Harness

What is Harness?

Use is a unified, AI-powered software delivery platform designed for DevOps teams, security engineers, and platform engineers who need end-to-end control over the software development lifecycle. It covers continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD), feature management, security testing, infrastructure management, and cloud cost optimization in a single platform. Teams can model pipelines visually or through YAML, and the platform automatically detects performance regressions, triggers rollbacks, and enforces governance policies. Use also offers an open-source version that unifies code hosting, CI/CD pipelines, hosted environments, and artifact management for teams who prefer self-managed infrastructure.

Key Features

• CI/CD Automation: Automates building, testing, deploying, and rolling back code using ready-made templates for canary, blue/green, and rolling deployment strategies, with event-based triggers and approval flows.
• Feature Management and Experimentation: Manages feature flags to decouple deployment from release, supporting incremental rollouts, A/B testing, and progressive delivery without requiring new code deployments.
• Security Testing Orchestration (STO): Automates security scanning across code, containers, open-source libraries, and live applications, covering SAST, SCA, supply chain security, and API runtime protection.
• AI-Powered Automation: Generates pipelines from natural language input, provides automated troubleshooting with root cause analysis, enforces policy-as-code via natural language, and dynamically selects the best language model for each task.
• Infrastructure as Code Management: Provides version-controlled infrastructure management integrated directly into CI/CD pipelines, with support for Terraform and GitOps workflows.
• Internal Developer Portal: Offers self-service access for developers to discover services, manage ownership, and follow standardized workflows without waiting on platform teams.
• Cloud Cost Management (CCM): Monitors and optimizes cloud spending in real time, with granular resource-level visibility across providers.
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Governance: Includes hierarchical RBAC, attribute-based access controls, IP allowlisting, audit trails, and policy-as-code using OPA for standardized compliance.

Use Cases

• DevOps teams automating code delivery: Engineering teams use Use to set up CI/CD pipelines that build, test, deploy, and roll back code automatically. This reduces manual intervention and cuts deployment times. One customer reduced Jenkins maintenance by 98% after migrating to Use, and another reported onboarding a new service in one hour.
• Security teams managing vulnerabilities in pipelines: Security engineers integrate Use STO into their delivery pipelines to scan code and containers continuously, prioritize vulnerabilities, and remediate issues before code reaches production.
• Product managers running controlled releases: Product teams use feature flags to roll out new functionality to specific user segments, run A/B experiments, and reverse changes instantly if problems appear, without waiting for a new deployment.
• Platform engineers managing multi-cloud infrastructure: Infrastructure teams use the IaC Management and GitOps modules to track infrastructure changes in version control, enforce consistent configurations, and audit every change across cloud providers.
• Enterprise organizations requiring governance at scale: Large teams use Use to standardize pipelines, enforce compliance policies, and manage access across hundreds of developers, with support for SAML, LDAP, and OAuth authentication.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths:

• Quick setup and intuitive interface for core workflows like feature flags and CI/CD pipelines, with G2 reviewers citing ease of use in over 114 mentions across 304 reviews.
• Built-in connectors and SDK support across multiple languages make integration with existing tools simple, noted in over 75 G2 mentions.
• Feature flag capabilities simplify A/B testing, progressive releases, and rollbacks, reducing deployment risk without requiring code changes.
• AI-powered automation covers a wide range from pipeline generation to cost optimization, giving teams tools that go beyond basic CI/CD.
• Rated 4.6 out of 5 on G2 from 304 verified reviews, with recognition as a leader in 11 G2 categories including Continuous Delivery, DevOps, and Automation Testing.

Weaknesses:

• The UI is frequently described as cluttered and complex, with a steep learning curve particularly for the Next Gen UI, noted in over 20 G2 reviews.
• Some reviewers report missing basic functionality, including limitations in filtering and search, and gaps in feature flag targeting options, flagged in over 23 G2 mentions.
• Support responsiveness has been called out as inconsistent, with some features still maturing as the platform continues to develop.
• Connectivity issues with Kubernetes infrastructure and resource constraints on build agents can cause deployment failures that require manual diagnosis.

