Depot
Harbor
| Feature | Depot | Harbor |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $20/mo | Free only |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | engineering-teams, ci-cd-pipelines, monorepo-teams, docker-heavy-teams | enterprise-devops, container-teams, security-teams, regulated-industries |
| Founded | 2022 | 2016 |
| Fast Builds | ✓ | ✗ |
| Remote Caching | ✓ | ✗ |
| Github Actions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi Platform Builds | ✓ | ✗ |
| Buildkit Compatible | ✓ | ✗ |
| Build Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Container Registry | ✗ | ✓ |
| Vulnerability Scanning | ✗ | ✓ |
| Rbac | ✗ | ✓ |
| Image Signing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Replication | ✗ | ✓ |
| Garbage Collection | ✗ | ✓ |
| Audit Logs | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Depot Pros
- Dramatically faster Docker builds
- Drop-in replacement for docker build
- Native layer caching
- GitHub Actions integration
✗ Depot Cons
- Only for container builds
- Costs scale with usage
- Newer platform
✓ Harbor Pros
- Completely free and CNCF graduated project
- Built-in vulnerability scanning (Trivy integration)
- Image signing and policy enforcement
- Multi-registry replication for geo-distribution
✗ Harbor Cons
- Requires self-hosting and infrastructure management
- UI is functional but not modern
- Initial setup complexity for production
The Verdict
Depot is built for engineering teams and ci cd pipelines, with a focus on fast-builds and remote-caching. Harbor targets enterprise devops and container teams and leads with container-registry and vulnerability-scanning.
Harbor uses custom enterprise pricing, while Depot starts at $20/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Harbor offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Depot takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.