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Dagger vs Phocas

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
Phocas logo

Phocas

Business Intelligence

Pre-built BI and FP&A for wholesale distributors and manufacturers running mid-market ERPs

From
On request
Free plan
No
Visit PhocasFull review

The short version

  • Dagger starts at $50/mo; Phocas prices on request.
  • Only Dagger lists pipelines as code; only Phocas lists ERP connectors.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dagger and Phocas actually diverge.

Attributes where Dagger and Phocas differ
AttributeDaggerPhocas
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer month per team for Dagger CloudQuote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Self-hostedWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryDeveloper ToolsBusiness Intelligence

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 Phocas

  • ERP connectors
  • Pre-built distribution content
  • Grid-first analysis
  • Financial statements
  • Budgets and forecasts
  • Rebates module
  • Alerts and subscriptions
  • Mobile apps

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

Phocas

  • A wholesale distributor on Prophet 21 whose sales reps need per-customer margin and stock availability without waiting on a report writernot Dagger
  • A manufacturer that wants budgeting on the same data as its sales analysis rather than in a separate spreadsheetnot Dagger
  • A multi-branch retailer comparing branch and product performance daily without an internal BI teamnot Dagger
  • A private equity owner standardising reporting across several acquired distributors on different ERPsnot 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

Phocas

  • The value is the pre-built vertical content, so a company outside distribution, manufacturing or retail pays premium prices for dashboards it must build itself anyway
  • If your ERP is not on the maintained connector list you fall back to generic database extraction and lose the fast time to value that justifies the price
  • The visualisation library is thin next to Power BI or Tableau, and analysts who want fine control over chart design will find it constraining
  • Pricing is quoted per user and never published, and buyers routinely report large gaps between initial and renewal quotes with limited comparison leverage
  • Modules are licensed separately, so a customer who bought Analytics and later wants Financial Statements or Rebates faces a new negotiation rather than an upgrade

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

Phocas

On request
  • PhocasOn request
    • Annual subscription quoted by user count and modules
    • Analytics, Financial Statements, Budgets and Rebates licensed separately
    • One-off implementation and ERP connector setup fee

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 Phocas if

  • You need erp connectors.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want pre-built distribution content.
Phocas review

Questions people ask

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

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.

Phocas: What does Phocas cost?

Nothing is published. It is quoted annually by user count and module, with a separate implementation fee, and varies by region.

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.

Phocas: Is it worth it over Power BI?

Only if you are in its target verticals on a supported ERP. Power BI is far cheaper per seat but you supply the data model.

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.

Phocas: Does it replace my ERP reporting?

It replaces day-to-day analysis and sales reporting. Transactional and statutory reporting stays in the ERP.

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.

Phocas: Can it do budgeting?

Yes, through a separately licensed Financial Statements and Budgets module on the same warehouse.

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