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Developer Tools · head to head

Earthly vs Keil MDK

Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Keil MDK logo

Keil MDK

Developer Tools

Microcontroller Development Kit for Arm-based devices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact; Keil MDK pricing for Essential and Professional subscriptions not disclosed on primary site
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Earthly and Keil MDK actually diverge.

Attributes where Earthly and Keil MDK differ
AttributeEarthlyKeil MDK
Pricing modelNo pricing published on websitefreemium
PlatformsWeb, CLIWeb
Founded2020Unknown

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 Earthly

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

Only in Keil MDK

Nothing recorded that Earthly does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Earthly

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

Keil MDK

  • Embedded software developmentnot Earthly
  • ARM microcontroller programmingnot Earthly
  • Professional development environmentsnot Earthly

Where each one falls short

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

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

Keil MDK

  • Pricing for Essential and Professional subscriptions not disclosed on primary site
  • Customers must contact Arm Developer Tools store for subscription rates

Pricing, plan by plan

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

Keil MDK

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Keil MDK review.

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Keil MDK if

  • You want to start without paying.
Keil MDK review

Questions people ask

Is Earthly or Keil MDK better?
Neither clearly leads. Earthly starts at Free and Keil MDK at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Earthly or Keil MDK?
Earthly starts at Free and Keil MDK at Free.
Does Earthly or Keil MDK run on more platforms?
Earthly runs on Web, CLI. Keil MDK runs on Web.
Can I use Earthly for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Earthly best used for?
Earthly is most often used for enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers, automating incident response procedures across all repositories, embedding compliance requirements into development workflows, standardizing build processes with earthfiles. Of those, enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers and automating incident response procedures across all repositories are not what Keil MDK is typically brought in for.
What can Earthly do that Keil MDK cannot?
Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Keil MDK: Does Keil MDK have a free version?

Yes, Keil MDK Community Edition is free for non-commercial projects. Essential and Professional editions are available as monthly or annual subscriptions.

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
Keil MDK: How much do Keil MDK paid editions cost?

Specific pricing for Essential and Professional editions is not published on the main site. Rates are available from the Arm Developer Tools store or by contacting Arm sales.

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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