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Developer Tools · head to head

Earthly vs Nx Cloud

Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Nx Cloud logo

Nx Cloud

Developer Tools

Distributed CI and remote caching for monorepo teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact; Nx Cloud requires Nx workspace setup; integration limited to Nx build system
  • They diverge on capability: Earthly covers Policy as code, Nx Cloud covers Nx Replay.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Earthly and Nx Cloud actually diverge.

Attributes where Earthly and Nx Cloud differ
AttributeEarthlyNx Cloud
Pricing modelNo pricing published on websitecredits-based
PlatformsWeb, CLIWeb, CI/CD Systems
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 Nx Cloud

  • Nx Replay
  • Nx Agents
  • Remote execution
  • Advanced analytics
  • Conformance rules
  • AI-powered recovery
  • Multi-repository visibility

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 Nx Cloud
  • Automating incident response procedures across all repositoriesnot Nx Cloud
  • Embedding compliance requirements into development workflowsnot Nx Cloud
  • Standardizing build processes with Earthfilesnot Nx Cloud

Nx Cloud

  • Accelerating monorepo CI pipelines with distributed task executionnot Earthly
  • Reducing build times through remote caching and incremental buildsnot Earthly
  • Scaling development teams across complex multi-package projectsnot Earthly
  • Enforcing consistency and standards across monorepo workspacesnot 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

Nx Cloud

  • Requires Nx workspace setup; integration limited to Nx build system
  • Free tier restricted to 5 contributors; larger teams require paid plans
  • Credits system adds complexity to cost prediction vs flat-rate competitors
  • Self-hosted Enterprise deployment requires significant operational overhead

Pricing, plan by plan

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

Nx Cloud

Free
  • HobbyFree
    • 50,000 monthly credits
    • 5 contributors
    • 10 concurrent CI connections
  • Team$29/month
    • Usage-based credits ($29 base plus overage)
    • Unlimited contributors
    • Remote caching
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Complete feature access
    • Conformance rules
    • Cross-repository visibility

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 Nx Cloud if

  • You need nx replay.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CI/CD Systems.
  • You also want nx agents.
Nx Cloud review

Questions people ask

Is Earthly or Nx Cloud better?
Neither clearly leads. Earthly starts at Free and Nx Cloud at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Earthly or Nx Cloud?
Earthly starts at Free and Nx Cloud at Free.
Does Earthly or Nx Cloud run on more platforms?
Earthly runs on Web, CLI. Nx Cloud runs on Web, CI/CD Systems.
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 Nx Cloud is typically brought in for.
What can Earthly do that Nx Cloud cannot?
Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies. Nx Cloud covers Nx Replay, Nx Agents, Remote execution, Advanced analytics.

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
Nx Cloud: What is included in the free Hobby plan?

The Hobby plan includes 50,000 monthly credits, support for 5 contributors, 10 concurrent CI connections, and basic analytics at no cost with no credit card required.

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
Nx Cloud: How are overages charged on the Team plan?

The Team plan starts at $29/month with included credits. Additional credits cost $5.50 per 10,000 credits, extra contributors cost $19 each, and additional CI connections cost $2.25 each.

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
Nx Cloud: Can Nx Cloud be self-hosted?

Yes, Enterprise customers can deploy Nx Cloud on-premises or on managed infrastructure to maintain full control over data and infrastructure.

Source
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