GitHub Actions (hosted runners) vs CircleCI
Default scenario: At 50,000 Linux build minutes / month, estimated bills are $2,520/yr for GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and $3,384/yr for CircleCI. That’s a $864 difference before accounting for different features or operating costs.
The services may differ in features, performance, support and the work you need to do yourself. Read the notes and test what matters to your setup.
Your selected usage
50,000 Linux build minutes / month
- GitHub Actions (hosted runners): $2,520/yr estimated
- CircleCI: $3,384/yr estimated
Estimated costs at different usage levels
| Usage | GitHub Actions (hosted runners) | CircleCI |
|---|---|---|
| Small team5,000 Linux build minutes / month | $216/yrFree · $0.006/min | $180/yrPerformance · $0.006/min |
| Scale-up50,000 Linux build minutes / month | $2,520/yrEnterprise Cloud (10 seats) · $0.006/min | $3,384/yrPerformance · $0.006/min |
| Monorepo500,000 Linux build minutes / month | $34,920/yrEnterprise Cloud (10 seats) · $0.006/min | $35,784/yrPerformance · $0.006/min |
Linux x64, 2 vCPU equivalent. Faster runners finish jobs sooner, so cost per build can beat cost per minute. Try your own numbers against all ci runners providers.
Side by side
| GitHub Actions (hosted runners) | CircleCI | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | GitHub's built-in CI/CD with GitHub-hosted runners; minutes included per plan, then billed per minute by runner size. | Hosted CI/CD billed in credits; a free monthly credit allowance, then credit packs consumed per minute by resource class. |
| Headquarters | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Parent jurisdiction | 🇺🇸 United States (Microsoft) | 🇺🇸 United States |
| EU self-serve plan | No / not documented | No / not documented |
| GDPR DPA | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | payg | payg |
| Free tier | Standard hosted runners are free for public repositories; private repos get 2,000 min/month on Free. | 30,000 credits/month (3,000 min on Linux medium), up to 5 active users. |
| Open source | No | No |
| Source last checked | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-06 |
| Pricing evidence | Modeled rates | Published rates |
Which should you choose?
CircleCI has the lower estimated bill up to about 25,000 Linux build minutes / month. From about 50,000 Linux build minutes / month, GitHub Actions (hosted runners) is cheaper.
Choose GitHub Actions (hosted runners) if…
- it has the lower estimated bill at Scale-up and Monorepo usage
Choose CircleCI if…
- it has the lower estimated bill at Small team usage
Based on estimated list-price bills and the facts above. Features, performance and support aren’t scored.
GitHub Actions (hosted runners) pricing
Published rates converted using workload assumptions. Read the notes. Assumes ten platform seats. Existing seats are not an incremental runner cost; included minutes depend on the plan.
| Plan | Base fee / month | Build minute |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0.006 |
| Team (10 seats) | $40 | $0.006 |
| Enterprise Cloud (10 seats) | $210 | $0.006 |
Private repositories, standard Linux 2-core x64 runner: $0.006/min (1-core $0.002, 2-core arm64 $0.005, larger x64 runners $0.012-$0.252/min, Windows 2-core $0.010, macOS $0.062). Included minutes per month: Free 2,000, Pro/Team 3,000, Enterprise Cloud 50,000 (docs.github.com/en/billing/concepts/product-billing/ github-actions). Seat prices from github.com/pricing: Team $4/user/month, Enterprise $21/user/month; plans modelled with an assumed 10 seats, though seats are bought for the repo platform, not for CI. Standard hosted runners are free for public repositories, and self-hosted runners are not charged. EU data residency (GHE.com) is only for Enterprise Cloud via sales.
GitHub Actions (hosted runners) plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
CircleCI pricing
Calculated from the listed vendor rates; exclusions still apply.
| Plan | Base fee / month | Build minute |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0.006 |
| Performance | $15 | $0.006 |
Linux Docker medium (2 vCPU, 4 GB) and Linux VM medium (2 vCPU, 7.5 GB) both cost 10 credits/min (circleci.com/pricing/price-list/). Credits are $15 per 25,000 ($0.0006/credit), so $0.006/min. Free: 30,000 credits/month, no credit purchases. Performance: from $15/month (one 25,000-credit pack) plus the same 30,000 free credits, so 5,500 Linux-medium minutes before further packs; credits auto-refill in 25,000-credit blocks. Five active users included, then $15/user/month (25,000 credits). Storage and network egress cost 420 credits/GB. Scale plan is annual and quote-based.
CircleCI plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
Frequently asked questions
Is GitHub Actions (hosted runners) cheaper than CircleCI?
CircleCI has the lower estimated bill up to about 25,000 Linux build minutes / month. From about 50,000 Linux build minutes / month, GitHub Actions (hosted runners) is cheaper. At 50,000 Linux build minutes / month, the estimates are $2,520/yr for GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and $3,384/yr for CircleCI. Estimates use list prices and leave out features, support and operating costs.
Do GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and CircleCI offer EU data residency?
Neither documents EU data residency on a self-serve plan.
Do GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and CircleCI have a free tier or trial?
GitHub Actions (hosted runners): Standard hosted runners are free for public repositories; private repos get 2,000 min/month on Free. CircleCI: 30,000 credits/month (3,000 min on Linux medium), up to 5 active users.
Where are GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and CircleCI based?
GitHub Actions (hosted runners) is headquartered in the United States and owned by Microsoft (the United States). CircleCI is headquartered in the United States.