GitHub Actions is free for public repositories and integrated directly into GitHub, while CircleCI offers more advanced features and better performance for complex CI/CD pipelines but requires separate setup and paid plans start at $30/month. GitHub Actions is ideal for small teams and open-source projects, whereas CircleCI excels for enterprises requiring sophisticated workflow orchestration.
CircleCI vs GitHub Actions — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Native GitHub CI/CD platform integrated directly into repositories
Dedicated CI/CD platform with advanced performance and enterprise features
Pricing Model. Native Integration. Concurrency Limits (Free Tier). Setup Complexity. Orb/Action Ecosystem. Performance (Concurrent Jobs). Cold Start Time
Choose GitHub Actions if you value simplicity, cost-effectiveness for public projects, and deep GitHub integration—it's perfect for small teams and open-source maintainers. Choose CircleCI if you need advanced performance optimization, higher concurrency limits, sophisticated caching strategies, and better support for complex enterprise workflows requiring premium features.
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: Push-based (imperative) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Any (Kubernetes, VMs, Serverless, Cloud - 20+ integrations) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 0 minutes (native, no setup) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Not available (manual triggers only) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: $0 (2,000 free minutes/month) | CircleCI: N/A
Typical Cost at Scale (100k deployments/month)
GitHub Actions: $4,800+ (800 minutes/month at $0.008/min) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 15,000+ (across all domains) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 5-10 (simple YAML workflow) | CircleCI: N/A
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 | CircleCI: ~400 minutes (6,000 credits)
GitHub Actions: 6,500+ actions | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 500MB limit (free tier) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: Not built-in; requires actions | CircleCI: No (third-party via integrations)
GitHub Actions: Simple (1.5) | 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: $0 (GitHub Free) / $4 (GitHub Pro) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2,000 minutes (GitHub Free) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: $0.008 per minute (Linux/macOS) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 3,000+ verified actions in marketplace | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 20 concurrent (GitHub Pro) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: 1.0x baseline (cloud-hosted runners) | CircleCI: N/A
GitHub Actions: No (GitHub-hosted only; self-hosted with Enterprise tier) | CircleCI: N/A
Free Tier Monthly Minutes (Private Repos)
GitHub Actions: 2,000 minutes | CircleCI: 1,000 minutes
GitHub Actions: $30/month | CircleCI: $14/month
GitHub Actions: 15,000+ actions | CircleCI: 2,500+ orbs
GitHub Actions: 20 concurrent jobs | CircleCI: 100+ concurrent jobs (Enterprise)
GitHub Actions: 8-12 seconds | CircleCI: 3-5 seconds
GitHub Actions: 2-3 minutes | CircleCI: 10-15 minutes
GitHub Actions: GitHub only | CircleCI: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, self-hosted Git
GitHub Actions: Unlimited | CircleCI: Unlimited
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: 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)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 42 seconds
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 24/7 with guaranteed response times
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: Cloud SaaS + Self-hosted Enterprise
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: Good (Docker support alongside VMs)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 3 (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA-eligible)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: Limited (vendor-managed cloud)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: $30 (Starter plan)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 200+ curated integrations
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 5GB per run
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: None (fully managed)
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: Not available
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 1 concurrent
GitHub Actions: N/A | CircleCI: 8-12 hours for proficiency
How to choose between GitHub Actions and CircleCI
CircleCI vs GitHub Actions — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for CircleCI vs GitHub Actions. Contains 184 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
CircleCI vs GitHub Actions — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for CircleCI vs GitHub Actions.
Can I use GitHub Actions for free with private repositories?
Yes, GitHub Actions includes 2,000 free minutes per month for private repositories on free GitHub accounts. After that, you pay $0.008 per minute ($4.80 per 600 minutes of overages). CircleCI's free tier offers only 1,000 minutes for private repos but also charges overages at similar rates.
Which platform is better for open-source projects?
GitHub Actions is significantly better for open-source. Both platforms offer unlimited free minutes for public repositories, but GitHub Actions has native integration eliminating account setup, 6x more pre-built actions (15,000 vs 2,500), and zero friction for maintainers already using GitHub.
How do performance metrics compare for large teams?
CircleCI outperforms GitHub Actions for high-scale operations: CircleCI offers up to 100+ concurrent jobs on enterprise plans versus GitHub's 20-job limit, 5x faster job startup times (3-5 seconds vs 8-12 seconds), and superior caching with layer-based persistence. GitHub Actions suits teams running under 20 concurrent jobs.
What are the total cost differences for a 5-person team running 50 monthly builds?
GitHub Actions: Free tier covers 2,000 minutes/month; assuming 50 builds × 5 minutes = 250 minutes, costs $0. CircleCI: Free tier allows only 1 concurrent job limiting throughput; 50 builds likely exceed 1,000 free minutes, requiring paid plan at minimum $14/month. GitHub Actions is 100% free for this scenario.
Can I migrate from GitHub Actions to CircleCI without rewriting workflows?
Not directly. GitHub Actions and CircleCI use different YAML syntax and configuration structures. A GitHub Actions workflow file (.github/workflows/*.yml) requires manual translation to CircleCI format (.circleci/config.yml), typically taking 1-2 hours per workflow. Both use YAML but have incompatible schemas for steps, jobs, and orbs/actions.
How to Choose Between GitHub Actions and CircleCI
Pricing Model: GitHub Actions has Free for public repos, $30/month for 1 concurrent job (private), while CircleCI has Free for public repos with unlimited minutes, paid starts at $14/month.
Native Integration: GitHub Actions has Runs within GitHub ecosystem, no external account needed, while CircleCI has Requires separate CircleCI account and OAuth connection.
Consider: Concurrency Limits (Free Tier)
Concurrency Limits (Free Tier): GitHub Actions has Unlimited for public repos, while CircleCI has 1 concurrent job for free tier, unlimited for public repos.
Setup Complexity: GitHub Actions has YAML workflow files in .github/workflows directory, while CircleCI has YAML config in .circleci/config.yml directory.
Orb/Action Ecosystem: GitHub Actions has GitHub Marketplace with 15,000+ actions available, while CircleCI has CircleCI Orb Registry with 2,500+ orbs.
Performance (Concurrent Jobs): GitHub Actions has 20 concurrent jobs maximum per GitHub account, while CircleCI has Configurable up to 100+ concurrent jobs on enterprise.
Cold Start Time: GitHub Actions has Average 8-12 seconds to start workflow, while CircleCI has Average 3-5 seconds with optimized caching.