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Developer Tools · head to head

Garden vs Sweep

Garden logo

Garden

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sweep logo

Sweep

Developer Tools

AI coding assistant for JetBrains IDEs

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.; Sweep limited to JetBrains IDEs only, not available for VS Code or other editors
  • They diverge on capability: Garden covers Action graph, Sweep covers Autocomplete.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Garden and Sweep actually diverge.

Attributes where Garden and Sweep differ
AttributeGardenSweep
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeFreemium with paid tiers
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, KubernetesJetBrains IDEs
FoundedUnknown2023

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 Sweep

  • Autocomplete
  • AI Agent
  • Full codebase indexing
  • Code review functionality
  • Multi-IDE support
  • GitHub 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 Sweep
  • An organisation with thirty or more services on Kubernetes where docker-compose no longer approximates productionnot Sweep
  • Giving every developer an ephemeral namespace instead of queuing for one shared staging environmentnot Sweep
  • Running the identical build and test definition locally and in CI so failures reproduce on a laptopnot Sweep

Sweep

  • Accelerating code completion for JetBrains developersnot Garden
  • Automating refactoring tasks across codebasesnot Garden
  • Handling bug fixes with full repository contextnot Garden
  • Code review and quality assurancenot 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.

Sweep

  • Limited to JetBrains IDEs only, not available for VS Code or other editors
  • Free tier limited to 1,000 autocompletes per month
  • API credit consumption varies by feature usage
  • Performance dependent on codebase size and indexing quality

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

Sweep

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 autocompletes
    • 5 USD API credits included
    • All JetBrains IDEs supported
  • Pro$20/month
    • Unlimited autocomplete
    • Higher API credit allocation
    • Priority support
  • Ultra$60/month
    • Unlimited autocomplete
    • Maximum API credit allocation
    • Extended context window

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 Sweep if

  • You need autocomplete.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on JetBrains IDEs.
  • You also want ai agent.
Sweep review

Questions people ask

Is Garden or Sweep better?
Neither clearly leads. Garden starts at Free and Sweep at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Garden or Sweep?
Garden starts at Free and Sweep at Free.
Does Garden or Sweep run on more platforms?
Garden runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes. Sweep runs on JetBrains IDEs.
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 Sweep is typically brought in for.
What can Garden do that Sweep cannot?
Garden covers Action graph, Shared result caching, Remote Kubernetes environments, In-cluster builds. Sweep covers Autocomplete, AI Agent, Full codebase indexing, Code review functionality.

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.

Sweep: What programming languages does Sweep support?

Sweep works with all programming languages supported by JetBrains IDEs, including Python, Java, JavaScript, Go, Kotlin, C++, and many others.

Source
Garden: Do I need Kubernetes?

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

Sweep: Does Sweep retain my code data?

No. Sweep is SOC 2 Type II certified with zero data retention. Code is processed for suggestions but not stored.

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.

Sweep: Can I cancel my Sweep subscription anytime?

Yes. You can cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings with no long-term commitments or cancellation fees.

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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