# Drone vs GitHub Actions

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** GitHub Actions

| Attribute | Drone | GitHub Actions |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 49.9 (18% (low)) | 70 (71% (medium)) |
| adoption.stackoverflow_questions | - | 42,000 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Drone is a continuous integration server that provides a unified interface for multiple source control management systems, supports Docker image building and publishing, includes customizable runner infrastructure with automatic scaling, and enables pipeline configuration through code. It is indexed under CI/CD Tools.","source":"https://www.drone.io","question":"What is Drone?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Drone offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.drone.io","question":"Is Drone free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Drone. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.drone.io","question":"What platforms does Drone support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Drone can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.drone.io","question":"Can Drone be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 5 integrations for Drone, including GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab, Docker and MySQL. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.drone.io","question":"What does Drone integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Drone is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in the United States.","source":"https://www.drone.io","question":"Where is Drone available?","confidence":0.75}]` | `[{"answer":"Built-in automation tooling that enables developers to create reusable workflow steps for continuous integration and deployment, supporting multiple runner environments and languages. It is indexed under CI/CD Tools.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"What is GitHub Actions?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"GitHub Actions offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans are also available: Free, Pro and GitHub Enterprise Cloud. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"Is GitHub Actions free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"GitHub Actions supports the web, iOS, Android and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"What platforms does GitHub Actions support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. GitHub Actions can be deployed cloud / SaaS, hybrid, on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"Can GitHub Actions be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 29 integrations for GitHub Actions, including Jira, npm, Docker, GitHub Packages, GitHub Pages, CodeQL, Slack and AWS, plus 21 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"What does GitHub Actions integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, ISO 27001 and GDPR for GitHub Actions. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as GitHub Actions not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://github.com/security","question":"What security certifications does GitHub Actions have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"GitHub Actions is available in the United States, the EU and Australia.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"Where is GitHub Actions available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A CI/CD server featuring a web interface, programmatic API, auto-scaling instance management, and extensibility through Docker builds and custom runners. | Built-in automation tooling that enables developers to create reusable workflow steps for continuous integration and deployment, supporting multiple runner environments and languages. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"both","marketplace":true,"yaml_pipelines":true,"container_native":true,"secrets_management":true,"deploy_environments":true,"self_hosted_runners":true}` | `{"caching":true,"hosting":"both","marketplace":true,"matrix_builds":true,"yaml_pipelines":true,"container_native":true,"secrets_management":true,"deploy_environments":true,"self_hosted_runners":true}` |
| hosting.model | - | cloud |
| integrations.count | 2 | 23 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"GitHub Enterprise"},{"name":"Bitbucket"},{"name":"GitLab"},{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"MySQL"},{"name":"Source code management systems","native":true}]` | `[{"name":"Jira"},{"name":"npm"},{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"GitHub Packages"},{"name":"GitHub Pages"},{"name":"CodeQL"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"Azure"},{"name":"Google Cloud"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"TruffleHog"},{"name":"Prowler"},{"name":"Gosec"},{"name":"Super-Linter"},{"name":"Claude"},{"name":"OpenCommit"},{"name":"Render","native":true,"category":"ci_cd"},{"name":"Linear","native":true,"category":"project_management"},{"name":"CodeRabbit","native":true,"category":"code_review"},{"name":"Codemagic CI/CD","native":true,"category":"ci_cd"},{"name":"Codecov","native":true,"category":"code_quality"},{"name":"Azure Pipelines","native":true,"category":"ci_cd"},{"name":"Zenhub","native":true,"category":"project_management"},{"name":"Codacy","native":true,"category":"code_quality"},{"name":"CircleCI","native":true,"category":"ci_cd"},{"name":"Mergify","native":true,"category":"workflow_automation"},{"name":"GuardRails","native":true,"category":"security"},{"name":"PullApprove","native":true,"category":"code_review"},{"name":"DeepSource","native":true,"category":"code_review"},{"name":"Azure Boards","native":true,"category":"project_management"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"regional","availableCountries":["US","EU","AU"],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"free","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.drone.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T18:17:03.047Z"}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"ci_cd_minutes_per_month":"2000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"ci_cd_minutes_per_month":"3000"}},{"free":false,"name":"GitHub Enterprise Cloud","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"ci_cd_minutes_per_month":"50000"}}],"summary":"Free tier available. Paid plans from Pro tier upward.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://github.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-09-04T13:21:19.498Z","freeTrialDays":30,"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | free | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.certifications | - | `[{"name":"SOC 2 Type II","level":"Type II","status":"active"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.trust_center | - | https://github.com/security |

## Capabilities (CI/CD Tools)

| Capability | Drone | GitHub Actions |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | Cloud + self-hosted |
| Self-hosted runners | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Core** |  |  |
| Config-as-code pipelines | ✓ | ✓ |
| Matrix / parallel builds | - | ✓ |
| **Build** |  |  |
| Container-native builds | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Performance** |  |  |
| Build caching | - | ✓ |
| **Security** |  |  |
| Secrets management | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Delivery** |  |  |
| Deployment environments & approvals | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| Reusable actions / marketplace | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:58:00.923Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*