Roadie vs. Atlassian Compass

Full Developer Portal vs. Software Catalog

Organizations choose Roadie over Compass because they need a complete Internal Developer Portal, not just a component catalog. Compass removed its self-service capabilities in December 2025. Roadie offers 146+ automation actions, docs-as-code, and an open plugin ecosystem that works with your existing tools.

Why Roadie?

Roadie gives engineering teams a fully managed developer portal with self-service automation, integrated documentation, and connections to the tools you already use. Compass started as an Atlassian-ecosystem catalog and has moved away from developer self-service entirely.

Self-Service Automation Still Works

Atlassian removed Templates from Compass on December 1, 2025. There is no replacement. If you need developers to spin up new services, provision infrastructure, or run standardized workflows through a portal, Compass can no longer help.

Roadie's Scaffolder is a core feature with active development:

• 146+ built-in actions for GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, AWS, PagerDuty, Slack, and more
• Custom actions you can write and host yourself for any CLI or API
• YAML-defined templates stored in your repos alongside your code
• Form-based UI that guides developers through inputs and runs steps automatically

When a developer needs to create a new microservice, they pick a template, fill out a form, and Roadie handles the repo creation, CI/CD setup, monitoring configuration, and catalog registration. No tickets. No waiting.

Docs-as-Code, Not Just Markdown Rendering

Compass does not have a documentation engine. You can link to external docs, but there's no built-in solution for creating, building, or searching technical documentation.

Roadie includes TechDocs, a purpose-built docs-as-code system:

• Markdown files in your repos get compiled into searchable documentation sites
• Automatic builds triggered when docs change
• Consistent navigation and search across all your services
• Validation catches broken links and formatting issues before publishing

Engineers write docs next to their code. TechDocs handles the rest. This is the same approach used at Spotify, where Backstage and TechDocs originated.

Works With Your Tools, Not Just Atlassian's

Compass integrates well with Jira, Bitbucket, and Confluence. Outside the Atlassian ecosystem, options narrow quickly:

• GitLab: SaaS only. Self-hosted GitLab is not supported.
• Azure DevOps: Requires a third-party marketplace app.
• GitHub: Supported, but you lose the tight Jira integration that makes Compass appealing in the first place.

Roadie connects to the tools engineering teams actually use:

• GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps: First-class support including self-hosted versions
• AWS, GCP, Azure: Native integrations for cloud resources
• PagerDuty, Datadog, Snyk, SonarQube: Observability and security tools your teams already have
• 200+ community plugins: If someone in the Backstage community uses a tool, there's probably a plugin for it

Open Ecosystem vs. Atlassian Lock-in

Compass is a proprietary SaaS product. Your component data, scorecards, and configurations live in Atlassian's format. If you later decide to move to a different platform, you're starting over.

Roadie is built on Backstage, the open-source standard for developer portals. Your catalog definitions are YAML files in your repos. Your templates are portable. If you ever decide to self-host, you can take everything with you.

This matters for three reasons:

1. No vendor lock-in: Your investment in catalog modeling and automation transfers to any Backstage-compatible platform.
2. Community momentum: 1,000+ contributors are building plugins, fixing bugs, and adding features to Backstage. Compass development is limited to Atlassian's internal team.
3. Hiring advantage: Engineers who learn Backstage at your company can apply that knowledge elsewhere. It's a transferable skill, not proprietary knowledge.

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Feature Comparison

Feature	Roadie	Compass
Self-Service Workflows
Create new services from templates	✅ 146+ actions	❌ Removed Dec 2025
Custom automation actions	✅	❌
Infrastructure provisioning	✅	❌
Documentation
Docs-as-code engine	✅ TechDocs	❌
Search across all docs	✅	❌
Build pipeline for docs	✅	❌
Catalog
Component catalog	✅	✅
Dependency mapping	✅	✅
Team ownership	✅	✅
Custom component types	✅	✅
Standards & Governance
Scorecards	✅	✅
DORA metrics	✅	✅
Maturity levels	⚠️ Custom scorecards	✅
Integrations
GitHub	✅	✅
GitLab (SaaS)	✅	✅
GitLab (self-hosted)	✅	❌
Azure DevOps	✅ Native	⚠️ Third-party app
Bitbucket	✅	✅
Plugin ecosystem	✅ 200+ community	⚠️ Forge apps only
Platform
Fully managed SaaS	✅	✅
SSO/SAML	✅	✅
SOC 2 Type II	✅	✅
Data portability	✅ Standard YAML	❌ Proprietary

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Frequently Asked Questions

What happened to Compass Templates?

Atlassian removed Templates from Compass on December 1, 2025. The feature allowed users to create new components from predefined configurations. Atlassian's announcement stated this was to focus on features that bring the most value to customers, but no replacement for self-service workflows has been provided.

What can I automate with Roadie's Scaffolder?

Almost anything. The 146+ built-in actions cover repo creation, CI/CD pipeline setup, cloud resource provisioning, Slack notifications, PagerDuty service creation, and more. If an action doesn't exist, you can write custom actions that call any API or CLI tool. Teams use the Scaffolder to spin up new microservices, provision AWS resources, create Terraform modules, and run day-two operations like rotating secrets or updating dependencies across repos.

How does TechDocs work?

You write Markdown files in your repo alongside your code. When you push changes, Roadie compiles them into a searchable documentation site with consistent navigation. Engineers find docs for any service directly in the portal without hunting through wikis, Confluence, or README files scattered across repos. TechDocs validates links and formatting during the build, so broken docs get caught before they ship.

What if I want to self-host later?

Your Roadie catalog, templates, and configuration are portable. If you decide to self-host Backstage in the future, you can export your data and continue using the same YAML definitions. This is a key difference from proprietary platforms like Compass, where migration means rebuilding from scratch.

How does pricing compare?

Compass pricing is based on Atlassian's user-based model and varies by tier (Standard vs. Premium). Roadie pricing is also user-based. For organizations with 50-500 engineers, the costs are generally comparable. The deciding factor should be feature fit, not price. Contact both vendors for quotes based on your specific team size.

How long does setup take?

Most teams have a working portal with their catalog populated within a few hours. Connecting your SCM (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or Azure DevOps) is the first step, and Roadie can auto-discover components from your repos. Building out Scaffolder templates and scorecards takes longer, but you can start getting value from the catalog immediately.