Softwr

Developer Tools · head to head

Dagger vs Hive

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
Hive logo

Hive

Project Management

Project management built for speed

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit HiveFull review

The short version

  • Hive is a productivity platform.
  • Free plans on both; paid from $50/mo and $5/mo.
  • Only Dagger lists pipelines as code; only Hive lists gantt view.
  • Where Hive falls short: the free plan is capped at 200 MB of storage.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dagger and Hive actually diverge.

Attributes where Dagger and Hive differ
AttributeDaggerHive
Pricing modelPer month per team for Dagger CloudFreemium
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Self-hostedWeb, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS
CategoryDeveloper ToolsProject Management

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

Not yet recorded: founded for Dagger.

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 Hive

  • Tasks
  • Gantt view
  • Kanban
  • Time tracking
  • Forms
  • Slack
  • Zoom
  • Google Drive

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

Hive

  • Project and task management with multiple project viewsnot Dagger
  • Coordinating work, proofing and resourcing for teamsnot 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

Hive

  • The free plan is capped at 200 MB of storage
  • The Starter plan at $5 per user per month is limited to 10 projects
  • Eight capabilities are sold as $5 per user add ons on the Teams plan, including CRM, timesheets, proofing, resourcing, advanced dashboards, external users and SSO
  • Buying SSO plus a few of those add ons therefore costs more than the $12 base seat itself
  • AI credits are metered monthly at 1,000, 3,000 and 5,000 by plan

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

Hive

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 AI credits per month
    • 200MB storage
    • Up to 10 workspace members
  • Starter$5/mo
    • 3,000 AI credits per month
    • Unlimited storage
    • Up to 10 projects
  • Teams$12/mo
    • 5,000 AI credits per month
    • Unlimited workspace members
    • Custom fields

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 Hive if

  • You need tasks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want gantt view.
Hive review

Questions people ask

Is Dagger or Hive better?
Neither clearly leads. Dagger starts at Free and Hive at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dagger or Hive?
Dagger starts at Free and Hive at Free.
Does Dagger or Hive run on more platforms?
Dagger runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted. Hive runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS.
Can I use Dagger for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Hive is typically brought in for.
What can Dagger do that Hive cannot?
Dagger covers Pipelines as code, Local and CI parity, Content-addressed caching, Dagger Functions and modules. Hive covers Tasks, Gantt view, Kanban, Time tracking.

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.

Hive: Is Hive free?

Hive offers a free plan with 1,000 AI credits per month, 200MB storage, and support for up to 10 workspace members. Paid plans start at $5 per user per month.

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.

Hive: Does Hive offer annual billing discounts?

Hive offers 33% savings when choosing annual billing instead of monthly. Annual commitment discounts are available across all plan tiers.

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.

Hive: What are Hive's add-on pricing options?

Optional add-ons are available at $5 per month each, including CRM, Finance, Proofing & Approvals, Timesheets, and Team Resourcing features.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Dagger

More on Hive

Keep looking

Other head to heads