Developer Tools · head to head
Dagger vs Metasploit
Dagger
Developer Tools
Programmable CI/CD engine that runs your pipeline as containers on any runner
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
Metasploit
Cybersecurity
The world's most used penetration testing framework
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
The short version
- 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.; Metasploit the free Framework edition is command line only; the web interface is Pro only
- They diverge on capability: Dagger covers Pipelines as code, Metasploit covers Exploit database.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Dagger and Metasploit actually diverge.
| Attribute | Dagger | Metasploit |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per month per team for Dagger Cloud | freemium |
| Platforms | Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted | Desktop, Cli |
| Category | Developer Tools | Cybersecurity |
| Founded | Unknown | 2000 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
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 Metasploit
- Exploit database
- Payload generation
- Post-exploitation
- Evasion modules
- Auxiliary scanners
- Social engineering
- Credential harvesting
- Session management
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 Metasploit
- An engineering organisation migrating off a CI provider that does not want to rewrite every pipeline as part of the migrationnot Metasploit
- A team whose engineers waste hours pushing commits to debug CI-only failures and needs to reproduce the exact run locallynot Metasploit
- A monorepo where most commits touch a small subset of services and cache-accurate step skipping cuts build minutes materiallynot Metasploit
Metasploit
- Penetration testing and exploit development against known vulnerabilitiesnot Dagger
- Validating whether a reported vulnerability is actually exploitablenot Dagger
- Running phishing and credential attack simulations on the Pro editionnot 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.
Metasploit
- The free Framework edition is command line only; the web interface is Pro only
- Automated exploitation, automated credential attacks and antivirus evading dynamic payloads are restricted to Metasploit Pro
- Reporting, audit wizards, task chains and closed loop vulnerability validation are Pro only
- Rapid7 publishes no price for Metasploit Pro and routes buyers to contact sales
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
Metasploit
Free- Metasploit Framework (OSS)Free
- Open source
- 1500+ exploits
- Command line
- Metasploit ProFree
- Web interface
- Automated testing
- Phishing campaigns
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.
Choose Metasploit if
- You need exploit database.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Desktop, Cli.
- You also want payload generation.
Questions people ask
- Is Dagger or Metasploit better?
- Neither clearly leads. Dagger starts at Free and Metasploit at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Dagger or Metasploit?
- Dagger starts at Free and Metasploit at Free.
- Does Dagger or Metasploit run on more platforms?
- Dagger runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted. Metasploit runs on Desktop, Cli.
- 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 Metasploit is typically brought in for.
- What can Dagger do that Metasploit cannot?
- Dagger covers Pipelines as code, Local and CI parity, Content-addressed caching, Dagger Functions and modules. Metasploit covers Exploit database, Payload generation, Post-exploitation, Evasion 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.
Metasploit: Is Metasploit Framework free to use?
Yes, Metasploit Framework is available as free open-source software with source code accessible via GitHub. Community support is provided through Slack, GitHub, Twitter, and email.
SourceDagger: 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.
Metasploit: What is the difference between Metasploit Framework and Metasploit Pro?
Metasploit Framework is the free open-source version. Metasploit Pro is a commercial offering with customer support from Rapid7, though specific pricing and features are not detailed on the download page.
SourceDagger: 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.
Metasploit: What support is available for the free Framework version?
Community-based support for Metasploit Framework is available through Slack, GitHub, Twitter, and email ([email protected]). Commercial customers using Metasploit Pro receive customer support from Rapid7.
SourceDagger: 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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