Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · Continuous Integration Software

GitLab CI/CD vs CircleCI

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score GitLab CI/CD #2 in Continuous Integration Software 9.3/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit GitLab CI/CD
CircleCI #4 in Continuous Integration Software 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit CircleCI

GitLab CI/CD leads on 0 checks, CircleCI on 1, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreGitLab CI/CD · 9.3/10
  • Lowest starting priceCircleCI · $15/mo
  • Free planboth

GitLab CI/CD scores higher on our rubric for continuous integration software: 9.3 against 9.0 out of 10; our editors rank them #2 and #4.

CircleCI is cheaper to start at $15/mo against $29/mo.

GitLab CI/CD is the better fit for integrated DevOps teams. CircleCI is the better fit for teams needing advanced test CI.

  • GitLab CI/CD fits best

    Integrated DevOps teams

  • CircleCI fits best

    Teams needing advanced test CI

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature GitLab CI/CD 9.3/10 Visit ↗ CircleCI 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.3 9.0
Ranking #2 in Continuous Integration Software #4 in Continuous Integration Software
Best for Integrated DevOps teams Teams needing advanced test CI
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free plan + paid
Starting price $29/user/mo $15/mo (best)
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Web, Windows, macOS, Linux Web
Support Tickets, Community, Docs · 24/7 Community, Docs, Tickets, Email
Compliance SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR SOC 2, GDPR, SSO/SAML, 2FA
Integrations 41+ integrations 3 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features GitLab CI/CD 4/4 · CircleCI 4/4
Hosted option ✓ ✓
Self-hosted runners ✓ ✓
Pull request checks ✓ ✓
Artifact or dependency cache ✓ ✓
Specs
Parallel jobs Not checked yet 80 jobs
Included build minutes 10000 min/mo Not checked yet
Pipeline configuration Yaml Yaml
Our review
Pros
  • DAG, parent-child, matrix, and merge-request pipelines
  • Hosted and self-managed runners across Linux, Windows, and macOS
  • Caching, artifacts, parallel jobs, and cross-project pipelines
  • Runs jobs across Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, GPU, Arm, and self-hosted runners
  • Supports parallel workflows, caching, artifacts, workspaces, and test splitting
  • Connects with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, AWS, Google Cloud, and Kubernetes
Cons
  • The Free plan includes 400 compute minutes per month
  • Ultimate uses custom pricing
  • Premium pricing is listed for annual billing
  • Paid usage is based on credits rather than a fixed build-minute allowance
  • The Scale plan uses customizable pricing instead of a listed monthly price
  • Advanced support options cost extra on the Performance and Scale plans
Our verdict

GitLab CI/CD is a continuous integration and delivery system integrated with GitLab. Teams define pipelines in YAML files and automate builds, tests, security checks, and deployments. It supports triggers for pushes, merge requests,…

Read the review →

CircleCI is a continuous integration and delivery platform for software teams that need automated builds, tests, and deployment workflows. Teams define pipelines in YAML through a .circleci/config.yml file, connect supported…

Read the review →
  1. GitLab CI/CDContinuous Integration Software 9.3Free plan
  2. CircleCIContinuous Integration Software 9.0Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • GitLab CI/CD — where it wins

    • DAG, parent-child, matrix, and merge-request pipelines
    • Hosted and self-managed runners across Linux, Windows, and macOS
    • Caching, artifacts, parallel jobs, and cross-project pipelines

    Where it doesn't

    • The Free plan includes 400 compute minutes per month
    • Ultimate uses custom pricing
    • Premium pricing is listed for annual billing

  • CircleCI — where it wins

    • Runs jobs across Docker, Linux, macOS, Windows, GPU, Arm, and self-hosted runners
    • Supports parallel workflows, caching, artifacts, workspaces, and test splitting
    • Connects with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, AWS, Google Cloud, and Kubernetes

    Where it doesn't

    • Paid usage is based on credits rather than a fixed build-minute allowance
    • The Scale plan uses customizable pricing instead of a listed monthly price
    • Advanced support options cost extra on the Performance and Scale plans

More comparisons

All continuous integration software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update