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Cybersecurity · head to head

Doppler vs Earthly

Doppler logo

Doppler

Cybersecurity

Secrets management for humans and AI agents

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Doppler developer tier limited to 3 free users with per-user fees beyond that; Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • They diverge on capability: Doppler covers Secrets management, Earthly covers Policy as code.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Doppler and Earthly actually diverge.

Attributes where Doppler and Earthly differ
AttributeDopplerEarthly
Pricing modelUnknownNo pricing published on website
PlatformsWeb, CLI, Cloud, On-PremisesWeb, CLI
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
FoundedUnknown2020

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 Doppler

  • Secrets management
  • Automated credential rotation
  • Dynamic secrets
  • Audit logging
  • SAML SSO
  • Role-based access control
  • Config syncing
  • AI agent support

Only in Earthly

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

What people use each for

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

Doppler

  • Managing API keys for distributed development teamsnot Earthly
  • Securing credentials for AI agents without per-agent feesnot Earthly
  • Automating credential rotation for compliancenot Earthly
  • Centralizing secrets across cloud and on-premise infrastructurenot Earthly

Earthly

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

Where each one falls short

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

Doppler

  • Developer tier limited to 3 free users with per-user fees beyond that
  • Team plan pricing ($21/user/mo) adds cost for large teams
  • 90-day activity log retention may be insufficient for long-term audits
  • Enterprise plan requires custom pricing conversation

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

Doppler

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • 3 free users
    • Then $8 per additional user per month
    • Doppler CLI access
  • Team$21/month
    • Per-user pricing
    • Change requests
    • SAML SSO
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Custom pricing scaled to team size
    • On-prem or cloud deployment
    • Custom permissions

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Doppler if

  • You need secrets management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI, Cloud, On-Premises.
  • You also want automated credential rotation.
Doppler 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 Doppler or Earthly better?
Neither clearly leads. Doppler starts at Free and Earthly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Doppler or Earthly?
Doppler starts at Free and Earthly at Free.
Does Doppler or Earthly run on more platforms?
Doppler runs on Web, CLI, Cloud, On-Premises. Earthly runs on Web, CLI.
Can I use Doppler for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Doppler best used for?
Doppler is most often used for managing api keys for distributed development teams, securing credentials for ai agents without per-agent fees, automating credential rotation for compliance, centralizing secrets across cloud and on-premise infrastructure. Of those, managing api keys for distributed development teams and securing credentials for ai agents without per-agent fees are not what Earthly is typically brought in for.
What can Doppler do that Earthly cannot?
Doppler covers Secrets management, Automated credential rotation, Dynamic secrets, Audit logging. Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Doppler: Do AI agents count toward my user limit?

No, AI agents and non-human identities receive free access across all Doppler plans, including Developer, Team, and Enterprise.

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
Doppler: What is the difference between Team and Enterprise plans?

Team plan ($21/user/mo) includes SAML SSO, role-based access controls, and 90-day logs. Enterprise adds custom deployment options, unlimited config syncs, 99.95% SLA, and a dedicated account manager.

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
Doppler: Can I rotate secrets automatically?

Yes, both Team and Enterprise plans support automatic secret rotation. Developer tier supports manual rotation only.

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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