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CircleCI alternatives: 6 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Oct 25, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

Common reasons people leave CircleCI: credit-based pricing takes effort to predict, and separate tool from your code host. We ranked 6 alternatives by how directly each one replaces CircleCI, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. GitHub Actions currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#AppPricingOpen sourcePlatformsVerified factsScore
1GitHub Actions logoGitHub ActionsFree plan + paidNoWeb, Self-hosted4 of 466.5
2Buildkite logoBuildkiteFree plan + paidNoWeb, Self-hosted4 of 462.6
3GitLab logoGitLabFree plan + paidYesWeb, Self-hosted4 of 459.6
4Semaphore logoSemaphorePaidYesWeb, Self-hosted4 of 457.2
5Travis CI logoTravis CIPaidNoWeb, Self-hosted4 of 453.6
  1. GitHub Actions logo

    1. GitHub ActionsTop pick

    Best for: Teams hosting code on GitHub who want CI/CD right next to their repositories

    Free plan + paidWeb, Self-hosted

    66.5

    score / 100

    Why switch from CircleCI

    Built into GitHub, so no separate service to manage.

    Pros

    • No separate tool to set up for GitHub repos
    • Large marketplace of reusable actions
    • Free for public repositories

    Cons

    • Hosted runners are slower than specialist providers
    • YAML workflows get hard to debug at scale
    • Only works with GitHub-hosted code
    Visit GitHub Actions Compare with CircleCIDetails and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.3100
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is GitHub Actions a good CircleCI alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Free usage
    Public repos and self-hosted runners
    Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Free plan minutes
    2,000/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Team plan minutes
    3,000/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Linux minute price
    $0.006 per minute
    Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.github.com(opens source in a new tab)
  2. Buildkite logo

    2. Buildkite

    Best for: Engineering teams with large build volumes who want builds on their own infrastructure

    Free plan + paidWeb, Self-hosted

    62.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from CircleCI

    Run builds on your own infrastructure with a hosted control plane.

    Pros

    • Builds run on your own machines, keeping code private
    • Scales to very high concurrency
    • Dynamic pipelines suit large monorepos

    Cons

    • You manage the agent infrastructure unless you pay for hosted agents
    • Per-user pricing adds up for big orgs
    • More setup than all-hosted CI
    Visit Buildkite Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.387
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Buildkite a good CircleCI alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Free plan
    $0 for solo developers and small teams
    Checked Oct 25, 2026buildkite.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Pro plan
    $30 per active user/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026buildkite.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Free trial
    30 days, no card
    Checked Oct 25, 2026buildkite.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Self-hosted agents
    Yes
    Checked Oct 25, 2026buildkite.com(opens source in a new tab)
  3. GitLab logo

    3. GitLab

    Best for: Organisations wanting code, CI/CD and security in one tool, often self-managed

    Free plan + paidOpen sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted

    59.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from CircleCI

    CI/CD integrated with code hosting and security scanning.

    Pros

    • Very capable built-in CI/CD
    • Free self-managed Community Edition
    • One product covering most of the delivery lifecycle

    Cons

    • Dense interface with many features
    • Key features locked to expensive tiers
    • Free hosted tier is limited to 5 users per group
    Visit GitLab Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.377
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is GitLab a good CircleCI alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Free plan
    $0, 5 users per group
    Checked Oct 25, 2026about.gitlab.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Free compute minutes
    400/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026about.gitlab.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Premium plan
    $29 per user/month (billed annually)
    Checked Oct 25, 2026about.gitlab.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Premium compute minutes
    10,000/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026about.gitlab.com(opens source in a new tab)
  4. Semaphore logo

    4. Semaphore

    Best for: Teams wanting fast hosted CI, with the option to self-host the same platform

    PaidOpen sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted

    57.2

    score / 100

    Why switch from CircleCI

    Fast hosted CI with per-minute pricing and an open-source edition.

    Pros

    • Fast machines with per-minute billing
    • Clear visual pipeline builder and promotions
    • Open-source Community Edition for self-hosting

    Cons

    • Support tiers cost extra on cloud
    • Smaller ecosystem than GitHub Actions
    • Self-hosting requires Kubernetes
    Visit Semaphore Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.369
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Semaphore a good CircleCI alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Linux machine price
    $0.0075/min (2 vCPU x64)
    Checked Oct 25, 2026semaphore.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Arm machine price
    $0.003/min (2 vCPU)
    Checked Oct 25, 2026semaphore.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Basic support
    $50/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026semaphore.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Editions
    Cloud, Community and Enterprise
    Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.semaphore.io(opens source in a new tab)
  5. Travis CI logo

    5. Travis CI

    Best for: Projects needing unusual CPU architectures or an existing .travis.yml setup

    PaidSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted

    53.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from CircleCI

    Simple YAML-based hosted CI with broad OS support.

    Pros

    • Simple, readable YAML configuration
    • Rare architectures like IBM Power, Z and Arm
    • Self-hosted server option

    Cons

    • No free plan or trial at present
    • Much smaller community than it once had
    • Slower feature development than rivals
    Visit Travis CI Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.357
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Travis CI a good CircleCI alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Usage-based plan
    From $15/month, 35,000 credits
    Checked Oct 25, 2026travis-ci.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Unlimited plan
    From $78/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026travis-ci.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Server plan
    From $34/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026travis-ci.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Free trial
    Currently unavailable
    Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.travis-ci.com(opens source in a new tab)

The best CircleCI alternative for…

The highest-ranked app in this list for each need.

GitHub Actions logo

Best CircleCI alternative for most people

GitHub Actions

Built into GitHub, so no separate service to manage.

Jenkins logo

Best CircleCI alternative for a free option

Jenkins

Free and self-hosted if you prefer to run CI yourself.

Buildkite logo

Best CircleCI alternative for a free plan you can upgrade

Buildkite

Run builds on your own infrastructure with a hosted control plane.

GitLab logo

Best CircleCI alternative for open source

GitLab

CI/CD integrated with code hosting and security scanning.

Semaphore logo

Best CircleCI alternative for self-hosting

Semaphore

Fast hosted CI with per-minute pricing and an open-source edition.

Jenkins logo

Best CircleCI alternative for Mac

Jenkins

Free and self-hosted if you prefer to run CI yourself.

Jenkins logo

Best CircleCI alternative for Windows

Jenkins

Free and self-hosted if you prefer to run CI yourself.

Jenkins logo

Best CircleCI alternative for Linux

Jenkins

Free and self-hosted if you prefer to run CI yourself.

Travis CI logo

Best CircleCI alternative for working in the browser

Travis CI

Simple YAML-based hosted CI with broad OS support.

CircleCI alternatives: common questions

What is the best alternative to CircleCI?

GitHub Actions ranks first right now. Built into GitHub, so no separate service to manage. Buildkite and GitLab follow it in our ranking.

Is there a free alternative to CircleCI?

Yes. GitHub Actions (free plan + paid), Buildkite (free plan + paid), GitLab (free plan + paid) and Jenkins (open source) have a free option. Check each app's verified facts for current plan limits.

Is there an open-source alternative to CircleCI?

Yes: GitLab, Semaphore and Jenkins. GitLab, Semaphore and Jenkins can also be self-hosted.

Which CircleCI alternatives work on Linux?

Jenkins runs on Linux.

Why do people switch from CircleCI?

The complaints we hear most: credit-based pricing takes effort to predict; separate tool from your code host; config can get complex with orbs and anchors.

How is this list ranked?

Every app is scored with the same published formula: how directly it replaces CircleCI, reviews (weighted by verification), visits from AppBreakup, how recently its facts were checked against its own website, and reader votes.