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Developer Tools · head to head

Octopus Deploy vs OpsLevel

Octopus Deploy logo

Octopus Deploy

Developer Tools

Continuous delivery and runbook automation for releases

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpsLevel logo

OpsLevel

Developer Tools

Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and production readiness

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Octopus Deploy has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Octopus Deploy free tier caps at 10 projects, 10 tenants, 10 machines, 10 users, 5 concurrent tasks and 1 space; OpsLevel opsLevel does not publish prices at all, not even a starting figure, so you cannot size a budget or compare against Backstage's zero licence cost without entering a sales cycle.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Octopus Deploy and OpsLevel actually diverge.

Attributes where Octopus Deploy and OpsLevel differ
AttributeOctopus DeployOpsLevel
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo

Identical on both: platforms (Web), 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 Octopus Deploy

Nothing recorded that OpsLevel does not also cover.

Only in OpsLevel

  • Service catalogue
  • Scorecards and rubric
  • Checks
  • Campaigns
  • Self-service actions
  • Slack and Teams integration
  • Catalogue auto-enrichment
  • Deployment on request

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Octopus Deploy

  • Automating software deployments across development, testing, productionnot OpsLevel
  • Automating emergency tasks like website failover and incident responsenot OpsLevel
  • Managing multi-tenant deployments without duplicating configurationnot OpsLevel
  • Tracking DORA metrics and enforcing deployment approval gatesnot OpsLevel

OpsLevel

  • A platform team that needs to prove every production service has a named owner and an on-call rota before an auditnot Octopus Deploy
  • Driving a fleet-wide migration such as a runtime upgrade across 400 services with a deadline and visible progressnot Octopus Deploy
  • Giving developers a paved road to create a new service from a template without waiting on the platform teamnot Octopus Deploy
  • An organisation where an incident took an hour to route because nobody could identify the owning teamnot Octopus Deploy

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Octopus Deploy

  • Free tier caps at 10 projects, 10 tenants, 10 machines, 10 users, 5 concurrent tasks and 1 space
  • Annual billing is the only option for both Octopus Cloud and Octopus Server; there is no monthly plan
  • Professional cloud tier is $4,330 per year and Enterprise cloud is $24,600 per year, with tenants and machines sold as add-ons beyond the free allotment

OpsLevel

  • OpsLevel does not publish prices at all, not even a starting figure, so you cannot size a budget or compare against Backstage's zero licence cost without entering a sales cycle.
  • The Standard plan caps at 50 users, which is below the size at which service ownership becomes a real problem, so most genuine buyers land on Enterprise and its unpublished pricing.
  • Scores are only as honest as the metadata teams maintain; where ownership records go stale the rubric produces confident numbers about a catalogue that no longer reflects reality, and leadership acts on them.
  • It reports on quality rather than producing it, so it can generate friction between platform teams who set the rubric and product teams who see it as a scoreboard imposed on them without extra headcount to fix the findings.
  • As a hosted product it needs read access to source control, cloud accounts and observability tooling, which is a meaningful vendor review in regulated environments; on-premises exists but only on the Enterprise tier.

Pricing, plan by plan

Octopus Deploy

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 10 projects
    • 10 tenants
    • 10 machines
  • Professional (Cloud)$4330/year
    • Up to 100 projects
    • Unlimited spaces and users
    • Tenants and machines available as add-ons
  • Professional (Server)$2080/year
    • Up to 100 projects
    • Unlimited spaces and users
    • Tenants and machines available as add-ons
  • Enterprise (Cloud)$24600/year
    • 100+ projects supported
    • Unlimited spaces and users
    • 20 concurrent tasks

OpsLevel

On request
  • Standard$undefined/year
    • Up to 50 users
    • Unlimited catalogued components
    • Scorecards, campaigns and the global rubric
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom integrations
    • Customisable dashboards

Which should you pick?

Choose Octopus Deploy if

  • You want to start without paying.
Octopus Deploy review

Choose OpsLevel if

  • You need service catalogue.
  • You also want scorecards and rubric.
OpsLevel review

Questions people ask

Is Octopus Deploy or OpsLevel better?
Neither clearly leads. Octopus Deploy starts at Free and OpsLevel at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Octopus Deploy or OpsLevel?
Octopus Deploy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Octopus Deploy and On request for OpsLevel.
Does Octopus Deploy or OpsLevel run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Octopus Deploy for free?
Yes. Octopus Deploy has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. OpsLevel starts at On request.
What is Octopus Deploy best used for?
Octopus Deploy is most often used for automating software deployments across development, testing, production, automating emergency tasks like website failover and incident response, managing multi-tenant deployments without duplicating configuration, tracking dora metrics and enforcing deployment approval gates. Of those, automating software deployments across development, testing, production and automating emergency tasks like website failover and incident response are not what OpsLevel is typically brought in for.
What can Octopus Deploy do that OpsLevel cannot?
OpsLevel covers Service catalogue, Scorecards and rubric, Checks, Campaigns.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Octopus Deploy: How much does Octopus Deploy cost?

Octopus Deploy offers a free tier at $0/year with limits on projects (10), users (10), and tenants (10). Professional plans start at $2,080/year for self-hosted or $4,330/year for cloud hosting.

Source
OpsLevel: How much does OpsLevel cost?

It does not publish pricing. Billing is per developer using the portal, with volume discounts, and a quote requires a sales conversation.

Octopus Deploy: What does the free Octopus Deploy tier include?

The free tier includes 10 projects, 10 tenants, 10 machines, 10 users, 5 concurrent tasks, 1TB file storage, 100GB database storage, and community support only.

Source
OpsLevel: How does it compare with Backstage?

Backstage has no licence fee but you staff a team to build and run it. OpsLevel is hosted with checks, campaigns and scorecards out of the box, and you pay per developer instead.

Octopus Deploy: Can I try Octopus Deploy for free before purchasing?

Yes, a free tier is available with unlimited duration but capped usage, plus a 30-day free trial with full Enterprise features is offered to evaluate the platform.

Source
OpsLevel: Does it require writing catalogue YAML by hand?

No. It auto-discovers and enriches entries from connected systems, though teams still curate ownership and metadata.

Octopus Deploy: What are the Enterprise pricing differences between Cloud and Server hosting?

Enterprise Cloud hosting costs $24,600/year and includes 20 concurrent tasks and 24/7 support. Enterprise Server self-hosted costs $15,600/year with flexible concurrent task configuration and 24/7 support.

Source
OpsLevel: Can it run on premises?

Yes, but only on the Enterprise plan.

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