Pricing

• Free: $0/month, includes 2,000 cloud credits per month, CI access for up to 5 developers with limited build minutes, limited services for CD, limited monthly active users (MAUs) for Feature Flags, and Cloud Cost Management for cloud spend under $250,000 per year.
• Startup/Team: Starting at $57/developer/month, self-service with per-developer pricing; module-specific costs range from $50 to $100 per developer per month for CI, $100 to $300 per service per month for CD, $20 to $50 per 1,000 MAUs for Feature Flags, and 1 to 3 percent of cloud spend (or $500 to $1,500 flat) for CCM. Startup eligibility applies to organizations with fewer than 500 employees, up to 100 developer licenses, or less than $5 million in CCM cloud spend.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing based on developer count, modules, usage, and contract term. Example costs range from approximately $23,000 to $41,000 per year for a 200-person organization, with an average reported contract value around $49,200. Includes advanced governance, unlimited access, dedicated support, and premier support options. Contact Use sales for a quote.

Note: Pricing depends on negotiation and usage. Actual costs vary by module combination and volume.

FAQ

What is Harness?

Use is a unified, AI-powered software delivery platform that covers CI/CD automation, feature management, security testing, infrastructure management, and cloud cost optimization. It is designed for DevOps teams, security engineers, and platform engineers working across cloud and on-premise environments.

Who is Harness built for?

Use is built for DevOps engineers, platform engineers, security teams, and product managers who need to automate and govern software delivery at scale. It serves both small startups and large enterprise organizations.

What deployment strategies does Harness support?

Use supports canary, blue/green, and rolling deployment strategies out of the box. Teams can configure these via visual pipeline editors or YAML templates, with automatic performance regression detection and self-service rollbacks.

Does Harness support feature flags?

Yes. Use includes a Feature Management and Experimentation module that lets teams toggle features at runtime without new code deployments. It supports incremental rollouts, A/B testing, and progressive delivery with impact detection across simultaneous rollouts.

What security capabilities does Harness include?

Use provides Security Testing Orchestration (STO) for automated scanning of code, containers, open-source libraries, and live applications. It also includes SAST, Software Composition Analysis (SCA), supply chain security, and Web Application and API Protection modules.

Is Harness free to use?

Yes, Use offers a free tier at $0 per month. It includes 2,000 cloud credits per month, CI access for up to 5 developers, limited CD services, limited Feature Flag MAUs, and Cloud Cost Management for cloud spend under $250,000 per year.

How much does Harness cost?

Paid plans start at $57 per developer per month for the Startup/Team tier. Enterprise pricing is custom and varies by developer count, modules selected, and contract terms. Reported enterprise contracts range from approximately $23,000 to $41,000 per year for mid-sized organizations.

What integrations does Harness support?

Use integrates with GitHub, Jenkins, Prometheus, Datadog, AppDynamics, Nexus, Bamboo, Artifactory, Helm Repo, Docker Registry, AWS, Google Cloud, and Terraform, among others. It also connects to Kubernetes infrastructure via a "Delegate" component.

What AI features does Harness include?

Use AI can generate pipelines from natural language descriptions, provide automated troubleshooting with root cause analysis, enforce policy-as-code via natural language, and dynamically select the best language model for each task across the software delivery lifecycle.

How does Harness compare to Jenkins?

Use is a managed platform with built-in AI, governance, feature flags, and cost management, while Jenkins is an open-source automation server that requires significant manual configuration and maintenance. One Use customer reported reducing Jenkins maintenance by 98% after migrating.

What are common complaints about Harness?

The most commonly reported issues include a complex and cluttered UI with a steep learning curve, missing basic features in areas like filtering and search, and inconsistent support responsiveness. Technical issues such as Kubernetes connectivity problems and resource constraints on build agents are also documented.

Is Harness rated well by users?

Use holds a 4.6 out of 5 star rating on G2 based on 304 verified reviews. G2 recognizes it as a leader in 11 categories including Continuous Delivery, DevOps, and Automation Testing.

Does Harness support Infrastructure as Code?

Yes. The Infrastructure as Code Management module provides version-controlled infrastructure integrated directly into CI/CD pipelines, with support for Terraform, GitOps workflows, and auditable change tracking.

What are alternatives to Harness?

Common alternatives include GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, CircleCI, Spinnaker, and Jenkins for CI/CD. For feature management specifically, LaunchDarkly is a frequently compared option. The best choice depends on team size, existing toolchain, and whether a unified platform or specialized tools are preferred.

Does Harness have an open-source version?

Yes. Use offers an open-source version that unifies code hosting, CI/CD pipelines, hosted environments, and artifact management. The open-source edition is available for teams who prefer self-managed infrastructure.