CircleCI vs GitHub Actions comparison

CircleCI and GitHub are both solutions in the Build Automation category. CircleCI is ranked #16, while GitHub is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.4. CircleCI holds a 3.3% mindshare in BA, compared to GitHub’s 9.2% mindshare. Additionally, 75% of CircleCI users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of GitHub users who would recommend it.

CircleCI

Read 7 CircleCI reviews

1,000 Views
990 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

GitHub Actions

Read 23 GitHub Actions reviews

2,899 Views
2,899 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

CircleCI

GitHub Actions

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 11, 2025

CircleCI and GitHub Actions are prominent tools in the continuous integration and deployment space. GitHub Actions holds the advantage with seamless integration into GitHub projects and a comprehensive feature set, whereas CircleCI is notable for competitive pricing and strong customer support.

Features: CircleCI offers versatile workflows, extensive third-party integrations, and advanced caching capabilities. GitHub Actions provides a fully integrated environment, diverse workflow triggers, and strong automation within GitHub.

Room for Improvement: CircleCI could enhance its native integration with GitHub projects, streamline its initial setup process, and expand its automation features. GitHub Actions might improve on detailed documentation for complex workflows, optimize its user interface for non-GitHub environments, and expand support for AI-based projects.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: GitHub Actions, with its native integration, simplifies setup for developers using the GitHub ecosystem, while CircleCI offers comprehensive customer support and requires more initial configuration.

Pricing and ROI: CircleCI provides a straightforward pricing model focusing on scalability, beneficial for organizations needing extensive support. GitHub Actions, often seen as cost-effective for GitHub users, still incurs costs with high usage but offers considerable value through its automation and integration features.

To learn more, read our detailed CircleCI vs. GitHub Actions Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

CircleCI vs. GitHub Actions

December 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

CircleCI

Ranking in Build Automation

16th

Average Rating

6.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

AI Software Development (32nd)

GitHub Actions

Ranking in Build Automation

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

5.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Build Automation category, the mindshare of CircleCI is 3.3%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GitHub Actions is 9.2%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Build Automation Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
GitHub Actions	9.2%
CircleCI	3.3%
Other	87.5%

Build Automation

Featured Reviews

RahulArora

Global Head - DevOps and AIOps Startegist at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Automated CI/CD pipelines have transformed deployment speed and collaboration for my teams

CircleCI offers fast parallel builds, easy integration with GitHub, and the ability to deploy applications on Kubernetes pods, which are amazing features. Fast parallel builds and GitHub integration have definitely helped my team reach faster time to market for our applications. Previously, our deployment used to take a couple of hours when doing it manually, but with CircleCI pipeline, our hours-long job has been converted to a couple of minutes. Its simplicity, fast pipeline execution, and strong GitHub and GitLab integrations are definitely unique advantages I discovered while using CircleCI. Time saved is one of the key aspects I have seen since using CircleCI. I have noticed fewer deployment errors, and it has helped me with easy debugging. Time saved is directly proportional to the cost and effort saved. CircleCI has positively impacted my organization by integrating directly with my Git repositories as a fully managed SaaS platform. CircleCI has a great impact on my team's collaboration and communication, with around 25 to 40 developers and DevOps engineers using it daily across multiple repositories and environments, helping us use it at scale. CircleCI has significantly increased our release frequency and deployment speed compared to before I started using it. CircleCI improves security for my organization by enforcing automated checks in the pipeline and securely managing secrets through environment variables while providing auditable deployments. CircleCI integrates seamlessly with my DevOps toolchain by connecting directly to GitHub, container registries, and my cloud platform AWS, allowing the entire CI/CD flow from code commit to deployment and monitoring with minimal manual effort.

