What is the best free CI/CD platform?

GitHub Actions is free for public repositories. GitLab's Free tier suits personal projects, and CircleCI's Free Cloud Server plan includes 30,000 credits a month.

Which CI can run on my own servers?

Jenkins and Woodpecker CI run on your servers. GitLab can be self-managed, and Buildkite runs jobs on agents you connect.

Does GitHub Actions work with other code hosts?

GitHub Actions works with GitHub repositories, and Bitbucket Pipelines works only with Bitbucket Cloud. Teams on other hosts should check each platform's supported sources.

Best CI/CD Platforms in 2026: Top 10 Ranked

The ranking

Top pickGitHub Actions92.0
Best with a free planGitLab90.5
Best open sourceJenkins83.5

1
GitHub Actions
The default CI for GitHub repositories, free for public repositories and with included minutes by plan. Its workflows depend on GitHub, so it does not help teams that host code elsewhere.
Best for Projects already on GitHub
WebFree plan, paid upgrades
92.0of 100
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2
GitLab
Source control, CI/CD and planning in one product, with a free tier for personal projects and an MIT-licensed Community Edition. Premium is $29 per user a month, and advanced security sits on the custom-priced Ultimate plan.
Best for Code hosting plus CI in one product
WebSelf-hostedFree plan, paid upgradesOpen source
90.5of 100
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3
CircleCI
A hosted CI platform with a Free Cloud Server plan of 30,000 credits a month and machine sizes for each job. Costs rise with credit use, and the Scale plan starts with a sales demo.
Best for Hosted CI with control over machine size
WebPay as you go
87.0of 100
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4
Buildkite
Runs jobs on your own agents or on hosted Linux agents billed per minute, with a Free plan for up to five active users. Pro is $30 per active user a month, and the platform is not open source.
Best for CI on your own infrastructure
WebFree plan, paid upgrades
85.5of 100
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5
Azure Pipelines
Microsoft's CI/CD service inside Azure DevOps, with one free parallel job of 1,800 build minutes per organization each month. It fits teams on Azure or Microsoft tooling, and extra parallel jobs and users add cost.
Best for Teams on Azure and Microsoft tooling
WebFree plan, paid upgrades
85.0of 100
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6
Bitbucket Pipelines
CI built into Bitbucket Cloud with 50 free build minutes a month and no separate CI server to run. It works only with Bitbucket Cloud repositories, and build minutes cap each plan.
Best for Teams already on Bitbucket Cloud
WebFree plan, paid upgrades
84.0of 100
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7
Jenkins
A free, MIT-licensed automation server with a large plugin ecosystem, for teams that want full control of their infrastructure. The servers and plugin upkeep are yours to manage.
Best for Self-hosted CI with full control
WebSelf-hostedFree and open sourceOpen source
83.5of 100
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8
Semaphore
CI/CD service billed per minute by machine size, with $15 of free credits each month and a self-hosted rate of $0.0025 a minute. Its own comparison reports faster builds and lower cost per job, but those figures are the vendor's.
Best for Teams that want per-minute pricing and fast builds
WebPay as you go
82.5of 100
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9
Drone
Apache-2.0 container-based CI engine that you run on your own servers, with a cloud version offered to try. The cloud platforms here run builds for their users, while Drone suits teams that want to run the CI engine themselves.
Best for Self-hosted CI that runs builds in containers
Self-hostedFree and open sourceOpen source
81.5of 100
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10
Woodpecker CI
An Apache 2.0 licensed, container-based CI engine that is free to self-host, with core and community plugins. It asks the team to run and secure the server.
Best for Open-source container-based CI, self-hosted
WebSelf-hostedFree and open sourceOpen source
80.0of 100
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At a glance

Product	Score	Price	Platforms	Hosting
GitHub Actions	92.0	Free plan, paid upgrades	Web	GitHub-hosted or self-hosted runners
GitLab	90.5	Free plan, paid upgrades	WebSelf-hosted	GitLab.com or self-managed
CircleCI	87.0	Pay as you go	Web	Hosted, usage credits
Buildkite	85.5	Free plan, paid upgrades	Web	Your agents or hosted agents
Azure Pipelines	85.0	Free plan, paid upgrades	Web	Microsoft-hosted agents
Bitbucket Pipelines	84.0	Free plan, paid upgrades	Web	Bitbucket Cloud
Jenkins	83.5	Free and open source	WebSelf-hosted	Self-hosted
Semaphore	82.5	Pay as you go	Web	Cloud runners or self-hosted
Drone	81.5	Free and open source	Self-hosted	Self-hosted engine; cloud trial
Woodpecker CI	80.0	Free and open source	WebSelf-hosted	Self-hosted

How to choose CI/CD platforms

Code host: GitHub Actions suits GitHub repositories and Bitbucket Pipelines suits Bitbucket Cloud; GitLab covers its own hosting.
Self-hosting: Jenkins and Woodpecker CI run on your servers, and GitLab offers a self-managed edition alongside its hosted service.
Pricing unit: Plans are based on minutes, credits or active users, so compare the unit that matches your build volume.
Open source: Jenkins, Woodpecker CI and GitLab's Community Edition are open source; the other platforms here are not.

What the scores weigh

Free plan and pricing clarity
Fit with common code hosts
Self-hosting and control
Open-source license
Ease of setup and maintenance

Scores are editorial, from 0 to 100, and use these criteria. Full method · Disclosure

About CI/CD platforms

CI/CD platforms fall into two groups. Hosted services such as GitHub Actions, CircleCI, Buildkite and Bitbucket Pipelines run pipelines on their own infrastructure or on agents you connect. Self-hosted engines such as Jenkins and Woodpecker CI run on your servers, and GitLab offers both a hosted service and a self-managed option.

Pricing is measured in different units. GitHub Actions is free for public repositories and includes minutes by plan. CircleCI uses credits, Bitbucket Pipelines counts build minutes, and Buildkite bills per active user for its Pro plan and per vCPU minute for hosted agents. Jenkins and Woodpecker CI are free to run, and the cost is the server and upkeep.

Licensing is another split. Jenkins is MIT-licensed, Woodpecker CI is Apache 2.0, and GitLab's Community Edition is MIT for code outside its ee/ directory. GitHub Actions, CircleCI, Buildkite and Bitbucket Pipelines are hosted services with proprietary platforms. The scores below are editorial judgments against the criteria, not measurements.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free CI/CD platform?: GitHub Actions is free for public repositories. GitLab's Free tier suits personal projects, and CircleCI's Free Cloud Server plan includes 30,000 credits a month.
Which CI/CD tools are open source?: Jenkins is MIT-licensed, Woodpecker CI and Drone are Apache 2.0, and GitLab's Community Edition is MIT for code outside its ee/ directory. GitHub Actions, CircleCI, Buildkite and Bitbucket Pipelines are hosted services.
Which CI can run on my own servers?: Jenkins and Woodpecker CI run on your servers. GitLab can be self-managed, and Buildkite runs jobs on agents you connect.
Does GitHub Actions work with other code hosts?: GitHub Actions works with GitHub repositories, and Bitbucket Pipelines works only with Bitbucket Cloud. Teams on other hosts should check each platform's supported sources.