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Developer Tools · head to head

Garden vs JFrog Artifactory

Garden logo

Garden

Developer Tools

Kubernetes development and testing automation with shared caching, now owned by Incredibuild

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
JFrog Artifactory logo

JFrog Artifactory

Developer Tools

The Universal Binary Repository

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Garden incredibuild acquired Garden in November 2024 and the pricing page now redirects to documentation, so there is no public commercial offer and no published roadmap for a team betting a platform on it.; JFrog Artifactory pro tier limited-time pricing at $50/month (regular rate $150/month); overages charged per GB at tiered rates
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Garden and JFrog Artifactory actually diverge.

Attributes where Garden and JFrog Artifactory differ
AttributeGardenJFrog Artifactory
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeusage-based
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, KubernetesWeb

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 Garden

  • Action graph
  • Shared result caching
  • Remote Kubernetes environments
  • In-cluster builds
  • Same config everywhere
  • Hot reload sync
  • Helm and Kustomize support
  • Templating

Only in JFrog Artifactory

Nothing recorded that Garden does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Garden

  • A platform team whose integration test suite takes longer than the coffee break and needs caching to cut the loopnot JFrog Artifactory
  • An organisation with thirty or more services on Kubernetes where docker-compose no longer approximates productionnot JFrog Artifactory
  • Giving every developer an ephemeral namespace instead of queuing for one shared staging environmentnot JFrog Artifactory
  • Running the identical build and test definition locally and in CI so failures reproduce on a laptopnot JFrog Artifactory

JFrog Artifactory

  • Governing AI models and agents in single source of truthnot Garden
  • Syncing artifacts across federated repositories in multiple sitesnot Garden
  • Blocking risky and non-compliant open-source packages proactivelynot Garden
  • Automating source code vulnerability remediation in real-timenot Garden
  • Collecting compliance evidence throughout software lifecyclenot Garden

Where each one falls short

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

Garden

  • Incredibuild acquired Garden in November 2024 and the pricing page now redirects to documentation, so there is no public commercial offer and no published roadmap for a team betting a platform on it.
  • It is tightly bound to Kubernetes, so teams running on ECS, Nomad, plain VMs or serverless get little from it and would need a different tool entirely.
  • The YAML action graph is a real configuration surface: a large monorepo needs someone to own and maintain Garden config as a first-class artefact, which is a standing platform-engineering cost.
  • Shared remote environments mean every developer needs cluster access and a cost allocation model, so cloud spend rises and namespace sprawl becomes a thing you have to police.
  • Caching correctness depends on declaring dependencies accurately; an under-declared action will serve a stale cached pass and hide a genuine test failure, which is a hard class of bug to notice.

JFrog Artifactory

  • Pro tier limited-time pricing at $50/month (regular rate $150/month); overages charged per GB at tiered rates
  • Enterprise+ plan requires custom quote; specific pricing not published
  • Consumption-based model adds unpredictability to monthly costs for variable storage needs

Pricing, plan by plan

Garden

Free
  • Garden open sourceFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed CLI
    • Full action graph and caching
    • Self-managed clusters
  • Commercial tier$undefined/year
    • Hosted caching and team features
    • Support and onboarding
    • Pricing no longer published since the Incredibuild acquisition

JFrog Artifactory

Free
  • Pro$50/month
    • Limited-time offer pricing (regularly $150/month)
    • 25 GB storage included monthly
    • Tiered overage pricing: $1.25 per GB at 25-1,204 GB usage
  • Enterprise X$950/month
    • 125 GB storage included
    • High availability and artifact federation
    • SSO and advanced security scanning included

Which should you pick?

Choose Garden if

  • You need action graph.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes.
  • You also want shared result caching.
Garden review

Choose JFrog Artifactory if

  • You want to start without paying.
JFrog Artifactory review

Questions people ask

Is Garden or JFrog Artifactory better?
Neither clearly leads. Garden starts at Free and JFrog Artifactory at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Garden or JFrog Artifactory?
Garden starts at Free and JFrog Artifactory at Free.
Does Garden or JFrog Artifactory run on more platforms?
Garden runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes. JFrog Artifactory runs on Web.
Can I use Garden for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Garden best used for?
Garden is most often used for a platform team whose integration test suite takes longer than the coffee break and needs caching to cut the loop, an organisation with thirty or more services on kubernetes where docker-compose no longer approximates production, giving every developer an ephemeral namespace instead of queuing for one shared staging environment, running the identical build and test definition locally and in ci so failures reproduce on a laptop. Of those, a platform team whose integration test suite takes longer than the coffee break and needs caching to cut the loop and an organisation with thirty or more services on kubernetes where docker-compose no longer approximates production are not what JFrog Artifactory is typically brought in for.
What can Garden do that JFrog Artifactory cannot?
Garden covers Action graph, Shared result caching, Remote Kubernetes environments, In-cluster builds.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Garden: Is Garden still maintained?

The open source project remains on GitHub under Incredibuild ownership, but the commercial pricing page redirects to the docs and there is no public paid offer.

JFrog Artifactory: How much does JFrog Artifactory cost?

JFrog Artifactory Pro is currently $50 per month (limited-time rate; regular $150/month) with 25 GB included and $1.25 per GB for overages. Enterprise X starts at $950 per month with 125 GB included. Enterprise+ plans use custom pricing available through sales.

Source
Garden: Do I need Kubernetes?

Effectively yes. Garden is built around Kubernetes environments and offers little to teams on other runtimes.

JFrog Artifactory: What are JFrog's data storage limits?

JFrog Artifactory charges based on consumption: Pro includes 25 GB monthly with tiered overage costs ($1.25/GB at 25-1,204 GB, $1.00/GB at 1,204-2,024 GB, $0.75/GB above 2,024 GB). Enterprise X includes 125 GB with similar tiered overages for additional storage.

Source
Garden: Does it replace my CI system?

No. It runs inside GitHub Actions, GitLab CI or similar and speeds up what those pipelines execute.

Garden: What is the actual saving?

It comes from skipping builds and tests whose inputs have not changed, so the benefit scales with how many services you have and how often only a few change.

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