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Developer Tools · head to head

Sweep vs Earthly

Sweep logo

Sweep

Developer Tools

AI coding assistant for JetBrains IDEs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Sweep limited to JetBrains IDEs only, not available for VS Code or other editors; Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • They diverge on capability: Sweep covers Autocomplete, Earthly covers Policy as code.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Sweep and Earthly actually diverge.

Attributes where Sweep and Earthly differ
AttributeSweepEarthly
Pricing modelFreemium with paid tiersNo pricing published on website
PlatformsJetBrains IDEsWeb, CLI
Founded20232020

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 Sweep

  • Autocomplete
  • AI Agent
  • Full codebase indexing
  • Code review functionality
  • Multi-IDE support
  • GitHub integration

Only in Earthly

  • Policy as code
  • Multi-stage enforcement
  • AI agent governance
  • Repository-wide policies
  • Incident response automation
  • Compliance management
  • Earthfiles build tool
  • Satellites

What people use each for

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

Sweep

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

Earthly

  • Enforcing engineering standards across AI and human developersnot Sweep
  • Automating incident response procedures across all repositoriesnot Sweep
  • Embedding compliance requirements into development workflowsnot Sweep
  • Standardizing build processes with Earthfilesnot Sweep

Where each one falls short

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

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

Earthly

  • Pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • Earthly Lunar is a recent launch (2025) with limited track record
  • Primarily GitHub-focused; limited integration with other platforms
  • No public documentation on pricing or feature tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Sweep if

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

Choose Earthly if

  • You need policy as code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI.
  • You also want multi-stage enforcement.
Earthly review

Questions people ask

Is Sweep or Earthly better?
Neither clearly leads. Sweep starts at Free and Earthly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Sweep or Earthly?
Sweep starts at Free and Earthly at Free.
Does Sweep or Earthly run on more platforms?
Sweep runs on JetBrains IDEs. Earthly runs on Web, CLI.
Can I use Sweep for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Sweep best used for?
Sweep is most often used for accelerating code completion for jetbrains developers, automating refactoring tasks across codebases, handling bug fixes with full repository context, code review and quality assurance. Of those, accelerating code completion for jetbrains developers and automating refactoring tasks across codebases are not what Earthly is typically brought in for.
What can Sweep do that Earthly cannot?
Sweep covers Autocomplete, AI Agent, Full codebase indexing, Code review functionality. Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Earthly: What is the difference between Earthfiles and Earthly Lunar?

Earthfiles is an open-source build tool that reached 12,000 GitHub stars and is used by companies like NVIDIA, Intel, and Databricks. Earthly Lunar is a separate governance platform launched in 2025 for enforcing standards across development workflows.

Source
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
Earthly: How does Earthly Lunar enforce standards?

Lunar converts engineering standards, compliance requirements, and processes documented in AGENTS.md files, wikis, and incident postmortems into enforceable guardrails that apply consistently across repositories and development stages.

Source
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
Earthly: What is the pricing for Earthly Lunar?

Pricing is not published on the website. Interested customers should contact Earthly's sales team for current pricing and feature tiers.

Source
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