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Developer Tools · head to head

Earthly vs PartyKit

Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PartyKit logo

PartyKit

Developer Tools

Platform for building and deploying realtime multiplayer servers on the edge

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact; PartyKit documentation and FAQ material on the marketing site is sparse compared to larger realtime platforms.
  • They diverge on capability: Earthly covers Policy as code, PartyKit covers Stateful edge servers.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Earthly and PartyKit actually diverge.

Attributes where Earthly and PartyKit differ
AttributeEarthlyPartyKit
Pricing modelNo pricing published on websitefreemium
PlatformsWeb, CLIweb, api
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 PartyKit

  • Stateful edge servers
  • WebSocket-first API
  • CRDT library compatibility
  • Framework integrations
  • Global edge deployment
  • Custom domains

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

PartyKit

  • Multiplayer collaborative appsnot Earthly
  • Realtime AI agent backendsnot Earthly
  • Live cursors and presencenot Earthly
  • Collaborative whiteboards and documentsnot 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

PartyKit

  • Documentation and FAQ material on the marketing site is sparse compared to larger realtime platforms.
  • Commercial free tier requires deploying to the user's own Cloudflare account, adding setup complexity.
  • Storage on the free Individual plan clears every 24 hours, limiting it to prototyping rather than persistent production data.
  • Smaller ecosystem and community than more established realtime infrastructure providers.

Pricing, plan by plan

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

PartyKit

Free
  • IndividualFree
    • Up to 10 live projects
    • Deploy to the global edge platform
    • Storage clears every 24 hours
  • CommercialFree
    • Unlimited projects
    • Custom domains
    • Runs on your own Cloudflare account; pay only Cloudflare usage

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 PartyKit if

  • You need stateful edge servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want websocket-first api.
PartyKit review

Questions people ask

Is Earthly or PartyKit better?
Neither clearly leads. Earthly starts at Free and PartyKit at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Earthly or PartyKit?
Earthly starts at Free and PartyKit at Free.
Does Earthly or PartyKit run on more platforms?
Earthly runs on Web, CLI. PartyKit runs on web, api.
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 PartyKit is typically brought in for.
What can Earthly do that PartyKit cannot?
Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies. PartyKit covers Stateful edge servers, WebSocket-first API, CRDT library compatibility, Framework integrations.

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
PartyKit: How much does PartyKit cost?

PartyKit is completely free. Both the Individual and Commercial plans have no upfront costs.

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
PartyKit: What is PartyKit's Individual plan?

The Individual plan is free and includes deployment to a global edge platform, support for up to 10 live projects, and is suitable for small projects. Storage is cleared every 24 hours.

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
PartyKit: What is PartyKit's Commercial plan?

The Commercial plan is free but requires deploying to your own Cloudflare account. It includes custom domains, unlimited projects, and you pay only your Cloudflare usage costs.

Source
PartyKit: Can I upgrade from Individual to Commercial plan?

Yes, both plans are free but offer different feature sets. The Commercial plan removes project restrictions but requires managing your own Cloudflare infrastructure.

Source
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