in the Enterprise plan?

Enterprise adds SSO/SAML, SCIM directory sync, row-level access rules, embedding capabilities, and custom deployment options at custom pricing.

Source
Dagger: Can I run the same pipeline on my laptop?

Yes, that is the main reason teams adopt it. The dagger CLI executes the identical graph locally, so CI-only failures become reproducible.

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