Is dbt or Depot better?

Neither clearly leads. dbt starts at Free and Depot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, dbt or Depot?

dbt starts at Free and Depot at Free.

Does dbt or Depot run on more platforms?

dbt runs on Web, Self-hosted, IDE integration (VS Code, Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf). Depot runs on Web, GitHub, API.

Can I use dbt for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is dbt best used for?

dbt is most often used for data warehouse transformation and elt pipelines, analytics engineering for reporting and business intelligence, data quality testing and validation at scale, cross-functional data collaboration with version control. Of those, data warehouse transformation and elt pipelines and analytics engineering for reporting and business intelligence are not what Depot is typically brought in for.

What can dbt do that Depot cannot?

Depot covers Depot CI, Container builds, GitHub Actions runners, Distributed caching.

Databases · head to head

dbt vs Depot

dbt

Databases

SQL transformation framework enabling analytics engineers to version, test and deploy models

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Visit dbt Full review

Depot

Developer Tools

Cloud-based builds and CI runs 55x faster with less cost

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Visit Depot Full review

The short version

dbt is a transformation framework; Depot is a cloud-based CI/CD platform.
Free plans on both; paid from $100/user/mo and $20/mo.
Where dbt falls short: free tier severely limited: 3,000 models/month cap and single project maximum restricts team and production use.
Where Depot falls short: developer plan minute limits may be insufficient for active development.
Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which dbt and Depot actually diverge.

Attributes where dbt and Depot differ
Attribute	dbt	Depot
Platforms	Web, Self-hosted, IDE integration (VS Code, Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf)	Web, GitHub, API
Category	Databases	Developer Tools

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

Not yet recorded: pricing model for Depot, founded for dbt.

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 dbt

Nothing recorded that Depot does not also cover.

Only in Depot

Depot CI
Container builds
GitHub Actions runners
Distributed caching
Build API
Depot Registry
Cross-platform builds
SSH debugging

What people use each for

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

dbt

Data warehouse transformation and ELT pipelinesnot Depot
Analytics engineering for reporting and business intelligencenot Depot
Data quality testing and validation at scalenot Depot
Cross-functional data collaboration with version controlnot Depot
Cost optimisation of warehouse usage through intelligent schedulingnot Depot

Depot

Accelerating Docker builds for container-based developmentnot dbt
Replacing GitHub Actions runners with faster infrastructurenot dbt
Distributing cache across Monorepo buildsnot dbt
Debugging failed CI builds interactively with SSHnot dbt

Where each one falls short

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

dbt

Free tier severely limited: 3,000 models/month cap and single project maximum restricts team and production use
Starter at $1,200/year per seat: minimum 5-seat team costs $6,000/year baseline; no single-seat or 2-seat paid option
Enterprise pricing opaque: 'custom pricing' with no budget range for startups vs. enterprises; requires sales consultation
Model volume metering unclear: 'successful models/month' as a limit is ambiguous; unclear if this counts transformation runs, test runs, or deployment attempts

Depot

Developer plan minute limits may be insufficient for active development
Startup plan at $200/mo is expensive for smaller teams
Business plan requires custom pricing consultation
macOS M2 runners not available on Developer plan

Pricing, plan by plan

dbt

Free

DeveloperFree
- Browser-based IDE
- MFA
- job scheduling
Starter$100/user/mo
- dbt Wizard
- basic Catalog
- Semantic Layer
EnterpriseOn request
- Advanced Catalog
- Semantic Layer
- dbt Copilot
Enterprise+On request
- All Enterprise features
- PrivateLink
- IP restrictions

Depot

Free

Developer$20/mo
- 1 user
- 500 Docker build minutes per month
- 2,000 Depot CI minutes per month
Startup$200/mo
- Unlimited users
- 5,000 Docker build minutes per month
- 20,000 Depot CI minutes per month
BusinessOn request
- Custom pricing
- Unlimited users
- Custom monthly compute

Which should you pick?

Choose dbt if

You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Self-hosted, IDE integration (VS Code, Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf).

dbt review

Choose Depot if

You need depot ci.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, GitHub, API.
You also want container builds.

Depot review

Questions people ask

Is dbt or Depot better?: Neither clearly leads. dbt starts at Free and Depot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, dbt or Depot?: dbt starts at Free and Depot at Free.
Does dbt or Depot run on more platforms?: dbt runs on Web, Self-hosted, IDE integration (VS Code, Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf). Depot runs on Web, GitHub, API.
Can I use dbt for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is dbt best used for?: dbt is most often used for data warehouse transformation and elt pipelines, analytics engineering for reporting and business intelligence, data quality testing and validation at scale, cross-functional data collaboration with version control. Of those, data warehouse transformation and elt pipelines and analytics engineering for reporting and business intelligence are not what Depot is typically brought in for.
What can dbt do that Depot cannot?: Depot covers Depot CI, Container builds, GitHub Actions runners, Distributed caching.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

dbt: How much does dbt cost?

dbt Developer is free. dbt Starter is $100/seat/month with a 5-seat minimum (or custom annual billing). Enterprise and Enterprise+ have custom pricing and require contacting sales.

Source

Depot: How much faster are Depot runners compared to GitHub Actions?

Depot runners offer 30% faster CPUs and 10x faster networking than standard GitHub-hosted runners, enabling builds to complete significantly faster.

Source

dbt: What is included in the free Developer plan?

The Developer plan is free and includes 1 developer seat, 3,000 successful models/month limit, 1 project, browser-based IDE, MFA, and job scheduling.

Source

Depot: What is included in the Developer plan?

Developer plan ($20/month) includes 500 Docker build minutes, 2,000 Depot CI minutes, 2,000 GitHub Actions minutes, 25 GB storage, unlimited concurrency, and community support.

Source

dbt: What is the model limit on each plan?

Developer tier allows 3,000 successful models/month. Starter allows 15,000/month. Enterprise and Enterprise+ allow 100,000/month.

Source

Depot: Can I use Depot with my own AWS account?

Yes, Depot Managed allows deployment within customer AWS accounts. This is available to interested customers; contact sales for details.

Source

dbt: Can I upgrade or downgrade my dbt plan?

Yes. dbt allows you to 'upgrade or downgrade at any time.' Starter plans bill monthly by credit card based on seat count; Enterprise plans are annual invoicing.

Source

dbt vs Depot

dbt

Depot

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in dbt

Only in Depot

What people use each for

dbt

Depot

Where each one falls short

dbt

Depot

Pricing, plan by plan

dbt

Depot

Which should you pick?

Choose dbt if

Choose Depot if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on dbt

More on Depot

Keep looking

Other head to heads