AppBreakup

TeamCity alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Oct 25, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

Common reasons people leave TeamCity: agent and configuration limits on the free tier, and enterprise licences are costly at scale. We ranked 5 alternatives by how directly each one replaces TeamCity, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. Jenkins currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#AppPricingOpen sourcePlatformsVerified factsScore
1Jenkins logoJenkinsOpen sourceYesSelf-hosted, Linux, Windows +13 of 366.5
2GitHub Actions logoGitHub ActionsFree plan + paidNoWeb, Self-hosted4 of 462.6
3GitLab logoGitLabFree plan + paidYesWeb, Self-hosted4 of 459.6
4Buildkite logoBuildkiteFree plan + paidNoWeb, Self-hosted4 of 457.2
5Azure DevOps logoAzure DevOpsFree plan + paidNoWeb, Self-hosted4 of 455.3
  1. Jenkins logo

    1. JenkinsTop pick

    Best for: Teams that need fully self-hosted, highly customisable CI and can maintain it

    Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Linux, Windows, macOS

    66.5

    score / 100

    Why switch from TeamCity

    Free with no agent limits and a vast plugin ecosystem.

    Pros

    • Free and runs anywhere, including air-gapped networks
    • Huge plugin ecosystem
    • Pipelines as code in a Jenkinsfile

    Cons

    • Maintenance and plugin upgrades are a constant chore
    • Dated user interface
    • Groovy pipelines can become hard to manage
    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 Jenkins a good TeamCity alternative?

    Verified facts

    3 of 3 verified
    License
    MIT
    Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Plugins
    Hundreds
    Checked Oct 25, 2026jenkins.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Platforms
    Windows, Linux, macOS
    Checked Oct 25, 2026jenkins.io(opens source in a new tab)
  2. GitHub Actions logo

    2. GitHub Actions

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

    Free plan + paidWeb, Self-hosted

    62.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from TeamCity

    Hosted CI beside your GitHub code with no server to run.

    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
    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 GitHub Actions a good TeamCity 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)
  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 TeamCity

    Code hosting and CI/CD together, self-managed or hosted.

    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
    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 TeamCity 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. Buildkite logo

    4. Buildkite

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

    Free plan + paidWeb, Self-hosted

    57.2

    score / 100

    Why switch from TeamCity

    Hosted control plane with builds on your own machines.

    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
    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 Buildkite a good TeamCity 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)
  5. Azure DevOps logo

    5. Azure DevOps

    Best for: Microsoft-centric enterprises that want planning, repos and pipelines in one suite

    Free plan + paidSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted

    55.3

    score / 100

    Why switch from TeamCity

    Pipelines with free minutes for .NET-heavy teams.

    Pros

    • Five free users and a free CI/CD job
    • Flexible Pipelines that work with GitHub too
    • On-premises Server edition

    Cons

    • Slower development as Microsoft focuses on GitHub
    • Corporate, dated interface
    • Extra parallel jobs add cost quickly
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.363
    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 Azure DevOps a good TeamCity alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Free users
    First 5 Basic users
    Checked Oct 25, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Free CI/CD
    1 hosted job with 1,800 minutes/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Extra hosted parallel job
    $40/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Test Plans
    $52 per user/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)

The best TeamCity alternative for…

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

Jenkins logo

Best TeamCity alternative for most people

Jenkins

Free with no agent limits and a vast plugin ecosystem.

Jenkins logo

Best TeamCity alternative for a free option

Jenkins

Free with no agent limits and a vast plugin ecosystem.

GitHub Actions logo

Best TeamCity alternative for a free plan you can upgrade

GitHub Actions

Hosted CI beside your GitHub code with no server to run.

GitLab logo

Best TeamCity alternative for open source

GitLab

Code hosting and CI/CD together, self-managed or hosted.

Azure DevOps logo

Best TeamCity alternative for self-hosting

Azure DevOps

Pipelines with free minutes for .NET-heavy teams.

Jenkins logo

Best TeamCity alternative for Mac

Jenkins

Free with no agent limits and a vast plugin ecosystem.

Jenkins logo

Best TeamCity alternative for Windows

Jenkins

Free with no agent limits and a vast plugin ecosystem.

Jenkins logo

Best TeamCity alternative for Linux

Jenkins

Free with no agent limits and a vast plugin ecosystem.

Buildkite logo

Best TeamCity alternative for working in the browser

Buildkite

Hosted control plane with builds on your own machines.

TeamCity alternatives: common questions

What is the best alternative to TeamCity?

Jenkins ranks first right now. Free with no agent limits and a vast plugin ecosystem. GitHub Actions and GitLab follow it in our ranking.

Is there a free alternative to TeamCity?

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

Is there an open-source alternative to TeamCity?

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

Which TeamCity alternatives work on Linux?

Jenkins runs on Linux.

Why do people switch from TeamCity?

The complaints we hear most: agent and configuration limits on the free tier; enterprise licences are costly at scale; smaller plugin ecosystem than Jenkins.

How is this list ranked?

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