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
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.
Native GitHub CI/CD platform integrated directly into repositories
Dedicated CI/CD platform with advanced performance and enterprise features
CircleCI vs GitHub Actions — Comparison Data
Structured comparison data for CircleCI vs GitHub Actions with 184 attributes.
Free Monthly CI/CD Minutes (Private Repos)
Monthly Infrastructure Cost (10-developer team)
Typical Cost at Scale (100k deployments/month)
Configuration File Complexity (1-5 scale)
Monthly Cost (5 Private Repos, 100 builds/month)
Default Concurrent Jobs (Free/Base Tier)
Monthly Cost for Private Repos (Small Team)
Free Tier Monthly Minutes (Private Repos)
Monthly Cost (5 Users, Mid-Volume Usage)
Configuration File Complexity (1-10 scale)
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.