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Cybersecurity · head to head

Darktrace vs Earthly

Darktrace logo

Darktrace

Cybersecurity

Autonomous threat detection and response

From
$20000/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Earthly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Darktrace no pricing information published on website; vendors must request pricing through demo request form or contact sales; Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • They diverge on capability: Darktrace covers Self-learning AI, Earthly covers Policy as code.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Darktrace and Earthly actually diverge.

Attributes where Darktrace and Earthly differ
AttributeDarktraceEarthly
Starting price$20000/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionNo pricing published on website
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsNetwork, Cloud, EmailWeb, CLI
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
Founded20132020

Identical on both: 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 Darktrace

  • Self-learning AI
  • Network anomaly detection
  • Autonomous response
  • Behavioral analysis
  • Threat model visualization
  • Email security
  • Application control
  • Slack

Only in Earthly

  • Policy as code
  • Multi-stage enforcement
  • AI agent governance
  • Repository-wide policies
  • Compliance management
  • Earthfiles build tool
  • Satellites

Both cover

  • Incident response automation

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Darktrace

  • Threat Detectionnot Earthly
  • Ndrnot Earthly
  • Incident Responsenot Earthly

Earthly

  • Enforcing engineering standards across AI and human developersnot Darktrace
  • Automating incident response procedures across all repositoriesnot Darktrace
  • Embedding compliance requirements into development workflowsnot Darktrace
  • Standardizing build processes with Earthfilesnot Darktrace

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Darktrace

  • No pricing information published on website; vendors must request pricing through demo request form or contact sales
  • No tiered pricing structure available to compare editions or select appropriate plan level before contacting sales

Earthly

  • Pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • Earthly Lunar is a recent launch (2025) with limited track record
  • Primarily GitHub-focused; limited integration with other platforms
  • No public documentation on pricing or feature tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

Darktrace

$20000/year
  • Detect$20000/year
    • Network anomaly detection
    • AI-powered threat detection
    • Compliance reporting
  • Detect & Respond$35000/year
    • All Detect features
    • Autonomous response
    • Email security
  • Enterprise$50000/year
    • All features
    • Dedicated support
    • Custom training

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Darktrace if

  • You need self-learning ai.
  • You work on Network, Cloud, Email.
  • You also want network anomaly detection.
Darktrace review

Choose Earthly if

  • You need policy as code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI.
  • You also want multi-stage enforcement.
Earthly review

Questions people ask

Is Darktrace or Earthly better?
Neither clearly leads. Darktrace starts at $20000/year and Earthly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Darktrace or Earthly?
Earthly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $20000/year for Darktrace and Free for Earthly.
Does Darktrace or Earthly run on more platforms?
Darktrace runs on Network, Cloud, Email. Earthly runs on Web, CLI.
Can I use Earthly for free?
Yes. Earthly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Darktrace starts at $20000/year.
What is Darktrace best used for?
Darktrace is most often used for threat detection, ndr, incident response. Of those, threat detection and ndr are not what Earthly is typically brought in for.
What can Darktrace do that Earthly cannot?
Darktrace covers Self-learning AI, Network anomaly detection, Autonomous response, Behavioral analysis. Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies. Both handle Incident response automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Darktrace: How much does Darktrace cost?

Darktrace does not publish pricing information on its website. To obtain pricing details and learn about available packages, customers must contact Darktrace directly by requesting a demo or reaching out through the company's contact form.

Source
Earthly: What is the difference between Earthfiles and Earthly Lunar?

Earthfiles is an open-source build tool that reached 12,000 GitHub stars and is used by companies like NVIDIA, Intel, and Databricks. Earthly Lunar is a separate governance platform launched in 2025 for enforcing standards across development workflows.

Source
Darktrace: Does Darktrace offer a free trial?

Darktrace mentions a free trial option, but specific trial length, features included, and how to access it are not published on the website. Users must contact the company directly to inquire about trial availability.

Source
Earthly: How does Earthly Lunar enforce standards?

Lunar converts engineering standards, compliance requirements, and processes documented in AGENTS.md files, wikis, and incident postmortems into enforceable guardrails that apply consistently across repositories and development stages.

Source
Earthly: What is the pricing for Earthly Lunar?

Pricing is not published on the website. Interested customers should contact Earthly's sales team for current pricing and feature tiers.

Source
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