GitHub Actions offers free CI/CD with 2,000 free minutes/month for public repos and tighter GitHub integration, while CircleCI provides more advanced features like SSH debugging, better performance caching, and free tier supports 1 concurrent job with unlimited minutes. GitHub Actions is better for teams already invested in GitHub, whereas CircleCI excels for complex multi-container workflows.
GitHub Actions vs CircleCI — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Native GitHub CI/CD platform with free unlimited minutes for public repos
Managed cloud CI/CD platform with Docker-first builds and generous free tier for startups.
Free Monthly CI/CD Minutes. Pricing per Concurrent Job. GitHub Native Integration. SSH Debugging Support. Artifact Storage Retention. Docker Layer Caching Performance. Marketplace Actions/Orbs Available
Choose GitHub Actions if you're already deeply invested in GitHub's ecosystem, need simple CI/CD workflows, and want zero authentication overhead. Choose CircleCI if you require advanced debugging capabilities, complex Docker-based pipelines, better caching performance, or need to monitor multiple Git providers (GitLab, Bitbucket) from a single dashboard.
GitHub Actions: 3,000 (public repos) | CircleCI: ~180 (6,000 credits)
GitHub Actions: 1 (GitHub only) | CircleCI: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket
GitHub Actions: 256 concurrent | CircleCI: Unlimited
GitHub Actions: 5 minutes | CircleCI: 15 minutes
GitHub Actions: 20,000+ actions | CircleCI: 5,000+ orbs
GitHub Actions: Standard support available | CircleCI: 24/7 dedicated support with 99.99% SLA
GitHub Actions: Supported with basic controls | CircleCI: Advanced with resource scaling
GitHub Actions: 1-2 weeks | CircleCI: 3-4 weeks
GitHub Actions: 15 minutes to first workflow | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 10000+ actions | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2000 minutes (GitHub-hosted runners) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: GitHub only (primary) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Low - Simple YAML syntax | CircleCI: YAML-based, intuitive
GitHub Actions: Cloud-hosted and self-hosted | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Limited by GitHub account quotas | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: $231/user/year (GitHub Enterprise) | CircleCI: N/A
Free Monthly CI/CD Minutes (Private Repos)
GitHub Actions: 2,000 minutes | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 0.5 GB per project | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 11,000+ Actions | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: $200/month (Advanced Security tier) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Enterprise Server tier (paid only, $231+/month) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Issues, basic Boards, limited automation | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Integrated (GitHub-only) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 20 matrix configurations | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 13,000+ actions | CircleCI: N/A
Monthly Infrastructure Cost (10-developer team)
GitHub Actions: $25 (usage-based + GitHub Team) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2,000 (private) / unlimited (public) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 1 week (YAML basics) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 20 (GitHub-hosted runners) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Native (zero additional setup) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: No (GitHub cloud default, Enterprise option) | CircleCI: US/EU regions only (CircleCI controls)
GitHub Actions: 5-15 minutes | CircleCI: 30 minutes
GitHub Actions: 2,000-3,000 | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Not required | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: GitHub (primary), limited others | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 6 years (since 2019) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 18,000+ actions | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Microsoft, GitHub, 60% of public repos | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Self-hosted runners available | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: $0 (free tier available) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2,000 (private repos) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 360 (6 hours) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Native (built-in) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 5-10 (YAML config only) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2,000 (unlimited for public repos) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 20 concurrent jobs | CircleCI: 1 concurrent job
GitHub Actions: 750,000+ | CircleCI: N/A
Configuration File Complexity (1-5 scale)
GitHub Actions: 4 (complex YAML, matrix builds) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: GitHub only | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 3,000 minutes | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 10,000+ verified actions | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 42% of CI/CD users (2024) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 5 minutes (native UI) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 3 (Linux, Windows, macOS) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2,000 (public repos only) | CircleCI: Unlimited (1 concurrent job)
GitHub Actions: $0.008/minute | CircleCI: $0.20/minute (pay-as-you-go)
GitHub Actions: Standard caching (1x baseline) | CircleCI: Advanced caching (25x faster)
GitHub Actions: 400 GB | CircleCI: Unlimited
GitHub Actions: 15,000+ actions | CircleCI: 2,000 certified orbs
GitHub Actions: Not supported | CircleCI: Full SSH support
GitHub Actions: 2-3 minutes (native) | CircleCI: 10-15 minutes (OAuth + config)
GitHub Actions: 2,000 minutes/month | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: $0.008 per minute | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Requires plugins | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 1-2 hours | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Free (2,000 min/month included) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2,000 (public: unlimited) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Via third-party actions (workaround) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 6 years (2019) | CircleCI: N/A
Monthly Cost (5 Private Repos, 100 builds/month)
GitHub Actions: $14.40 (2,000 free min + 1,800 excess min × $0.008) | CircleCI: N/A
Default Concurrent Jobs (Free/Base Tier)
