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Developer Tools · head to head

Garden vs Procreate

Garden logo

Garden

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit GardenFull review
Procreate logo

Procreate

Design

Digital illustration app made for iPad

From
$12.99/one-time
Free plan
No
Visit ProcreateFull review

The short version

  • Procreate is a raster graphics editor app for digital painting.
  • Garden is free; Procreate starts at $12.99 one-off.
  • Only Garden lists action graph; only Procreate lists digital painting.
  • Where Procreate falls short: iPad-only application with no desktop version for Windows or macOS.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Garden and Procreate actually diverge.

Attributes where Garden and Procreate differ
AttributeGardenProcreate
Starting priceFree$12.99/one-time
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Self-hostediOS
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDesign

Not yet recorded: pricing model for Procreate, founded for Garden.

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 Procreate

  • Digital painting
  • Brush library
  • Layer management
  • Selection tools
  • Time-lapse recording
  • Apple Pencil
  • iPad Pro
  • Cloud services

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

Procreate

  • Digital illustrationnot Garden
  • Concept artnot Garden
  • Character designnot Garden
  • Educational artnot Garden
  • Hobby drawingnot 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

Procreate

  • iPad-only application with no desktop version for Windows or macOS
  • Requires Apple hardware investment (iPad and Apple Pencil)
  • Cannot export to cloud storage natively, limiting cross-device workflows
  • High upfront cost when accounting for required iPad hardware

Pricing, plan by plan

Garden

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

Procreate

$12.99/one-time
  • Procreate$12.99 one-off
    • 200+ brushes
    • Unlimited layers
    • Advanced blending modes
  • Procreate Pocket$5.99 one-off
    • iPhone version
    • Touch-optimized interface
  • Procreate Dreams$19.99 one-off
    • Animation tool
    • Frame-by-frame animation

Which should you pick?

Choose Garden if

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

Choose Procreate if

  • You need digital painting.
  • You work on iOS.
  • You also want brush library.
Procreate review

Questions people ask

Is Garden or Procreate better?
Neither clearly leads. Garden starts at Free and Procreate at $12.99/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Garden or Procreate?
Garden has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Garden and $12.99/one-time for Procreate.
Does Garden or Procreate run on more platforms?
Garden runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted. Procreate runs on iOS.
Can I use Garden for free?
Yes. Garden has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Procreate starts at $12.99/one-time.
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 Procreate is typically brought in for.
What can Garden do that Procreate cannot?
Garden covers Action graph, Shared result caching, Remote Kubernetes environments, In-cluster builds. Procreate covers Digital painting, Brush library, Layer management, Selection tools.

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.

Procreate: Does Procreate work on desktop or only iPad?

Procreate is iPad-only. There is no desktop version for Windows or macOS, requiring users to purchase iPad hardware and Apple Pencil for use.

Source
Garden: Do I need Kubernetes?

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

Procreate: What companion apps are available for Procreate?

Procreate Pocket is an iPhone version at $5.99, and Procreate Dreams is an animation tool at $19.99, both one-time purchases.

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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