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Bharadwaj Deepak Mohapatra

DevOps Engineer at ENTERPRISE SYSTEM SOLUTIONS LIMITED

Has supported repository management and demonstrates potential in workflow flexibility

While GitHub Actions offers a range of functionalities, it is newer compared to more established tools such as Jenkins and Azure DevOps. There is still room for improvement, especially in areas concerning deeper capabilities akin to those provided by Jenkins and Azure DevOps. Given the evolving nature of technology, there are potential improvements GitHub Actions can focus on, including enhancing support and reliability to match its competitors.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"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."

"CircleCI has positively impacted the organization, as it has been used for many years and serves as the main source for application deployment."

"Enables us to detect exactly which build failed and why, and to push multiple builds to our production environment at a very fast rate."

"CircleCI has significantly reduced build and deployment times, saving substantial engineering hours and effort for me, which has directly improved my productivity and release velocity, reflecting incredible ROI."

"Some of the most valuable features include container-based builds, integration with Bit Bucket and being able to store artifacts."

"The automation workflow in CircleCI related to third-party applications is very good and allows standardization of applications."

"It's a stable product."

"The most valuable features of GitHub Actions include its seamless integration within GitHub, which simplifies the CI/CD pipeline setup. The scalability of using different types of runners—both public and private runners—enhances deployment flexibility."

"It saves a lot of time with GitHub Actions; especially, the whole process if done manually might cost us a lot, maybe a week or two weeks just for deployment, but now with automation, we automate the deployment effectively."

"It is user-friendly, with clear and organized processes, making it easy to navigate and work with."

"GitHub Actions is a beautiful tool that integrates smoothly with all major tools, reducing CI/CD work by 30% to 40%."

"GitHub Actions provides workflows that allow for process automation, enabling operations such as build, deploy, and scale applications."

"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."

"GitHub Actions helps automate the deployment process, eliminating manual copying and testing, which saves time and minimizes errors."

More GitHub Actions pros

Cons

"There needs to be some improvement in the user interface of CircleCI."

"A return on investment with CircleCI has not been observed, and no relevant metrics such as time saved or fewer employees needed can be shared."

"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."

"I believe debugging complex pipelines and managing credits can sometimes be challenging, especially for large workflows, so these areas can be improved."

"The solution’s pricing could be better."

"Billing is a mess."

"There is a part that detects outdated libraries. If that feature could be more intuitive and informative, that would be nice."

"There could be more integration options with different platforms."

"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."

"Improvements could be made in terms of time-saving capabilities and resolving potential complexities in centralized workflows."

"In terms of improvements, I think better logging for debugging purposes would be helpful, especially for complex workflows."

"In our company, procedures or rules need to be completed, which is not a problem with GitHub Actions but with our process."

"The main challenge I've experienced is with integration, particularly uploading to OneDrive, which was more complex compared to Google Drive or AWS S3 bucket."

"The solution's integration capabilities and UI are areas of concern where improvement is required to make the product more user-friendly."

More GitHub Actions cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of CircleCI could be less expensive."

"The product is slightly more expensive than some alternatives."

"For our basic usage, we didn't have to pay."

"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."

"The cost for GitHub Actions may be around $45 dollars per user."

"It is free and open platform, so I would rate it 1 out of 10."

"Regarding cost, as an enterprise, we negotiate our license and expenses, so I can't provide a specific rating for that."

"The tool's price is okay and reasonable."

"It's low-priced. Not high, but definitely low."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

University

Financial Services Firm

18%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CircleCI?

There is not much experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing because that is managed by the legal team.

See all answers

What needs improvement with CircleCI?

CircleCI's Orbs are not as easy to use as they could be. If CircleCI implemented a function approach similar to GitHub Actions, it would be significantly better. CircleCI could be improved if it co...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering CircleCI?

For others looking into using CircleCI, study thoroughly about CircleCI's Orbs because they are quite complicated. The overall review rating for CircleCI is 6 out of 10.

See all answers

What do you like most about GitHub Actions?

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 j...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GitHub Actions?

I would rate pricing a seven, which leans toward the expensive side. However, there is still value for money, and that's why we continue using it.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GitHub Actions?

