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Comparison · Infra & APIs
Depot vs Dub
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Depot and Dub — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Depot vs Dub: at a glance
| Feature | Depot | Dub |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Infra & APIs | Infra & APIs |
| Velocity score | 6.3 | 0.0 |
| Sparks · 30d | 1 | 0 |
| Top themes | ci-cd, build-acceleration, test-analytics, source-control | partner programs, affiliate marketing, link management, attribution |
| Last editorial update | 1d ago | 3mo ago |
| Website | — | — |
What is Depot?
Depot is expanding from faster builds into the whole CI stack — tests, source control, and its own metal.
Depot has spent the last month building outward from build acceleration. Test results went generally available with JUnit ingest, org-wide flaky and slow test analytics, and timing-based shard balancing. Underneath that, Depot Metal moved CI and Sandboxes onto bare-metal microVMs the company controls end to end, and Depot Code entered private beta as a diskless git server backed by blob storage. The smaller releases fill in the surrounding surface: Tailscale access to private networks, GitLab OIDC, Datadog CI Visibility, stacked pull requests, and macOS 26 runners on M4.
What is Dub?
Dub keeps building Dub Partners into a serious partner-program OS — staggered rewards, group rules, analytics depth.
Dub is in a sustained build-out of Dub Partners alongside the original link product. The recent window added staggered reward durations (e.g. 25% for the first 12 months, 10% after), automatic group moves when partners hit performance milestones with audit history, bulk partner invites with customizable emails, multi/negative analytics filters across partners and links, Stripe free-trial tracking as lead events, and Viewer/Billing workspace roles for finer-grained access.
Depot vs Dub: editorial side-by-side
Depot
6.3INFRA · APIS
Depot is expanding from faster builds into the whole CI stack — tests, source control, and its own metal.
◆ Current state
Depot has spent the last month building outward from build acceleration. Test results went generally available with JUnit ingest, org-wide flaky and slow test analytics, and timing-based shard balancing. Underneath that, Depot Metal moved CI and Sandboxes onto bare-metal microVMs the company controls end to end, and Depot Code entered private beta as a diskless git server backed by blob storage. The smaller releases fill in the surrounding surface: Tailscale access to private networks, GitLab OIDC, Datadog CI Visibility, stacked pull requests, and macOS 26 runners on M4.
◆ Where it's heading
Each layer Depot adds is one it previously rented — compute from cloud runners, source hosting from GitHub, test insight from nothing at all. Owning the storage and hypervisor tiers is what makes the performance claims possible, and owning test data is what turns a build accelerator into something that reports on the pipeline rather than just running it faster. The pattern suggests Depot is positioning as the full CI platform, with speed as the entry point rather than the product.
◆ Prediction
Depot Code should move from private to open beta with tighter Depot CI integration, since a git server the company controls is what makes source-aware caching and test selection possible. Expect the test analytics to grow toward selecting which tests to run, not only how to split them.
Dub
0.0INFRA · APIS
Dub keeps building Dub Partners into a serious partner-program OS — staggered rewards, group rules, analytics depth.
◆ Current state
Dub is in a sustained build-out of Dub Partners alongside the original link product. The recent window added staggered reward durations (e.g. 25% for the first 12 months, 10% after), automatic group moves when partners hit performance milestones with audit history, bulk partner invites with customizable emails, multi/negative analytics filters across partners and links, Stripe free-trial tracking as lead events, and Viewer/Billing workspace roles for finer-grained access.
◆ Where it's heading
The partner program is becoming the gravity well. Each release either deepens program operators' control (commission shapes, automated tiering, role-based access) or improves the analytics layer that justifies those decisions. The Stripe trial tracking suggests Dub wants to own the full attribution chain from click to subscription, not just clicks. Cadence is steady and clearly themed.
◆ Prediction
Expect more commission/tiering primitives — bonuses, tier overrides, retroactive adjustments — and tighter Stripe/attribution coupling that handles refunds and churn natively. A formal marketplace for discovering vetted partners is plausible once individual-partner-page features mature.
Alternatives to Depot and Dub
Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Depot or Dub.
werf
Four channels, one fix stream — werf's releases are mostly concurrency repairs.
ZoneMinder
1.38.4 is a security release in all but name, closing ACL gaps across the API.
Infisical
PAM and PKI now take up most of the lines in Infisical's release notes.
Biome
Biome's patch train keeps adding rules — and is quietly growing a Markdown linter.
DNSControl
DNSControl is rewriting its record internals in public, one release candidate at a time
Recent activity from Depot and Dub
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agoDepotmacOS 26 is now the default macOS version for GitHub Actions runners
- 9d agoDepotDepot CI now supports native GitHub stacked pull requests
- 14d agoDepotTest results are now generally available ⚡
- 22d agoDepotAI analysis available for all Depot CI workflows and jobs
- 28d agoDepotSplit CI test suites with historical timing data (beta)
- 1mo agoDepotDepot CI now supports Tailscale
- 5mo agoDubStaggered reward durations
- 5mo agoDubGroup move rules
- 5mo agoDubBulk invite partners (and other updates)
- 5mo agoDubAdvanced analytics filters
- 6mo agoDubSupport for tracking Stripe free trials
- 6mo agoDubBetter security with the new viewer and billing roles
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Depot and Dub?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Depot is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Depot better than Dub?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Depot is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Depot?
Top Depot alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Depot alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/depot for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Dub?
Top Dub alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Dub alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/dub for the full list with editorial commentary on each.