Open Source Alternatives
Alternatives to CircleCI
Cloud-based continuous integration and delivery platform.
CircleCI is a trademark of its respective owner.
Updated Mar 2026
| Jenkins | Woodpecker | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 15 | 12 |
| Overlap | 80% | 70% |
| Migration | significant | moderate |
| License | MIT License | Apache License 2.0 |
| Best for | Teams with DevOps | Small teams |
Drop-in Replacements
Ranked by Discovery Score
Jenkins
1580% coverageThe original CI/CD automation server
If you need a CI/CD server and want something that has a plugin for literally everything — 1,800+ plugins covering every build tool, cloud provider, notification service, and deployment target imaginable — Jenkins is the original and still the most extensible. It's been around since 2011 and there isn't a workflow it can't handle.
Woodpecker
1270% coverageSimple yet powerful CI/CD engine
If you want a CI/CD system — the thing that automatically tests and deploys your code when you push it — and you don't want to pay for GitHub Actions minutes or depend on a hosted service, Woodpecker is a self-hosted CI engine that's dead simple to set up. It's a community fork of Drone CI, after Drone went commercial.
Building Blocks
CircleCI is a platform — it bundles multiple capabilities into one subscription. These tools each cover one piece. Teams often assemble 2–3 of them instead of paying for the full suite.
Explore Other Tools
AWS Cognito We cover new ci/cd tools every week
Including when one of these alternatives ships a major update. Free.