CircleCI Pricing (2026)

It's a credit-based system where a single currency (credits) covers compute usage, seats, and resource consumption — so instead of paying per-seat or a flat fee, you're buying a pool of credits that flex across everything you actually consume. That makes the $15/mo Performance price a floor, not a ceiling, since real cost scales with how much CI/CD you're running.

From $15/mo 3 plans usage-based Free plan Best CircleCI alternatives → CircleCI's competitors →
Free
$0/mo
Performance
$15/mo
Scale
Contact Sales
Verified Aug 04, 2026 Official pricing page
Screenshot of CircleCI's pricing page showing its plans and prices
Their pricing page, captured Aug 04, 2026

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Free

$0/mo
  • Up to 6,000 build minutes
  • Up to 5 active users/month
  • Docker, Windows, Linux, Arm, macOS, self hosted runners
  • 30x concurrency

Performance

$15/mo
  • 30,000 credits included free
  • 5 active users
  • Larger resources
  • 80x concurrency
  • Optional 8x5 support add-on

Scale

Contact Sales
  • Customizable plans
  • Enterprise controls
  • Largest resource classes
  • All environments, even GPU
  • Optional 24/7 support add-on

Does CircleCI have a free plan?

Yes: the Free plan is free forever, not a time-limited trial. When you outgrow it, paid plans start at $15/mo.

What the free plan includes

  • Up to 6,000 build minutes
  • Up to 5 active users/month
  • Docker, Windows, Linux, Arm, macOS, self hosted runners
  • 30x concurrency

AI Pricing Analysis

Pricing Model

It's a credit-based system where a single currency (credits) covers compute usage, seats, and resource consumption — so instead of paying per-seat or a flat fee, you're buying a pool of credits that flex across everything you actually consume. That makes the $15/mo Performance price a floor, not a ceiling, since real cost scales with how much CI/CD you're running.

Tier Strategy

Free is built for solo devs and small projects just testing the waters, with credits capped low enough that any real team velocity burns through them fast. Performance is the default landing spot for active teams running frequent builds, and the jump to Scale happens when you need annual billing, custom credit volumes, or enterprise controls like RBAC and audit logs that aren't available at self-serve pricing.

Competitive Positioning

CircleCI sits mid-pack against GitHub Actions and GitLab CI — pricier than bundled-in options for teams already living in GitHub, but positioned as the specialist tool for orgs that want dedicated CI/CD performance without going full enterprise DevOps platform. They're chasing teams who've outgrown Jenkins or hit friction with GitHub Actions' concurrency limits but aren't ready for GitLab's whole-lifecycle price tag.

Growth Lever

Usage is the real lever here — more builds, more parallelism, more compute-intensive jobs all drain credits faster, forcing upgrades regardless of headcount. Scale's custom pricing also gates the features larger orgs actually need (self-hosted runners at volume, advanced security/compliance), so expansion comes from both consumption growth and feature-gating at the enterprise tier.

Want the strategist's read on the live page? Read the AI teardown of CircleCI's pricing page →

CircleCI Pricing FAQ

How much does CircleCI cost?
Paid plans start at $15/mo. There's also an Enterprise tier with custom pricing. You can get started on the free plan before committing.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. The "Free" plan is free forever, not just a trial. You get up to 6,000 build minutes, up to 5 active users/month, docker, windows, linux, arm, macos, self hosted runners — plus 1 more features. It's enough to evaluate the product before upgrading.
Can I try it before paying?
There's no trial per se, but the free plan lets you use the product indefinitely with some limits.
How does the pricing work?
It's a credit-based system where a single currency (credits) covers compute usage, seats, and resource consumption — so instead of paying per-seat or a flat fee, you're buying a pool of credits that flex across everything you actually consume. That makes the $15/mo Performance price a floor, not a ceiling, since real cost scales with how much CI/CD you're running.
Which plan makes sense for me?
Free is built for solo devs and small projects just testing the waters, with credits capped low enough that any real team velocity burns through them fast. Performance is the default landing spot for active teams running frequent builds, and the jump to Scale happens when you need annual billing, custom credit volumes, or enterprise controls like RBAC and audit logs that aren't available at self-serve pricing.

More DevOps pricing

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Comparing CircleCI to something specific? Try CircleCI vs GitHub, CircleCI vs GitLab, or CircleCI vs Buildkite. Or see the best CircleCI alternatives, ranked.

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