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Developer Tools · head to head

Garden vs Womp

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
Womp logo

Womp

Design

Browser 3D modelling built on blended implicit surfaces for non-specialists

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit WompFull review

The short version

  • Both are free.
  • Only Garden lists action graph; only Womp lists implicit surface modelling.
  • Where Womp falls short: nothing is dimensionally accurate, so a form designed here has to be remodelled in CAD before it can be manufactured.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Garden and Womp actually diverge.

Attributes where Garden and Womp differ
AttributeGardenWomp
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer user per month
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Self-hostedWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDesign

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

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 Womp

  • Implicit surface modelling
  • Browser rendering
  • Material library
  • Scene sharing
  • Export
  • Templates

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

Womp

  • Producing 3D product or icon visuals in a design team with no 3D specialistnot Garden
  • Making a set of consistent 3D illustrations for a website or campaign in a daynot Garden
  • Prototyping a form quickly for discussion before it is remodelled properly in CADnot Garden
  • Teaching 3D concepts without installing software on managed machinesnot 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

Womp

  • Everything runs through the browser graphics stack, so an older laptop with integrated graphics hits frame rate and render limits fast and there is no local rendering fallback
  • Implicit modelling gives no control over the exported mesh, so the output topology is unsuitable for rigging, animation or subdivision work downstream
  • Nothing is dimensionally accurate, so a form designed here has to be remodelled in CAD before it can be manufactured
  • Scenes live in the vendor account, so if the service changes or closes, the only copies you hold are whatever you exported in advance
  • The material and lighting set is deliberately simplified, which caps art direction and makes the output visually recognisable as having come from Womp

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

Womp

Free
  • FreeOn request
    • Public scenes
    • Limited render resolution
    • Limited storage
  • ProOn request
    • Private scenes
    • Higher render resolution
    • Mesh export and larger storage

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 Womp if

  • You need implicit surface modelling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want browser rendering.
Womp review

Questions people ask

Is Garden or Womp better?
Neither clearly leads. Garden starts at Free and Womp at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Garden or Womp?
Garden starts at Free and Womp at Free.
Does Garden or Womp run on more platforms?
Garden runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted. Womp runs on Web.
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 Womp is typically brought in for.
What can Garden do that Womp cannot?
Garden covers Action graph, Shared result caching, Remote Kubernetes environments, In-cluster builds. Womp covers Implicit surface modelling, Browser rendering, Material library, Scene sharing.

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.

Womp: Do I need to know 3D to use it?

No. That is the point of the modelling approach; there is no topology, edge flow or subdivision to understand.

Garden: Do I need Kubernetes?

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

Womp: Can I use the meshes in Blender or a game engine?

You can export them, but the topology comes from tessellating an implicit surface, so it is not suitable for rigging, animation or subdivision without a retopology pass.

Garden: Does it replace my CI system?

No. It runs inside GitHub Actions, GitLab CI or similar and speeds up what those pipelines execute.

Womp: Is it accurate enough for manufacturing?

No. It is a visual tool. Anything to be made needs remodelling in CAD.

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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