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Dagger vs PartyKit

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Dagger

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
P

PartyKit

Developer Tools

Platform for building and deploying realtime multiplayer servers on the edge

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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.; PartyKit documentation and FAQ material on the marketing site is sparse compared to larger realtime platforms.
  • They diverge on capability: Dagger covers Pipelines as code, PartyKit covers Stateful edge servers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dagger and PartyKit actually diverge.

Attributes where Dagger and PartyKit differ
AttributeDaggerPartyKit
Pricing modelPer month per team for Dagger Cloudfreemium
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Self-hostedweb, api

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

  • Stateful edge servers
  • WebSocket-first API
  • CRDT library compatibility
  • Framework integrations
  • Global edge deployment
  • Custom domains

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

PartyKit

  • Multiplayer collaborative appsnot Dagger
  • Realtime AI agent backendsnot Dagger
  • Live cursors and presencenot Dagger
  • Collaborative whiteboards and documentsnot 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.

PartyKit

  • Documentation and FAQ material on the marketing site is sparse compared to larger realtime platforms.
  • Commercial free tier requires deploying to the user's own Cloudflare account, adding setup complexity.
  • Storage on the free Individual plan clears every 24 hours, limiting it to prototyping rather than persistent production data.
  • Smaller ecosystem and community than more established realtime infrastructure providers.

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

PartyKit

Free
  • IndividualFree
    • Up to 10 live projects
    • Deploy to the global edge platform
    • Storage clears every 24 hours
  • CommercialFree
    • Unlimited projects
    • Custom domains
    • Runs on your own Cloudflare account; pay only Cloudflare usage

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 PartyKit if

  • You need stateful edge servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want websocket-first api.
PartyKit review

Questions people ask

Is Dagger or PartyKit better?
Neither clearly leads. Dagger starts at Free and PartyKit at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dagger or PartyKit?
Dagger starts at Free and PartyKit at Free.
Does Dagger or PartyKit run on more platforms?
Dagger runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted. PartyKit runs on web, api.
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 PartyKit is typically brought in for.
What can Dagger do that PartyKit cannot?
Dagger covers Pipelines as code, Local and CI parity, Content-addressed caching, Dagger Functions and modules. PartyKit covers Stateful edge servers, WebSocket-first API, CRDT library compatibility, Framework integrations.

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.

PartyKit: How much does PartyKit cost?

PartyKit is completely free. Both the Individual and Commercial plans have no upfront costs.

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.

PartyKit: What is PartyKit's Individual plan?

The Individual plan is free and includes deployment to a global edge platform, support for up to 10 live projects, and is suitable for small projects. Storage is cleared every 24 hours.

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.

PartyKit: What is PartyKit's Commercial plan?

The Commercial plan is free but requires deploying to your own Cloudflare account. It includes custom domains, unlimited projects, and you pay only your Cloudflare usage costs.

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.

PartyKit: Can I upgrade from Individual to Commercial plan?

Yes, both plans are free but offer different feature sets. The Commercial plan removes project restrictions but requires managing your own Cloudflare infrastructure.

Source
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