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Dagger vs GNAT Pro

Dagger logo

Dagger

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
GNAT Pro logo

GNAT Pro

Developer Tools

Software development environments and toolchains for Ada, C/C++ and Rust

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Dagger has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; GNAT Pro no pricing published on website; requires contacting AdaCore directly for quotes
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dagger and GNAT Pro actually diverge.

Attributes where Dagger and GNAT Pro differ
AttributeDaggerGNAT Pro
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer month per team for Dagger Cloudquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Self-hostedWeb

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Developer Tools).

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 GNAT Pro

Nothing recorded that Dagger does not also cover.

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 GNAT Pro
  • An engineering organisation migrating off a CI provider that does not want to rewrite every pipeline as part of the migrationnot GNAT Pro
  • A team whose engineers waste hours pushing commits to debug CI-only failures and needs to reproduce the exact run locallynot GNAT Pro
  • A monorepo where most commits touch a small subset of services and cache-accurate step skipping cuts build minutes materiallynot GNAT Pro

GNAT Pro

  • Building certified avionics software meeting DO-178B/C standardsnot Dagger
  • Developing automotive embedded systems with ISO-26262 compliancenot Dagger
  • Integrating Ada, C/C++, and Rust components in single codebasenot Dagger
  • Managing software supply chain vulnerabilities and SBOMsnot Dagger
  • Supporting long-lived software systems spanning decadesnot 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.

GNAT Pro

  • No pricing published on website; requires contacting AdaCore directly for quotes
  • Vendor indicates per-user, per-year subscription model but does not disclose specific costs

Pricing, plan by plan

Dagger

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

GNAT Pro

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the GNAT Pro review.

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 GNAT Pro if

Nothing in the data separates GNAT Pro from Dagger on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

GNAT Pro review

Questions people ask

Is Dagger or GNAT Pro better?
Neither clearly leads. Dagger starts at Free and GNAT Pro at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dagger or GNAT Pro?
Dagger has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Dagger and On request for GNAT Pro.
Does Dagger or GNAT Pro run on more platforms?
Dagger runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted. GNAT Pro runs on Web.
Can I use Dagger for free?
Yes. Dagger has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. GNAT Pro starts at On request.
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 GNAT Pro is typically brought in for.
What can Dagger do that GNAT Pro cannot?
Dagger covers Pipelines as code, Local and CI parity, Content-addressed caching, Dagger Functions and modules.

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.

GNAT Pro: How much does GNAT Pro cost?

GNAT Pro pricing is not published on the website. Customers must request a pricing quote by contacting AdaCore directly or speaking with a GNAT Pro expert.

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.

GNAT Pro: What is GNAT Pro licensing model?

GNAT Pro is sold on a per-user, per-year basis with no license locks. Customers can request pricing for their specific needs.

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.

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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