Tekton is a cloud-native, Kubernetes-based CI/CD framework offering maximum flexibility and portability across platforms, while GitHub Actions is a tightly integrated GitHub-native CI/CD solution optimized for GitHub repositories with simpler setup and lower operational overhead.
Tekton vs GitHub Actions — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Budget-friendly hand and power tool brand owned by Lowe's Companies offering wrenches, sockets, drills, and fastening equipment.
Free CI/CD automation platform natively integrated with GitHub repositories.
Platform Lock-in. Setup Complexity. Free Tier Minutes. GitHub Integration. Learning Curve. Ecosystem Maturity. Multi-Repository Support
Choose Tekton if you need cloud portability, multi-repository orchestration, unlimited execution, or work in complex Kubernetes environments where vendor lock-in is a concern. Choose GitHub Actions if you're already in the GitHub ecosystem, want minimal setup overhead, need quick CI/CD without infrastructure management, or prefer GitHub's native integration and marketplace ecosystem.
Tekton: 120-240 minutes | GitHub Actions: 5-15 minutes
Tekton: Unlimited (self-hosted) | GitHub Actions: 2,000-3,000
Tekton: GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Bitbucket | GitHub Actions: GitHub (primary), limited others
Tekton: Hub with ~500 Tekton tasks | GitHub Actions: 18,000+ actions
Tekton: Red Hat, Google, IBM, Shopify | GitHub Actions: Microsoft, GitHub, 60% of public repos
Tekton: Native self-hosted | GitHub Actions: Self-hosted runners available
Tekton: 200+ community tasks | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: Required | GitHub Actions: Not required
Tekton: Dashboard not included | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: 25% of K8s CI/CD users | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: 31% of K8s CI/CD users | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: 200+ (Tekton Hub) | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: 3-5 days (YAML syntax) | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: Requires orchestration | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: Optional (webhook-based) | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: ~3,000 stars | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: ~50-80 official tasks | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: ~3-5% market share | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: Built-in, runs as CRDs | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: Every step containerized | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: ~5 years (2019 release) | GitHub Actions: 6 years (since 2019)
Tekton: Primary (CRDs) | GitHub Actions: N/A
Setup Complexity (1-10, lower is easier)
Tekton: 8/10 (Kubernetes expertise required) | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: $25 (basic socket set) | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: $280 (1/2-inch impact wrench) | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: 850 (18V drill) | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: 2-5 (basic tool use) | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: Not applicable | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: -10 to 50°C (tool dependent) | GitHub Actions: N/A
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 3,000 (public repos)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 1 (GitHub only)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 256 concurrent
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 20,000+ actions
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Standard support available
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Supported with basic controls
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 15 minutes to first workflow
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 10000+ actions
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 2000 minutes (GitHub-hosted runners)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: GitHub only (primary)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Low - Simple YAML syntax
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Cloud-hosted and self-hosted
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Limited by GitHub account quotas
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: $231/user/year (GitHub Enterprise)
Free Monthly CI/CD Minutes (Private Repos)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 2,000 minutes
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 0.5 GB per project
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 11,000+ Actions
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: $200/month (Advanced Security tier)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Enterprise Server tier (paid only, $231+/month)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Issues, basic Boards, limited automation
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Integrated (GitHub-only)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 20 matrix configurations
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 13,000+ actions
Monthly Infrastructure Cost (10-developer team)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: $25 (usage-based + GitHub Team)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 2,000 (private) / unlimited (public)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 1 week (YAML basics)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 20 (GitHub-hosted runners)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Native (zero additional setup)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: No (GitHub cloud default, Enterprise option)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: $0 (free tier available)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 2,000 (private repos)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 360 (6 hours)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Native (built-in)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 5-10 (YAML config only)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 2,000 (unlimited for public repos)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 20 concurrent jobs
Configuration File Complexity (1-5 scale)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 4 (complex YAML, matrix builds)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: GitHub only
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 3,000 minutes
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 10,000+ verified actions
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 42% of CI/CD users (2024)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 5 minutes (native UI)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 3 (Linux, Windows, macOS)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 2,000 (public repos only)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: $0.008/minute
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Standard caching (1x baseline)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 15,000+ actions
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Not supported
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 2-3 minutes (native)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 2,000 minutes/month
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: $0.008 per minute
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Requires plugins
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Free (2,000 min/month included)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 2,000 (public: unlimited)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: Via third-party actions (workaround)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 6 years (2019)
Monthly Cost (5 Private Repos, 100 builds/month)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: $14.40 (2,000 free min + 1,800 excess min × $0.008)
Default Concurrent Jobs (Free/Base Tier)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 10,000+ public actions
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 5GB (per repository)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 2-3 minutes (GitHub integration native)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: No (fully managed by GitHub)
Tekton: N/A | GitHub Actions: 20 jobs maximum per repository
How to choose between Tekton and GitHub Actions
Tekton vs GitHub Actions — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Tekton vs GitHub Actions. Contains 117 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Tekton vs GitHub Actions — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Tekton vs GitHub Actions.
