Comparison

CircleCI vs Semaphore

On the evidence we track, CircleCI leads this comparison with a composite score of 76/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★CircleCI76
Semaphore63
Score
vioscaleAI score
CircleCI76 / 100medium · 74%
Semaphore63 / 100medium · 70%
Pricing
Free tier
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✓
Model
CircleCIfreemium
Semaphorefreemium
Price level
CircleCImid
Semaphorelow
Starting price
CircleCI$15
Semaphore–
Transparent
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✗
Integrations
Count
CircleCI15
Semaphore1
Security
Disclosure policy
CircleCI✓
Semaphore–
Fedramp
CircleCI✓
Semaphore–
Gdpr
CircleCI✓
Semaphore–
Iso27001
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✓
Pci
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✓
Soc2
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✓
Reliability
Status page
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✓
Adoption
Stackoverflow questions
CircleCI8,600
Semaphore–
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
CircleCI8 items
Semaphore5 items
Hosting
Model
CircleCIcloud
Semaphore–

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for ci/cd tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Deployment
Hosting
CircleCICloud + self-hosted
SemaphoreCloud + self-hosted
Self-hosted runners
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✓
Core
Config-as-code pipelines
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✓
Matrix / parallel builds
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✓
Build
Container-native builds
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✓
Performance
Build caching
CircleCI✓
Semaphore-
Security
Secrets management
CircleCI✓
Semaphore-
Delivery
Deployment environments & approvals
CircleCI✓
Semaphore-
Ecosystem
Reusable actions / marketplace
CircleCI✓
Semaphore-

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

CircleCI

Leader

A continuous integration and deployment service that automates software testing, building, and deployment across multiple compute environments, with intelligent workflow orchestration and parallel execution capabilities.

Independently observed

Semaphore

A delivery platform that combines CI/CD capabilities with AI-driven features through a command-line interface.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

CircleCI

Leader
from $15/moUsage-basedFree tier

Free plan with 30k monthly credits. Performance plan starts at $15/month with usage-based pricing for additional credits.

  • FreeFree
    • 30,000 free credits/month
    • Docker, Windows, Linux, Arm, macOS environments
    • Self-hosted runners
    • Docker layer caching
    • Deploys
    • +3 more
  • Performance$15/month + $0.60 per 1,000 additional credits
    • 30,000 free credits/month included
    • All compute environments including GPU
    • Docker layer caching
    • Deploys
    • Single sign-on (SSO)
    • +4 more
as of verify ↗

Semaphore

from $0.00/moUsage-basedFree tier

Pay-per-minute metered compute: $0.0025/min (self-hosted) to $0.09/min (MacOS). Includes 20 concurrent jobs, $15/month free credits, 9.6 GB cache, and free support. Optional modular support and success services.

  • Compute - Ubuntu ARM$0.003–$0.012/min depending on vCPU
  • Compute - Ubuntu x64$0.0075–$0.015/min depending on vCPU
  • Compute - MacOS$0.09/min
  • Compute - Self-Hosted$0.0025/min
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✗
CLI
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✓
Self-hosted
CircleCI✓
Semaphore✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

CircleCI

Leader
18 total
  • AWS
  • AWS ECS
  • AWS ECR
  • AWS EKS
  • AWS S3
  • AWS Lambda
  • GitHub
  • Docker
  • Heroku
  • Netlify
  • OpenID Connect
  • Vault
  • GCP
  • Stripe
  • MCP
  • Firebase Distribution
  • Fastlane
  • Rollbar
Independently observed

Semaphore

1 total
  • Flowdock
Independently observed
Still deciding?

CircleCI or Semaphore: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.