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GoCD vs Microsoft Azure DevOps comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

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

GoCD
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
15th
Ranking in Release Automation
8th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Build Automation (15th)
Microsoft Azure DevOps
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
2nd
Ranking in Release Automation
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
132
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of GoCD is 0.2%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure DevOps is 18.2%, down from 24.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
 

Featured Reviews

RajeshReddy - PeerSpot reviewer
The UI is colorful, but the user experience must be improved
We can see all the pipelines with a simple search. The UI is colorful. The user experience is very rich. The product is very easy to learn if we know a bit of the basics. If we have someone to show us how to use it, it is very easy.
Ivan Angelov - PeerSpot reviewer
Facilitates agile transformation with potential for enhanced intuitiveness
What I liked about the solution is that it offers numerous features that are not available by default unless you are agile. Transitioning from the traditional Waterfall model to an agile methodology was challenging for us. Until 2020, our team predominantly worked with the Waterfall approach, using local tools like ServiceNow. We had a few team members who were familiar with Agile ISO, but none had experience with Azure. Therefore, we pursued Azure certification at the AZ-900 level. Our company organized a training session with a certified Azure expert, which was extremely beneficial for adopting best practices during the initial three months. This preparation helped us get accustomed to the new tool, as transitioning to a new system invariably requires time. Managing a pipeline of deliverables became significantly easier with this solution. We utilized it for stories and integrated change management with Azure DevOps. Eventually, everything related to the environment was organized there, enabling us to follow up and track progress with our technical engineers on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis. Reports were automatically generated and sent to management, offering them insights into our progress concerning the predefined roadmap.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most notable aspect is its user interface, which we find to be user-friendly and straightforward for deploying and comprehending pipelines. We have the ability to create multiple pipelines, and in addition to that, the resource consumption is impressive."
"GoCD's open-source nature is valuable."
"Permission separations mean that we can grant limited permissions for each team or team member."
"The UI is colorful."
"Most developers and project managers choose the Microsoft tools to begin with because of familiarity, and these new tools are almost an extension of the tools you're already familiar with. There's a lot of knowledge transfer, which helps, rather than bringing in a new product line."
"The CI/CD pipeline setup is more user-friendly. You can manage various stages, and there are over 400+ plugins available for each stage."
"The integration of the whole cycle is the main strength of the tool. If I want to control the cycle with other tools on the market, I would have to use several tools. However, this is not the case with Azure DevOps or TFS."
"The initial setup process is easy."
"Version control practices have been perfect for us. It maintains a detailed history and is integrated with GitHub, which is also a Microsoft product. It is quite a game-changer."
"The features that have a significant impact on us include CI/CD, where we have full integration with the source code repository and Azure Pipelines."
"I really like the Microsoft DevOps survey."
"Microsoft has good integration with its other products, such as Office, Teams, et cetera."
 

Cons

"The documentation really should be improved by including real examples and more setup cases."
"It is difficult to assign different access levels because it relies on separate keys for developer and admin access, which could be simplified."
"The tool must be more user-friendly."
"The aspect that requires attention is the user management component. When integrating with BitLabs and authenticating through GitLab, there are specific features we desire. One important feature is the ability to import users directly from GitLab, along with their respective designations, and assign appropriate privileges based on that information. Allocating different privileges to users is a time-consuming process for us."
"When we don't have some permissions, we have to research how to get them."
"Azure has not yet advanced to the performance level of the other major competitors and is missing integration with important technologies."
"It should be able to handle the different types. There is ecosystems engineering, and there is software applications engineering. There is a need to bring these teams together, but the disciplines don't integrate very well, and so it won't work."
"The initial three months were particularly challenging, and without the help of an external consultant, adapting to the change in work processes would have been difficult."
"I can't think of any specific things at the moment, but I've run into things that I didn't like. I came across something that I wanted to be changed in DevOps, but I can't remember what it was. It was a particular feature I was looking for that I couldn't find."
"There are some areas that need improvement such as tracking."
"Non-functional testing such as security testing, log testing, and performance testing can be improved with a better visualization."
"The portfolio is one area where DevOps has room for improvement. Built-in reporting and visualization also could be better. We're using Power BI and Tableau to compile more complex reports and dashboards. Azure DevOps has some out-of-the-box reporting capabilities, but they're very simple. It's usually okay on the team level, but if you have to run a complex report, it's difficult and insufficient, so we use Power BI as an extension."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an open-source solution and it is inexpensive."
"It's an open-source and free tool."
"The solution costs $5 or $10 per user, per month."
"As the cost structure is per user, I would recommend paying the cost structure based on the amount of data you use rather than the number of users."
"Compared to other tools, Microsoft Azure DevOps is a cheap solution."
"We have an MPN subscription for Microsoft Azure DevOps, and it's all included."
"It is relatively inexpensive compared to other solutions that necessitate servers and physical hardware."
"I don't know what we pay, but I do know what I've seen online. If we switched to JIRA, we will basically have to double our costs because we still have to pay for the DevOps licensing. We're probably spending $100 a month on it. It has only standard licensing fees."
"I am not aware of any licensing subscriptions for the solution."
"There is a license for this solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Retailer
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with GoCD?
One area of product improvement is the access control system. It is difficult to assign different access levels because it relies on separate keys for developer and admin access, which could be sim...
Which is better - Jira or Microsoft Azure DevOps?
Jira is a great centralized tool for just about everything, from local team management to keeping track of products and work logs. It is easy to implement and navigate, and it is stable and scalabl...
Which is better - TFS or Azure DevOps?
TFS and Azure DevOps are different in many ways. TFS was designed for admins, and only offers incremental improvements. In addition, TFS seems complicated to use and I don’t think it has a very fri...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure DevOps?
Valuable features for project management and tracking in Azure DevOps include a portal displaying test results, check-in/check-out activity, and developer/tester productivity.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Adaptive ALM, Thoughtworks Go
Azure DevOps, VSTS, Visual Studio Team Services, MS Azure DevOps
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Ancestry.com, Barclay Card, AutoTrader, BT Financial Group, Gamesys, Nike, Vodafone, Haufe Lexware, Medidata, Hoovers
Alaska Airlines, Iberia Airlines, Columbia, Skype
Find out what your peers are saying about GoCD vs. Microsoft Azure DevOps and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,690 professionals have used our research since 2012.