GitHub Actions vs CircleCI
A comparison of GitHub Actions and CircleCI built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
- Pick GitHub Actions if
- Repos already on GitHub — no separate CI product to wire up, and self-hosted runners cost nothing to use beyond the hardware itself.
- Pick CircleCI if
- Teams running mostly on self-hosted runners, where build-minute cost disappears entirely and the credits system only meters users and premium features.
2 sourced criteria separate them:
- Pricing model
- GitHub Actions: Per-minute billing beyond the included allowance: $0.006/minute (Linux), $0.010/minute (Windows), $0.062/minute (macOS). Artifact storage overage $0.25/GB-month; cache storage overage $0.07/GB-month.
- CircleCI: Credits-based: purchased up-front and consumed in real time for compute usage, active users and premium features. Network egress beyond the plan allowance is billed at 420 credits per GB.
- Self-hosted runners
- GitHub Actions: Free for self-hosted runners — no usage charges beyond the runner's own infrastructure cost.
- CircleCI: Supported on every tier: 5 concurrent self-hosted tasks on Free, 20 on Performance, unlimited on Scale. No per-minute charge for self-hosted runner builds.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
GitHub Actions 0
CircleCI 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | GitHub Actions | CircleCI |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per-minute billing beyond the included allowance: $0.006/minute (Linux), $0.010/minute (Windows), $0.062/minute (macOS). Artifact storage overage $0.25/GB-month; cache storage overage $0.07/GB-month. | Credits-based: purchased up-front and consumed in real time for compute usage, active users and premium features. Network egress beyond the plan allowance is billed at 420 credits per GB. |
| CI/CD | ||
| Self-hosted runners | Free for self-hosted runners — no usage charges beyond the runner's own infrastructure cost. | Supported on every tier: 5 concurrent self-hosted tasks on Free, 20 on Performance, unlimited on Scale. No per-minute charge for self-hosted runner builds. |
Where they differ.
Pricing model
- GitHub Actions
- Per-minute billing beyond the included allowance: $0.006/minute (Linux), $0.010/minute (Windows), $0.062/minute (macOS). Artifact storage overage $0.25/GB-month; cache storage overage $0.07/GB-month.
- CircleCI
- Credits-based: purchased up-front and consumed in real time for compute usage, active users and premium features. Network egress beyond the plan allowance is billed at 420 credits per GB.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- About billing for GitHub Actions ↗
“Linux: $0.006 USD/minute. Windows: $0.010 USD/minute. macOS: $0.062 USD/minute. Shared storage: $0.25 USD per GB/month. Cache storage: $0.07 USD per GB/month.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official docs
- CircleCI Pricing ↗
“Credits are purchased up-front and are used to pay for CircleCI platform usage in real time. Network egress...charged at a rate of 420 credits per GB.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
Self-hosted runners
- GitHub Actions
- Free for self-hosted runners — no usage charges beyond the runner's own infrastructure cost.
- CircleCI
- Supported on every tier: 5 concurrent self-hosted tasks on Free, 20 on Performance, unlimited on Scale. No per-minute charge for self-hosted runner builds.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- About billing for GitHub Actions ↗
“GitHub Actions is free for self-hosted runners.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official docs
- CircleCI Pricing ↗
“Free: 5 [concurrent self-hosted tasks]. Performance: 20. Scale: Unlimited. CircleCI does not charge per build minute on self-hosted runners.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Which should you choose?
Choose GitHub Actions if…
Repos already on GitHub — no separate CI product to wire up, and self-hosted runners cost nothing to use beyond the hardware itself.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose CircleCI if…
Teams running mostly on self-hosted runners, where build-minute cost disappears entirely and the credits system only meters users and premium features.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- GitHub Actions: Heavy macOS usage — at $0.062/minute it's by far the most expensive runner type here, and a dedicated CI product may price Mac builds differently.
- CircleCI: The workload is small and simple — a credits system adds a layer of currency conversion a flat per-minute or per-user price doesn't.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Should I choose GitHub Actions or CircleCI?
Pick GitHub Actions if Repos already on GitHub — no separate CI product to wire up, and self-hosted runners cost nothing to use beyond the hardware itself.
Pick CircleCI if Teams running mostly on self-hosted runners, where build-minute cost disappears entirely and the credits system only meters users and premium features.