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Developer Tools · head to head

Garden vs TeamCity

Garden logo

Garden

Developer Tools

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
TeamCity logo

TeamCity

Software Development

JetBrains continuous integration and delivery server

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.; TeamCity detailed pricing requires visiting a calculator and isn't transparent on the main pricing page.
  • They diverge on capability: Garden covers Action graph, TeamCity covers Build Chains.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Garden and TeamCity actually diverge.

Attributes where Garden and TeamCity differ
AttributeGardenTeamCity
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetesweb, windows, mac, linux, api
CategoryDeveloper ToolsSoftware Development

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 TeamCity

  • Build Chains
  • Parallel Test Execution
  • VCS Integration
  • Build History & Analytics
  • Docker & Kubernetes Support
  • Access Control

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

TeamCity

  • Running build and test pipelines for enterprise software teamsnot Garden
  • Self-hosting CI/CD infrastructure behind a firewallnot Garden
  • Coordinating multi-stage build chains with dependenciesnot Garden
  • Scaling build capacity with additional agentsnot 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.

TeamCity

  • Detailed pricing requires visiting a calculator and isn't transparent on the main pricing page.
  • Self-hosted setup and agent management require more operational overhead than fully managed CI/CD services.
  • Additional build agents and users are priced incrementally, which can add up for larger teams.
  • The UI and configuration model have a steeper learning curve compared to YAML-first CI tools.

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

TeamCity

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • Includes 3 build agents
    • 100 build configurations
    • On-premises or Cloud
  • TeamCity Cloud / On-Premises$undefined/month
    • Priced per additional build agent
    • Additional users on Cloud plans
    • Enterprise support options

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 TeamCity if

  • You need build chains.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, windows, mac, linux, api.
  • You also want parallel test execution.
TeamCity review

Questions people ask

Is Garden or TeamCity better?
Neither clearly leads. Garden starts at Free and TeamCity at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Garden or TeamCity?
Garden starts at Free and TeamCity at Free.
Does Garden or TeamCity run on more platforms?
Garden runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes. TeamCity runs on web, windows, mac, linux, api.
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 TeamCity is typically brought in for.
What can Garden do that TeamCity cannot?
Garden covers Action graph, Shared result caching, Remote Kubernetes environments, In-cluster builds. TeamCity covers Build Chains, Parallel Test Execution, VCS Integration, Build History & Analytics.

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.

TeamCity: How much does TeamCity cost?

TeamCity offers a free download option but specific pricing for commercial use is not detailed on the website. Customers must contact JetBrains for licensing and pricing information.

Source
Garden: Do I need Kubernetes?

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

TeamCity: Is TeamCity free to use?

TeamCity has a free option available for download, but full pricing and licensing details require contacting JetBrains directly.

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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Related pages

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