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Developer Tools · head to head

Garden vs Snyk

Garden logo

Garden

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Snyk logo

Snyk

Cybersecurity

Developer-first security platform

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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.; Snyk free plan has strict test limits across all modules: Open Source (200), Code (100), Infrastructure as Code (300), Container (100) tests per month
  • They diverge on capability: Garden covers Action graph, Snyk covers Open source security.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Garden and Snyk actually diverge.

Attributes where Garden and Snyk differ
AttributeGardenSnyk
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, KubernetesWeb, CLI, IDE integrations
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
FoundedUnknown2015

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

  • Open source security
  • Code security (SAST)
  • Container security
  • IaC security
  • License compliance
  • Fix PRs
  • Priority scoring
  • Developer IDE integration

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

Snyk

  • Vulnerability scanningnot Garden
  • Application securitynot Garden
  • Infrastructure as Code securitynot Garden
  • Container securitynot 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.

Snyk

  • Free plan has strict test limits across all modules: Open Source (200), Code (100), Infrastructure as Code (300), Container (100) tests per month
  • Free and Team plans count only contributing developers making commits within 90 days; public contributions do not count
  • Enterprise plan requires custom pricing and sales contact

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

Snyk

Free
  • FreeFree
    • SCA scanning
    • SAST scanning
    • IaC and Container scanning
  • Team$25/month
    • 1000 Code tests
    • 100 projects
    • Jira integration
  • Ignite$105/month
    • Unlimited tests
    • Unlimited projects
    • Custom security rules
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Zero-day prevention
    • Unified AppSec control
    • Full SDLC automation

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 Snyk if

  • You need open source security.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI, IDE integrations.
  • You also want code security (sast).
Snyk review

Questions people ask

Is Garden or Snyk better?
Neither clearly leads. Garden starts at Free and Snyk at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Garden or Snyk?
Garden starts at Free and Snyk at Free.
Does Garden or Snyk run on more platforms?
Garden runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes. Snyk runs on Web, CLI, IDE integrations.
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 Snyk is typically brought in for.
What can Garden do that Snyk cannot?
Garden covers Action graph, Shared result caching, Remote Kubernetes environments, In-cluster builds. Snyk covers Open source security, Code security (SAST), Container security, IaC security.

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.

Snyk: How much does Snyk cost?

Snyk offers a free plan with limited tests, Team plan at $25/month per contributing developer, Ignite at $1260/year, and custom Enterprise pricing. Contributing developers are those who made commits to private repos within the last 90 days.

Source
Garden: Do I need Kubernetes?

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

Snyk: What does Snyk's Team plan include?

The Team plan at $25/month includes 1000 Code tests, up to 100 projects, Jira integration, next business day support, and all features from the free plan including SCA, SAST, IaC and Container scanning.

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.

Snyk: Is there a free version of Snyk?

Yes, Snyk offers a free plan with full platform access including SCA, SAST, IaC and Container scanning. The free tier includes 200 Open Source tests, 100 Code tests, 300 IaC tests, 100 Container tests, and up to 5 projects.

Source
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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Related pages

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