No. Tekton is fundamentally built on Kubernetes and requires a running Kubernetes cluster (v1.17+) to function. It uses Kubernetes Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs) and relies on Kubernetes operators for execution. If you don't have Kubernetes infrastructure, GitHub Actions or traditional CI/CD tools are better choices.
What are the actual costs of running Tekton vs GitHub Actions at scale?
Tekton costs depend on your Kubernetes infrastructure (compute, storage, networking) but offers unlimited pipeline executions. GitHub Actions at scale costs $0.008 per minute for Linux runners beyond free tier limits. A team running 10,000 minutes/month would pay ~$64/month on GitHub Actions. Tekton's cost is typically the Kubernetes cluster itself, which might range $100-500/month depending on workload sizing.
Can GitHub Actions workflows migrate to Tekton?
Partially. Both use YAML workflows but have different syntax and concepts. GitHub Actions uses 'jobs' and 'steps' while Tekton uses 'Tasks,' 'Pipelines,' and 'PipelineRuns.' Simple workflows can be adapted in 1-2 hours, but complex workflows with GitHub-specific actions may require significant rewriting since Tekton tasks aren't directly compatible with GitHub Actions.
Which platform handles multi-repository CI/CD pipelines better?
Tekton is superior for multi-repository orchestration. It natively supports triggering pipelines across multiple Git repositories and providers (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket) using webhooks and can manage dependencies between repos. GitHub Actions is repository-centric and excels within a single repo but struggles coordinating across multiple repositories.
Does GitHub Actions work with non-GitHub repositories?
Minimally. GitHub Actions can be triggered by webhooks from external Git platforms (GitLab, Bitbucket) but requires custom webhook configuration and loses GitHub's native integration benefits. Tekton handles multi-Git-provider scenarios natively, making it the better choice for organizations using GitLab or other non-GitHub platforms.
How to Choose Between Tekton and GitHub Actions
Platform Lock-in: Tekton has Cloud-agnostic, runs on any Kubernetes cluster, while GitHub Actions has GitHub-only, requires GitHub repository.
Setup Complexity: Tekton has Requires Kubernetes expertise and cluster management, while GitHub Actions has YAML file in repo, no infrastructure setup needed.
Free Tier Minutes: Tekton has Unlimited (self-hosted only), while GitHub Actions has 2,000 minutes/month for public repos, 3,000 for private.
GitHub Integration: Tekton has Requires manual webhook configuration, while GitHub Actions has Native GitHub integration with automatic triggers.
Learning Curve: Tekton has Steep - requires Kubernetes, CRDs, and pipeline concepts, while GitHub Actions has Gentle - familiar YAML syntax, GitHub-native.
Ecosystem Maturity: Tekton has 9 years old (since 2015 as Jenkins X), CNCF sandbox project, while GitHub Actions has 6 years old (launched 2019), owned by Microsoft.
Multi-Repository Support: Tekton has Native support across any Git provider, while GitHub Actions has Primarily GitHub, limited third-party repo support.