Free 2026 Pricing 3 Platforms

CI/CD Cost Comparison 2026

Enter your workflow configuration once and see the exact monthly cost on GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and CircleCI side by side. Find the cheapest platform for your team.

Workflow Configuration

Avg duration per run 10 min

1 min30 min60 min

Runs per day 10x / day

150100

Working days / month 22 days

Runner / OS Type

Linux / Ubuntu

Standard — lowest cost

Windows

2x multiplier on GitHub

macOS

10x multiplier on GitHub

Plan Selection

GitHub Actions Plan

GitLab CI Plan

CircleCI Plan

CircleCI Machine Size

1 credit = $0.0006. 25,000 credits = $15.

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Raw min / month

Runs / month

Runner selected

Linux

GitHub Actions

$0.00

per month

Billed minutes 0

Free minutes 0

Overage $0.00

Plan cost $4.00

Linux $0.006/min

GitLab CI

$0.00

per month

Billed minutes 0

Free minutes 0

Overage $0.00

Plan cost $29.00

Flat $0.010/min all runners

CircleCI

$0.00

per month

Credits used 0

Free credits 30,000

Overage $0.00

Plan cost $0.00

Medium 10 credits/min

Monthly Cost — Visual Comparison

GitHub Actions

$0.00

GitLab CI

$0.00

CircleCI

$0.00

Effective Rate — Per Minute

Platform	Linux	Windows	macOS
GitHub Actions	$0.006	$0.010	$0.048
GitLab CI	$0.010	$0.010	$0.010
CircleCI Medium	$0.006	$0.006	$0.060

GitLab CI charges the same flat rate regardless of runner OS — no multipliers. GitHub Actions charges 10x more for macOS (multiplier system). CircleCI macOS is the most expensive per minute.

Platform Feature Comparison

Feature	GitHub	GitLab	CircleCI
Free tier minutes	2,000	400	3,000 min equiv
OS multipliers	Yes — 1x/2x/10x	No — flat rate	No multipliers
Billing unit	Minutes	Minutes	Credits
Linux rate (overage)	$0.006/min	$0.010/min	$0.006/min
macOS rate	$0.048/min	$0.010/min	$0.060/min
GitHub integration
Self-hosted runners
YAML-based config
Predictable billing

When to Use Each Platform

Choose GitHub Actions when

Your code is hosted on GitHub
You use Linux runners primarily
You want the largest marketplace of pre-built actions
Monthly usage stays within free tier

Choose GitLab CI when

You use macOS or Windows runners heavily
You want predictable flat-rate billing across all OS types
You want built-in container registry and DevOps platform
Your team wants self-hosted GitLab for compliance

Choose CircleCI when

You need fine-grained resource class control
You want Docker layer caching built in
You have existing CircleCI orbs and config
Your Linux usage is high and within free credit tier

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Full Pricing Reference — 2026

Updated Jan 1, 2026

GitHub Actions

Linux$0.006/min

Windows$0.010/min

macOS$0.048/min

Free minutes / month

Free plan2,000

Pro / Team3,000

Enterprise50,000

Multipliers: Linux 1x, Windows 2x, macOS 10x

GitLab CI

All runners$0.010/min

No multipliersFlat rate

Free minutes / month

Free plan400

Premium $29/user10,000

Ultimate $99/user50,000

Same rate regardless of OS — most predictable billing

CircleCI

Credits per minute (Linux)

Small 1CPU/2GB5 cr ($0.003)

Medium 2CPU/4GB10 cr ($0.006)

Large 4CPU/8GB20 cr ($0.012)

X-Large 8CPU/16GB40 cr ($0.024)

macOS Medium100 cr ($0.060)

Free credits30,000/month

25K credits$15.00

Frequently Asked Questions

For Linux runners, GitHub Actions and CircleCI Medium are tied at $0.006 per minute — cheapest overage rate. GitLab CI charges $0.010 per minute. However, the total monthly cost depends heavily on how much you use versus the free tier. GitHub Actions Pro gives 3,000 free minutes, CircleCI Free gives 30,000 credits (3,000 Linux medium minutes), while GitLab Free gives only 400 minutes. For low usage within the free tier, CircleCI has the most generous allocation.

GitLab CI charges a flat $0.010 per minute regardless of runner OS — no multipliers. GitHub Actions charges $0.048/min for macOS (8x more than Linux) and applies a 10x minute multiplier against your free quota. CircleCI macOS is even more expensive at $0.060/min. If your team has significant macOS or Windows usage, GitLab CI will almost always be cheaper.

On January 1, 2026, GitHub reduced hosted runner overage prices by up to 39%. Linux dropped from $0.008 to $0.006 per minute, Windows from $0.016 to $0.010, and macOS from $0.080 to approximately $0.048. Free minute quotas remain unchanged. A self-hosted runner charge was announced for March 2026 but subsequently postponed.

CircleCI charges in credits instead of direct minutes. Each resource class consumes a different number of credits per minute — a Medium Linux machine uses 10 credits per minute, Large uses 20, and so on. Each credit costs $0.0006 when purchased in blocks of 25,000 for $15. The free plan includes 30,000 credits per month which equals 3,000 minutes on a Medium Linux machine. Unused credits roll over to the next month on paid plans.

Switching CI/CD platforms has migration costs — rewriting pipeline configs, training the team, and potential workflow disruptions. Before switching, first optimize your existing workflows using caching, concurrency groups, and path filters. Often a 40-60% reduction in minutes is achievable without switching platforms. Use this calculator to see if the potential savings justify the migration effort for your specific usage.

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