See all answers

Comparisons

Tekton vs CircleCI

Compared 14% of the time

GitLab vs CircleCI

Compared 11% of the time

TeamCity vs CircleCI

Compared 10% of the time

Harness vs CircleCI

Compared 8% of the time

Jenkins vs CircleCI

Compared 7% of the time

More CircleCI Competitors

Tekton vs GitHub Actions

Compared 24% of the time

Harness vs GitHub Actions

Compared 14% of the time

Bamboo vs GitHub Actions

Compared 9% of the time

TeamCity vs GitHub Actions

Compared 9% of the time

VMware Tanzu Platform vs GitHub Actions

Compared 3% of the time

More GitHub Actions Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Build Automation

December 2025

Download CircleCI product report

Buyer's Guide

GitHub Actions

December 2025

Download GitHub Actions product report

Overview

CircleCI is a continuous integration and delivery platform that automates software development, streamlining the process for engineers and developers. It's valued for its ability to enhance development speed while maintaining high software quality.

Known for its robust CI/CD capabilities, CircleCI supports a wide range of programming languages and integrations, allowing teams to build and deploy code with efficiency and reliability. Its flexibility and automation features help teams quickly adapt to changing project requirements. CircleCI's cloud-based architecture ensures scalability and accessibility, making it an attractive option for modern development environments.

What are CircleCI's key features?

Continuous Integration: Automates code integration with testing to catch errors early.
Continuous Deployment: Simplifies the process of deploying code to production environments.
Customizable Workflows: Offers flexibility in defining build, test, and deployment stages.
Parallel Execution: Speeds up builds by running multiple tasks at once.
VCS Integration: Seamlessly integrates with platforms like GitHub and Bitbucket.

What benefits can users expect when using CircleCI?

Increased Efficiency: Streamlines development workflows, reducing the time to market.
Improved Code Quality: Early error detection through automation increases overall quality.
Scalability: Ability to handle growing workloads as development needs evolve.
Enhanced Collaboration: Facilitates teamwork through shared visibility and control over development processes.

In tech-driven industries, CircleCI enables efficient software development pipelines. Its ability to run automated tests and manage deployments effectively is particularly beneficial in fast-paced, innovation-driven fields like fintech, mobile app development, and SaaS platforms. Offering tools that meet high-demand environments, it supports teams in delivering timely and quality software products.

CircleCI

GitHub Actions streamlines CI/CD processes with an intuitive YAML workflow and robust automation, enhancing efficiency and integration with third-party tools and cloud providers.

GitHub Actions automates development pipelines, supports scalable public and private runners, and manages secure secrets. This tool integrates seamlessly with platforms like AWS, Kubernetes, Google Cloud, and Databricks. It enhances DevOps workflows with reliable task automation. Users note areas for UI and deployment tool improvements, artifact management simplification, and additional programming language support. Debugging complexity and hosting agent transitions pose challenges, along with integration enhancements for tools like OneDrive.

What are GitHub Actions' key features?

YAML Workflow Creation: Simplifies configuration with intuitive YAML.
CI/CD Integration: Provides seamless integration within DevOps pipelines.
Automation Capabilities: Automates tasks with minimal manual intervention.
Third-Party Tool Compatibility: Works well with diverse tools and platforms.
Secure Secrets Management: Protects sensitive information effectively.

What benefits do users find in GitHub Actions?

Enhanced Performance: Boosts task execution speed and reliability.
Scalability: Supports growth with flexible runner options.
Improved Release Cycles: Ensures consistent updates and deployments.
Workflow Efficiency: Reduces manual tasks, increasing operational efficiency.

Companies in tech and software development frequently utilize GitHub Actions for integrating, deploying, and versioning projects. It is often employed for deploying applications to cloud environments like AWS and Kubernetes, managing extensive CI/CD workflows, and automating test and security operations, thereby streamlining production cycles across industries.

GitHub

Sample Customers

Shopify, Zenefits, Concur Technologies, CyberAgent

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

CircleCI vs. GitHub Actions

December 2025

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