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CircleCI

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Last updated on

Company health

Employee growth
14% decrease in the last year
Web traffic
11% decrease in the last quarter
Financing
December 2020 - $315M

Ratings

G2
4.4/5
(502)
Glassdoor
3.3/5
(143)

CircleCI description

CircleCI helps your developers release software faster and with fewer errors. It automates the building, testing, and deployment of software, so your teams can focus on creating great products. CircleCI supports various programming languages and integrates with popular developer tools. It's used by companies of all sizes to improve software quality and speed up delivery.


Who is using CircleCI?


Who is CircleCI best for

We find that CircleCI is a strong pick for development teams aiming to automate their build, test, and deployment processes. Its user-friendly YAML configuration and cloud plans are praised by users. Keep in mind that some users mention occasional connectivity and billing issues.

  • Perfect for any company size, from startups to large enterprises, looking to streamline their software delivery process.

  • Great for Software/IT/Telecoms, we've seen the best results in companies that need to ship code reliably & fast.


CircleCI features

Supported

Execution Environments: CircleCI provides execution environments to run your builds in a consistent and reliable manner.

Supported

Build Images: CircleCI allows you to create and use custom build images to speed up your builds and reduce dependencies.

Supported

Build Optimization: CircleCI optimizes your builds by caching dependencies and parallelizing jobs.

Supported

Autoscaling: CircleCI automatically scales your build infrastructure to meet demand.

Supported

Security: CircleCI provides security features to protect your code and data.

Supported

Metrics & Insights: CircleCI provides metrics and insights to help you understand your build performance.

Supported

Premium Support: CircleCI offers premium support to help you with any issues you may encounter.

Qualities

We evaluate the sentiment that users express about non-functional aspects of the software

Value and Pricing Transparency

Neutral
+0

Customer Service

Rather positive
+0.33

Ease of Use

Rather positive
+0.67

Reliability and Performance

Rather positive
+0.6

Ease of Implementation

Rather positive
+0.6

CircleCI reviews

We've summarised 502 CircleCI reviews (CircleCI G2 reviews) and summarised the main points below.

Pros of CircleCI
  • Simple to use and integrate with other technologies.
  • Great documentation.
  • Fast and speeds up releases.
  • Cloud plans empower the solution.
  • User-friendly through configuration of YAML files.
Cons of CircleCI
  • Occasional connectivity issues.
  • Nonsense 137 OOM and infrastructure failure which result in build failures.
  • Support engineers do not thoroughly read and understand issues.
  • Billing is a mess and a nightmare!
  • No transparency on how many build minutes and credits are spent each day.
  • Difficult to track usage and burndown of subscription and total outstanding refill amounts.

CircleCI pricing

The commentary is based on 28 reviews from CircleCI G2 reviews.

We find that CircleCI's free tier is appreciated for smaller projects. However, many users express concerns about the complexity and cost of scaling up, with some finding the pricing structure confusing and potentially expensive. Others have noted the cost of Docker layer caching.

Users sentiment

Neutral
+0

See the CircleCI pricing page.

  • CircleCI has a free plan.

Free
Free

Up to 6,000 build minutes per month, up to 5 active users, Docker, Windows, Linux, Arm, macOS, and self-hosted runners support, 30x concurrency.


CircleCI alternatives

  • Logo of GitLab
    circleci vs GitLab
    Complete DevOps platform: code, build, deploy, and monitor.
    Read more
  • Logo of CloudBees
    CloudBees
    Enterprise-grade Jenkins automation for faster, safer software delivery.
    Read more
  • Logo of Bitrise
    Bitrise
    Mobile app development automation: build, test, and deploy faster.
    Read more
  • Logo of Buildkite
    Buildkite
    Fast, secure, and scalable continuous integration and delivery platform.
    Read more
  • Logo of Travis CI
    circleci vs Travis CI
    Test and deploy code automatically with ease.
    Read more
  • Logo of Harness Platform
    Harness Platform
    Fast, reliable software delivery with less risk.
    Read more

CircleCI FAQ

  • What is CircleCI and what does CircleCI do?

    We find CircleCI to be a useful tool that automates software building, testing, and deployment. It supports various languages and integrates with popular developer tools, helping teams release software faster. We think it's a good option for teams looking to improve software quality and delivery speed.

  • How does CircleCI integrate with other tools?

    We find that CircleCI integrates seamlessly with popular developer tools, enhancing its automation capabilities. It supports various programming languages and build systems, making it a versatile choice for diverse development environments.

  • What the main competitors of CircleCI?

    We find that CircleCI's main competitors are CloudBees, Bitrise, GitLab, Azure Pipelines, Travis CI, and Buildkite. These alternatives offer similar features for building, testing, and deploying software.

  • Is CircleCI legit?

    Yes, CircleCI is a legitimate and widely used CI/CD platform. We find CircleCI is generally well-regarded for its ease of use and performance, despite some user complaints regarding billing and occasional connectivity issues. Overall, it's a reliable choice for automating your software delivery pipeline.

  • How much does CircleCI cost?

    CircleCI has a Free plan with 6,000 build minutes per month. Their Performance plan starts at $15/month, and the Scale plan requires contacting sales for pricing. We find the free tier very generous for small teams.

  • Is CircleCI customer service good?

    CircleCI's customer support receives mixed reviews. While some users praise the quick and helpful support engineers, others express frustration with slow response times and unhelpful answers. There are also concerns about support engineers not fully understanding reported issues.


Reviewed by

MK
Michal Kaczor
CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

TT
Tymon Terlikiewicz
CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.