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Head-to-head · Container Build Tools

Buildah vs Earthly

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 3 checks side by side
Higher score Buildah #3 in Container Build Tools 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 3 features Visit Buildah
Earthly #6 in Container Build Tools 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Earthly

Buildah leads on 0 checks, Earthly on 0, and 3 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 3 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreBuildah · 8.9/10
  • Free planboth
  • Most featuresEarthly · 2 of 3

Buildah scores higher on our rubric for container build tools: 8.9 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #6.

Buildah is the better fit for free daemonless Linux image builds. Earthly is the better fit for portable builds with local and remote caching.

  • Buildah fits best

    Free daemonless Linux image builds

  • Earthly fits best

    Portable builds with local and remote caching

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Buildah 8.9/10 Visit ↗ Earthly 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.9 8.6
Ranking #3 in Container Build Tools #6 in Container Build Tools
Best for Free daemonless Linux image builds Portable builds with local and remote caching
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free plan Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted, Desktop
Platforms Linux Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Support Community, Docs Email, Community, Docs
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Buildah 0/3 · Earthly 2/3
Multi-architecture builds Not checked yet ✓ (best)
SBOM generation Not checked yet Not checked yet
Build secret handling Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Specs
Build method Not checked yet Local_daemon
Build cache backends Not checked yet Multiple
Concurrent builds Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Builds from Dockerfiles, Containerfiles, commands, Git, or tarballs
  • Supports rootless, daemonless builds in OCI and Docker formats
  • Includes multi-stage builds, caching, and registry push and pull
  • Isolates builds in containers for repeatable local and CI workflows
  • Supports parallel targets, layer caching, and persistent remote caching
  • Builds multi-platform images plus reusable artifacts and non-image outputs
Cons
  • Linux-focused, with no Windows container support
  • Does not provide a hosted interface or managed service
  • Requires command-line workflows rather than a graphical builder
  • The official repository says Earthly is no longer actively maintained
  • Earthfile syntax adds a dedicated workflow layer to build pipelines
  • Remote runners and persistent cloud caching extend the platform beyond local builds
Our verdict

Buildah is an open-source command-line tool for building and managing container images and working containers. It is aimed at developers and platform teams that need direct control over image creation on Linux distributions. Builds can…

Read the review →

Earthly is a containerized build framework for software teams that need consistent workflows across developer machines and continuous integration systems. Teams define build logic in Earthfiles, using syntax influenced by Dockerfiles and…

Read the review →
  1. BuildahContainer Build Tools 8.9Free plan
  2. EarthlyContainer Build Tools 8.6Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Buildah — where it wins

    • Builds from Dockerfiles, Containerfiles, commands, Git, or tarballs
    • Supports rootless, daemonless builds in OCI and Docker formats
    • Includes multi-stage builds, caching, and registry push and pull

    Where it doesn't

    • Linux-focused, with no Windows container support
    • Does not provide a hosted interface or managed service
    • Requires command-line workflows rather than a graphical builder

  • Earthly — where it wins

    • Isolates builds in containers for repeatable local and CI workflows
    • Supports parallel targets, layer caching, and persistent remote caching
    • Builds multi-platform images plus reusable artifacts and non-image outputs

    Where it doesn't

    • The official repository says Earthly is no longer actively maintained
    • Earthfile syntax adds a dedicated workflow layer to build pipelines
    • Remote runners and persistent cloud caching extend the platform beyond local builds

More comparisons

All container build tools comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update