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Dagger vs LiquidPlanner

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
LiquidPlanner logo

LiquidPlanner

Project Management

Predictive project management

From
On request
Free plan
No
Visit LiquidPlannerFull review

The short version

  • LiquidPlanner is a predictive project management solution.
  • Dagger has a free plan, then $50/mo; LiquidPlanner starts at $15/mo.
  • Only Dagger lists pipelines as code; only LiquidPlanner lists predictive scheduling.
  • Where LiquidPlanner falls short: rebranded to Tempo Portfolio Manager; the pricing page shows no published figures, only an early access sign-up.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dagger and LiquidPlanner actually diverge.

Attributes where Dagger and LiquidPlanner differ
AttributeDaggerLiquidPlanner
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer month per team for Dagger CloudSubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Self-hostedWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsProject Management

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 LiquidPlanner

  • Predictive scheduling
  • Resource management
  • Time tracking
  • Analytics
  • Workload management
  • Jira
  • Salesforce
  • Slack

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

LiquidPlanner

  • Productivitynot Dagger
  • Collaborationnot Dagger
  • Task managementnot Dagger
  • Organizationnot 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

LiquidPlanner

  • Rebranded to Tempo Portfolio Manager; the pricing page shows no published figures, only an early access sign-up

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

LiquidPlanner

On request
  • Essentials$15/mo
    • Project management
    • Basic scheduling
  • Professional$25/mo
    • Predictive scheduling
    • Resource management
    • Analytics

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 LiquidPlanner if

  • You need predictive scheduling.
  • You also want resource management.
LiquidPlanner review

Questions people ask

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

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.

LiquidPlanner: How is Tempo timesheets pricing calculated for my organization?

Pricing is per-user per month and scales based on organization size. For 1-10 users: $1.00/user; 11-100 users: $5.21/user; 101-250 users: $3.66/user; scaling down to $0.25-$0.39/user for organizations with 5,000+ users.

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.

LiquidPlanner: What license matching requirement exists for Tempo?

Your Tempo license size must match your Jira license size, with a user defined as anyone who can log into Jira.

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.

LiquidPlanner: Is there a free trial for Tempo timesheets?

Yes, Tempo offers a free trial available through the Atlassian Marketplace.

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.

LiquidPlanner: What deployment options are available for Tempo?

Both Cloud and Data Center deployment options are offered, with annual billing available.

Source
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