CircleCI vs GitHub Actions comparison

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CircleCI Logo
1,824 views|1,672 comparisons
66% willing to recommend
GitHub Logo
1,044 views|963 comparisons
100% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between CircleCI and GitHub Actions based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Build Automation solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed CircleCI vs. GitHub Actions Report (Updated: May 2024).
772,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"It's a stable product.""Enables us to detect exactly which build failed and why, and to push multiple builds to our production environment at a very fast rate.""The automation workflow in CircleCI related to third-party applications is very good and allows standardization of applications.""Some of the most valuable features include container-based builds, integration with Bit Bucket and being able to store artifacts.""The ability to automate the build process in a seamless way and run workflows effortlessly. It supports parallel builds so it can scale well. Also, it covers the basics of any build and integration tool, including email notifications (especially when tests are fixed), project insights, etc.""The solution offers continuous integration and continuous delivery."

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"The level of automation achievable is really good. So, the custom workflow creation and Marketplace Actions improved our project's efficiency.""The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a good product that offers stability and performance.""I have optimized job execution time by running test scripts in parallel and creating multiple pipelines; we've significantly reduced execution times. What could take 50 minutes can be cut down to just 8 to 10 minutes through these optimizations.""The main benefit is collaboration. It allows us to easily collaborate with other developers, regardless of location. For example, we can collaborate with both our African and German colleagues seamlessly. It's platform-agnostic, so it is flexible and not tied to any OS, so we can work on Linux, Windows, web, and even Oracle applications. It's flexible, reliable, and overall an excellent tool for our needs.""Creating workflows in YAML format is straightforward and easy to comprehend. This includes both understanding and writing workflows. Additionally, the downloading aspect for third-party instances can also be easily done. It's worth noting that vulnerability analysis and similar tasks should be part of our automation through data workflows. Furthermore, we can break down our processes step by step, starting from building, then moving on to analysis, testing, and finally deploying in production and the clear environment. All of these tasks can be efficiently managed within this platform.""It offers numerous built-in features for pipeline management, release management, and even work item tracking on boards, which makes it a versatile tool that seamlessly integrates with hardware and facilitates optimization."

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Cons
"Integration with Microsoft Azure is one area for improvement. Azure is growing in its user base, and supports various cloud infrastructure components such as Service Fabric, App Service, etc. Some of Azure’s deployment models (like Kudu) require a steep learning curve, but if CircleCI would come up with such features (deployment to App Service) out of the box, it would be amazing.""Billing is a mess.""There needs to be some improvement in the user interface of CircleCI.""The solution’s pricing could be better."

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"There is a part that detects outdated libraries. If that feature could be more intuitive and informative, that would be nice.""The reporting capabilities are somewhat limited.""We can leverage this database tool to manage everything within our environment and data burners, allowing for customization and execution. An additional advantage is the capability to modify aspects like file size, making processes more efficient and faster across the pipelines. Regarding improvements or implementations, I believe there should be enhancements made to the deployment tool. It should be integrated as part of the solution. Infrastructure-wise, we already have tools like GitHub and RobSpot, and data enables us to automate various processes, which is quite beneficial. As for further enhancements, I'm uncertain. I've shared everything I know. However, if there's something specific you'd like to see in future releases, a feature that may not exist yet but would be desirable, I can't provide any input on that matter.""The primary area for improvement I see is in artifact management, especially for saving screenshots or videos from failed tests or data-driven actions. Currently, the configuration for saving these artifacts is complex.""The solution's integration capabilities and UI are areas of concern where improvement is required to make the product more user-friendly.""The UI could be better."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The price of CircleCI could be less expensive."
  • More CircleCI Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "It is free and open platform, so I would rate it 1 out of 10."
  • "Price-wise, GitHub Actions is okay. If I want to use the product's advanced features, then I need to pay the licensing charges for the solution."
  • "For our basic usage, we didn't have to pay."
  • "It's low-priced. Not high, but definitely low."
  • More GitHub Actions Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:The solution offers continuous integration and continuous delivery.
    Top Answer:Beware of skyrocketing bills as CircleCI does not provide transparency into how they charge refills. Their monthly billing statement is almost unreadable and their online dashboard doesn't provide… more »
    Top Answer:We've had occasional connectivity issues with cloud resources and build failure due to its own internal system setup and environment. That costs us credits. Support engineers do not thoroughly read… more »
    Top Answer:I have optimized job execution time by running test scripts in parallel and creating multiple pipelines; we've significantly reduced execution times. What could take 50 minutes can be cut down to just… more »
    Top Answer:The primary area for improvement I see is in artifact management, especially for saving screenshots or videos from failed tests or data-driven actions. Currently, the configuration for saving these… more »
    Ranking
    11th
    out of 41 in Build Automation
    Views
    1,824
    Comparisons
    1,672
    Reviews
    2
    Average Words per Review
    342
    Rating
    4.0
    7th
    out of 41 in Build Automation
    Views
    1,044
    Comparisons
    963
    Reviews
    6
    Average Words per Review
    533
    Rating
    8.3
    Comparisons
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    Jenkins logo
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    AWS CodeBuild logo
    Compared 6% of the time.
    GoCD logo
    Compared 5% of the time.
    Tekton logo
    Compared 39% of the time.
    Bamboo logo
    Compared 13% of the time.
    AWS CodePipeline logo
    Compared 9% of the time.
    GitLab logo
    Compared 8% of the time.
    GoCD logo
    Compared 4% of the time.
    Learn More
    Overview

    CircleCI is a leading platform for automating continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD), valued for its capability to manage software updates efficiently. With an easy-to-configure system using YAML files and robust Docker support, CircleCI streamlines backend updates, frontend developments, and mobile app testing across devices. Its parallelism feature and insightful dashboard reduce processing times and improve workflow visibility, respectively, enhancing team collaboration and productivity while maintaining high-quality outputs across development stages.

    GitHub Actions makes it easy to automate all your software workflows, now with world-class CI/CD. Build, test, and deploy your code right from GitHub. Make code reviews, branch management, and issue triaging work the way you want.

    Sample Customers
    Shopify, Zenefits, Concur Technologies, CyberAgent
    Information Not Available
    Top Industries
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Comms Service Provider6%
    Healthcare Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Manufacturing Company10%
    Healthcare Company8%
    Company Size
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise58%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business13%
    Midsize Enterprise25%
    Large Enterprise63%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise58%
    Buyer's Guide
    CircleCI vs. GitHub Actions
    May 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about CircleCI vs. GitHub Actions and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
    772,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    CircleCI is ranked 11th in Build Automation with 5 reviews while GitHub Actions is ranked 7th in Build Automation with 6 reviews. CircleCI is rated 6.6, while GitHub Actions is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of CircleCI writes "Unhelpful support, unclear billing, and has offers ability to track usage". On the other hand, the top reviewer of GitHub Actions writes "Facilitates connectivity for developers and allows us to easily collaborate with other developers, regardless of location". CircleCI is most compared with TeamCity, Tekton, Jenkins, AWS CodeBuild and GoCD, whereas GitHub Actions is most compared with Tekton, Bamboo, AWS CodePipeline, GitLab and GoCD. See our CircleCI vs. GitHub Actions report.

    See our list of best Build Automation vendors.

    We monitor all Build Automation reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.