GitHub Actions: 20 concurrent jobs | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 1 (GitHub only) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 10,000+ public actions | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 5GB (per repository) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2-3 minutes (GitHub integration native) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: No (fully managed by GitHub) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 20 jobs maximum per repository | CircleCI: N/A
Monthly Cost for Private Repos (Small Team)
GitHub Actions: $0 (includes 2,000 minutes) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 20 concurrent jobs | CircleCI: 1 concurrent job free
GitHub Actions: 5,000+ public actions | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 5-10 minutes | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 20+ languages | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 68% adoption | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Built-in, no external setup | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: $15-30 (for limited minutes)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: ~5-10 minutes
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: ~500+ official/community integrations
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: Fully managed by CircleCI
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, FedRAMP Ready
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 1 concurrent job
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, GPU
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 6,000 credits (~30 standard builds)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 2-5 minutes
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: $20 per user/month
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: Advanced DLC feature included
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: Available on Performance+ plan
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: Extensive Orb Registry (~5000+ orbs)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: $30-1,200 (Performance plan starts at $30)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 5 minutes (GitHub authorization → first build)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 50+ official orbs
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 1 concurrent build
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: ~2,500 MB (runner image)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: Native OAuth, PR checks, status checks, app permissions
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: YAML + visual builder + orb registry
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 40-60% reduction with Docker layer caching
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 6 seconds
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: ~400 minutes (6,000 credits)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: No (third-party via integrations)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 6,000 credits
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab (external platforms)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: No (requires third-party tools)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 100+ Orbs
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 10 minutes
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 500+ orbs
Monthly Cost (5 Users, Mid-Volume Usage)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: $350/month
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 0 hours (fully managed)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: YAML (simple, human-readable)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: ~10K GitHub discussions
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Bitbucket Cloud
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: Full support (DLC feature)
Configuration File Complexity (1-10 scale)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 7 (moderate-complex)
How to choose between GitHub Actions and CircleCI
GitHub Actions vs CircleCI — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for GitHub Actions vs CircleCI. Contains 140 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
GitHub Actions vs CircleCI — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for GitHub Actions vs CircleCI.
Which is cheaper for high-volume CI/CD usage?
GitHub Actions is significantly cheaper at scale: $0.008/minute ($288/month for 60,000 minutes) vs CircleCI's $0.20/minute ($12,000/month for the same volume). However, CircleCI's free tier with unlimited minutes benefits solo developers and small teams who stay under 1 concurrent job.
Can I debug failed jobs with SSH in GitHub Actions?
No, GitHub Actions does not offer native SSH debugging. You must rely on logs and re-running workflows with additional debugging output. CircleCI's SSH debug feature lets you log into containers after failure for real-time troubleshooting, which is invaluable for complex issues.
CircleCI's advanced Docker layer caching is 25x faster on average compared to GitHub Actions' standard caching. This matters significantly for teams rebuilding large Docker images frequently; a 10-minute rebuild on GitHub Actions could take 24 seconds on CircleCI.
Can I use CircleCI or GitHub Actions with GitLab and Bitbucket?
GitHub Actions is GitHub-only natively. CircleCI supports GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket from a single unified dashboard, making it ideal for organizations managing multiple Git platforms.
GitHub Actions has a gentler learning curve due to native GitHub integration and 15,000+ pre-built actions. CircleCI requires understanding orbs and has smaller ecosystem, but its SSH debugging and superior documentation for complex workflows appeals to advanced users.
How to Choose Between GitHub Actions and CircleCI
Free Monthly CI/CD Minutes: GitHub Actions has 2,000 minutes (public repos), while CircleCI has Unlimited (1 concurrent job).
Pricing per Concurrent Job: GitHub Actions has $0.008 per minute, while CircleCI has $20/month per concurrent job.
GitHub Native Integration: GitHub Actions has Native, no auth setup required, while CircleCI has OAuth integration required.
SSH Debugging Support: GitHub Actions has Not available, while CircleCI has Full SSH rerun capability.
Artifact Storage Retention: GitHub Actions has 30 days default, 400 GB max, while CircleCI has 30 days default, unlimited storage.
Consider: Docker Layer Caching Performance
Docker Layer Caching Performance: GitHub Actions has Basic layer caching, while CircleCI has Advanced Docker layer caching with 25x faster rebuilds.
Consider: Marketplace Actions/Orbs Available
Marketplace Actions/Orbs Available: GitHub Actions has 15,000+ community actions, while CircleCI has 2,000+ certified orbs.