Best CircleCI Alternatives (2026)
Looking for something other than CircleCI for devops? Here are the 10 alternatives we track, ranked, with verified pricing for each.
Pricing verified Sep 02, 2026
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CircleCI alternatives at a glance
| Product | Entry price | Plans | Free plan | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CircleCI this page's subject | $15/mo | 3 | Yes | No |
| GitHub | $4/mo | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| GitLab | $29/mo | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| Buildkite | $30/mo | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| env0 | Custom | 3 | Yes | No |
| Harness | Custom | 3 | Yes | No |
| Octopus Deploy | $4330/mo | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| Portainer | $12/mo | 6 | Yes | Yes |
| Pulumi | $40/mo | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| Spacelift | $20000/mo | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| TeamCity | $15/mo | 3 | Yes | Yes |
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GitHub
Developer ToolsCode hosting and collaboration for developers.
At $4/seat, GitHub undercuts most serious competitors on the entry paid tier, using Free as a wedge to keep the entire developer world inside its ecosystem. Enterprise at $21 is where they extract real revenue, positioned as the default choice for orgs already bought into GitHub Actions, Copilot, and the broader Microsoft stack.
Plans: Free $0/mo per seat · Team $4/mo per seat · Enterprise $21/mo per seat
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GitLab
Developer ToolsDevOps platform delivered as a single application.
GitLab plays the consolidator card — it's not the cheapest per-seat option against plain GitHub, but it's pitching itself as the all-in-one alternative to stitching together separate CI/CD, security, and PM tools. The custom-quote Ultimate tier is a classic enterprise move: hide the number, let sales control the negotiation, and target the buyers who'd otherwise be evaluating GitHub Enterprise or a patchwork of DevOps point solutions.
Plans: Free $0/mo per seat · Premium $29/mo per seat · Ultimate Contact Sales
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Buildkite
DevOpsScalable CI/CD pipelines.
At $30/seat, Buildkite sits mid-to-premium compared to usage-based tools that can look cheaper on paper but spike unpredictably with build volume. They're clearly courting engineering teams who've been burned by surprise CI bills and want the trade-off of predictable per-seat cost even if it means paying for people who rarely trigger builds.
Plans: Free Plan $0/mo per seat · Pro Plan $30/mo per seat · Enterprise Plan Contact Sales
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env0
DevOpsSelf-service IaC management.
By refusing to publish numbers on the paid tiers, env0 is positioning itself as an enterprise-sales-motion player rather than a self-serve bargain tool — think Spacelift or Scalr territory rather than Terraform Cloud's free-friendly approach. They're chasing platform teams at mid-to-large orgs who need governance and cost controls, not solo devs comparing sticker prices.
Plans: env zero Free Tier $0/mo · env zero Cloud Navigator Contact Sales · env zero Cloud Pilot Contact Sales
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Harness
DevOpsAI-native software delivery platform.
By hiding all pricing behind sales calls, Harness positions itself as an enterprise-first platform competing with the likes of GitLab Ultimate and CircleCI's enterprise tier rather than scrappy self-serve tools like Buildkite. This is a signal they're chasing bigger contracts and betting on sales-assisted deals, not landing-page conversions.
Plans: Free Plan $0/mo · Essentials Plan Contact Sales · Enterprise Plan Contact Sales
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Octopus Deploy
DevOpsDeployment automation at scale.
At over $4K/month for the paid entry tier, Octopus Cloud is priced like a premium, ops-critical tool rather than a scrappy CI/CD add-on — this isn't competing with cheap pipeline plugins, it's going after teams already spending real money on release management. They're clearly chasing mid-market to enterprise DevOps teams who've outgrown janky in-house scripts, not hobbyists.
Plans: Free $0/mo · Professional $4330/mo · Enterprise $24600/mo
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Portainer
DevOpsContainer management UI.
Portainer sits mid-market — not the cheapest way to slap a UI on Docker, but far more affordable than heavyweight platforms like Rancher or OpenShift once you factor in the free-forever 3-node tier. They're clearly courting small ops teams and homelabbers first, then trying to convert them into paying customers as node count grows organically.
Plans: Home & Student $12/mo · Starter $105/mo · Scale $209/mo · Enterprise Contact Sales · IIoT Professional Contact Sales · IIoT Enterprise Contact Sales
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Pulumi
DevOpsInfrastructure as code in real languages.
Pulumi sits mid-to-premium in the IaC space, especially compared to Terraform's open-source-first model — they're betting that usage-based credits plus a real enterprise tier will win teams who've outgrown DIY state management and want a vendor that scales pricing with actual cloud footprint. It's less about being the cheap option and more about capturing teams as their infrastructure complexity grows.
Plans: Individual $0/mo · Team $40/mo · Enterprise $400/mo · Business Critical Contact Sales
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Spacelift
DevOpsInfrastructure orchestration for IaC.
Spacelift is playing a premium, enterprise-first game — a $20K/mo entry point for its first paid tier puts it well above typical DevOps tooling pricing and signals they're chasing platform teams at large orgs, not solo developers or small startups. The free plan is likely there to build a funnel and mindshare, but the real business model is landing big infrastructure teams and expanding from there.
Plans: Starter + $20000/mo · Business Contact Sales · Enterprise Contact Sales · Enterprise + Contact Sales
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TeamCity
DevOpsCI/CD server from JetBrains.
TeamCity sits mid-to-premium compared to GitHub Actions or CircleCI's usage-based models — the $2399/mo Enterprise tier is a serious commitment aimed at larger engineering orgs, not scrappy startups. The free tier and open-source giveaway are clearly there to hook developers who might later push their company toward Enterprise or Cloud.
Plans: Professional $0/mo · Cloud $15/mo · Enterprise $2399/mo
None of these fit? See every devops tool we price →
CircleCI Alternatives FAQ
- What is the best alternative to CircleCI?
- GitHub is the closest CircleCI alternative we track for developer tools. Paid plans start at $4/mo, and there is a free plan to start on. GitLab and Buildkite are also worth a look.
- Are there free alternatives to CircleCI?
- Yes — GitHub, GitLab, Buildkite and 7 more offer a free plan, so you can switch without paying up front.
- How much do CircleCI alternatives cost?
- Entry prices range from $4/mo (GitHub) to $20000/mo (Spacelift). Each product page has the full verified tier breakdown.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to CircleCI?
- Yes — CircleCI starts at $15/mo, while GitHub ($4/mo), Portainer ($12/mo) start lower.
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