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Developer Tools · head to head

Earthly vs Saviynt

Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Saviynt logo

Saviynt

Cybersecurity

Cloud identity governance with privileged access in the same platform

From
On request
Free plan
No

The short version

  • Only Earthly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact; Saviynt implementation typically runs a year or more with a partner, and the cost of that work regularly exceeds the first year subscription, which is rarely in the initial business case.
  • They diverge on capability: Earthly covers Policy as code, Saviynt covers Identity governance.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Earthly and Saviynt actually diverge.

Attributes where Earthly and Saviynt differ
AttributeEarthlySaviynt
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelNo pricing published on websitequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, CLIWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Earthly

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

Only in Saviynt

  • Identity governance
  • Access certification
  • Segregation of duties
  • Privileged access
  • Cloud entitlements
  • Third party access
  • Access request

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

Saviynt

  • An enterprise with an audit finding that privileged administrative accounts are excluded from access reviewsnot Earthly
  • A healthcare system governing clinician access to Epic alongside corporate applications in one certification campaignnot Earthly
  • A company that has to prove segregation of duties in SAP to an external auditor every yearnot Earthly
  • A federal contractor needing an identity governance service with FedRAMP authorisationnot 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

Saviynt

  • Implementation typically runs a year or more with a partner, and the cost of that work regularly exceeds the first year subscription, which is rarely in the initial business case.
  • Governance quality is limited by HR and application data quality, so organisations with inconsistent joiner records spend the early phases correcting source data rather than certifying access.
  • Pricing is per governed identity, so counting contractors, service accounts and non-employee identities materially changes the bill and the definition is worth negotiating explicitly.
  • The privileged access module is younger than the governance core and is not a full substitute for a dedicated PAM product in estates with heavy session recording or credential rotation requirements.
  • Connectors to less common applications require custom development, and each one adds a maintenance burden that reappears every time the target application changes its API.

Pricing, plan by plan

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

Saviynt

On request
  • Saviynt Identity Cloud$undefined/year
    • Priced per governed identity per year
    • Modules for governance, privileged access and cloud entitlements
    • SaaS delivery with FedRAMP authorised offering available

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.

Choose Saviynt if

  • You need identity governance.
  • You also want access certification.

Questions people ask

Is Earthly or Saviynt better?
Neither clearly leads. Earthly starts at Free and Saviynt at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Earthly or Saviynt?
Earthly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Earthly and On request for Saviynt.
Does Earthly or Saviynt run on more platforms?
Earthly runs on Web, CLI. Saviynt runs on Web.
Can I use Earthly for free?
Yes. Earthly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Saviynt starts at On request.
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 Saviynt is typically brought in for.
What can Earthly do that Saviynt cannot?
Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies. Saviynt covers Identity governance, Access certification, Segregation of duties, Privileged access.

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
Saviynt: Does Saviynt replace a PAM vendor?

It can for time-bound privileged access, but organisations with heavy session recording, credential rotation or legacy server access requirements often keep a dedicated PAM product alongside it.

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
Saviynt: Is there a FedRAMP authorised version?

Yes, Saviynt offers a FedRAMP authorised government cloud offering, which matters where that is an eligibility requirement rather than a preference.

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
Saviynt: How is it priced?

Per governed identity per year, quoted. Define carefully whether service accounts and contractors count toward the identity total.

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