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Developer Tools · head to head

Earthly vs Subframe

Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit EarthlyFull review
Subframe logo

Subframe

Design

The AI-native design tool built for code

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit SubframeFull review

The short version

  • Earthly is free; Subframe starts at $29/mo.
  • Where Earthly falls short: pricing model not published; requires sales contact.
  • Where Subframe falls short: free plan limited to 1 project and 10 pages.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Earthly and Subframe actually diverge.

Attributes where Earthly and Subframe differ
AttributeEarthlySubframe
Pricing modelNo pricing published on websiteFreemium
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDesign

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

Not yet recorded: founded for Subframe.

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 Subframe

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

Subframe

  • Creating production-ready interfaces without static mockupsnot Earthly
  • Syncing design components with code as single source of truthnot Earthly
  • Building responsive designs with auto layoutnot Earthly
  • Real-time multiplayer collaboration with layer commentingnot Earthly
  • Exporting Radix UI and Tailwind CSS code via CLInot 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

Subframe

  • Free plan limited to 1 project and 10 pages
  • Free plan includes limited AI features compared to Pro
  • Pro plan billed per editor, not per team

Pricing, plan by plan

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

Subframe

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 project
    • Up to 10 pages
    • 2 prototypes
  • Pro$29/mo
    • Unlimited projects
    • Unlimited pages
    • Unlimited prototypes

Which should you pick?

Choose Earthly if

  • You need policy as code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want multi-stage enforcement.
Earthly review

Choose Subframe if

  • You want to start without paying.
Subframe review

Questions people ask

Is Earthly or Subframe better?
Neither clearly leads. Earthly starts at Free and Subframe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Earthly or Subframe?
Earthly starts at Free and Subframe at Free.
Does Earthly or Subframe run on more platforms?
Earthly runs on Web, API. Subframe 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 Subframe is typically brought in for.
What can Earthly do that Subframe 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
Subframe: Is there a free version of Subframe?

Yes, Subframe offers a free plan with 1 project, up to 10 pages, 2 prototypes, unlimited team members, and limited AI features.

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
Subframe: How is the Pro plan priced?

Subframe Pro costs $29 per editor per month, with unlimited projects, pages, prototypes, and AI usage.

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
Subframe: Are viewer seats free?

Yes, Subframe offers free viewer seats across all pricing plans, allowing team members to view without an editor license.

Source
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