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Developer Tools · head to head

Garden vs Private Internet Access

Garden logo

Garden

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
P

Private Internet Access

Cybersecurity

Long-standing VPN service with a large server network and flexible multi-year plans

From
$11.99/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Garden has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; Private Internet Access monthly plan is priced noticeably higher than the discounted multi-year commitments, penalizing short-term users.
  • They diverge on capability: Garden covers Action graph, Private Internet Access covers Split tunneling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Garden and Private Internet Access actually diverge.

Attributes where Garden and Private Internet Access differ
AttributeGardenPrivate Internet Access
Starting priceFree$11.99/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Kuberneteswindows, mac, linux, ios, android
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

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 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 Private Internet Access

  • Split tunneling
  • Kill switch
  • Ad and tracker blocking
  • Dedicated IP add-on
  • Bundled antivirus add-on

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 Private Internet Access
  • An organisation with thirty or more services on Kubernetes where docker-compose no longer approximates productionnot Private Internet Access
  • Giving every developer an ephemeral namespace instead of queuing for one shared staging environmentnot Private Internet Access
  • Running the identical build and test definition locally and in CI so failures reproduce on a laptopnot Private Internet Access

Private Internet Access

  • Encrypting traffic on public Wi-Fi with a kill switchnot Garden
  • Blocking ads and trackers network-wide via MACEnot Garden
  • Maintaining a consistent connection identity with a dedicated IP add-onnot Garden
  • Committing to a long-term plan for a lower effective monthly ratenot 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.

Private Internet Access

  • Monthly plan is priced noticeably higher than the discounted multi-year commitments, penalizing short-term users.
  • Dedicated IP and antivirus are paid add-ons rather than included features.
  • Headquartered in a jurisdiction whose privacy reputation some competitors market against, despite audited no-logs claims.
  • App interface is less streamlined than some higher-priced premium VPN competitors.

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

Private Internet Access

$11.99/month
  • Monthly$11.99/month
    • Billed month to month
    • Full server network access
    • 30-day money-back guarantee
  • 1-Year$3.1/month
    • Billed annually at $37.19
    • Full server network access
  • 2-Year$2.19/month
    • Lowest advertised rate, billed every 2 years
    • Full server network access

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 Private Internet Access if

  • You need split tunneling.
  • You work on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.
  • You also want kill switch.
Private Internet Access review

Questions people ask

Is Garden or Private Internet Access better?
Neither clearly leads. Garden starts at Free and Private Internet Access at $11.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Garden or Private Internet Access?
Garden has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Garden and $11.99/month for Private Internet Access.
Does Garden or Private Internet Access run on more platforms?
Garden runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes. Private Internet Access runs on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.
Can I use Garden for free?
Yes. Garden has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Private Internet Access starts at $11.99/month.
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 Private Internet Access is typically brought in for.
What can Garden do that Private Internet Access cannot?
Garden covers Action graph, Shared result caching, Remote Kubernetes environments, In-cluster builds. Private Internet Access covers Split tunneling, Kill switch, Ad and tracker blocking, Dedicated IP add-on.

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.

Garden: Do I need Kubernetes?

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

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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