Comparison

GitLab CI/CD vs Jenkins

On the evidence we track, GitLab CI/CD leads this comparison with a composite score of 60/100. 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.
★GitLab CI/CD60
Jenkins55
Score
vioscaleAI score
GitLab CI/CD60 / 100medium · 66%
Jenkins55 / 100high · 75%
Pricing
Free tier
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✓
Model
GitLab CI/CDfreemium
Price level
GitLab CI/CDlow
Jenkinsfree
Transparent
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✓
Integrations
Count
GitLab CI/CD14
Jenkins1
Security
Disclosure policy
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✓
Fedramp
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins–
Gdpr
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins–
Iso27001
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins–
Pci
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins–
Scorecard
GitLab CI/CD2.2
Jenkins6.7
Soc2
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✓
Trust center
Reliability
Status page
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
GitLab CI/CD0
Jenkins0
Github stars
GitLab CI/CD24,549
Jenkins26,648
Activity
Commits last 30d
GitLab CI/CD100
Jenkins100
Release
Cadence days
GitLab CI/CD–
Jenkins5
History
GitLab CI/CD–
Jenkins20 items
License
Spdx
GitLab CI/CD–
JenkinsMIT
Language
Primary
GitLab CI/CDRuby
JenkinsJava
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
GitLab CI/CD6 items
Jenkins6 items

Capabilities

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

Deployment
Hosting
GitLab CI/CDCloud + self-hosted
JenkinsSelf-hosted only
Self-hosted runners
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✓
Core
Config-as-code pipelines
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✓
Matrix / parallel builds
GitLab CI/CD-
Jenkins✓
Build
Container-native builds
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✓
Performance
Build caching
GitLab CI/CD-
Jenkins-
Security
Secrets management
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins-
Delivery
Deployment environments & approvals
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✓
Ecosystem
Reusable actions / marketplace
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✓

What each one is

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

GitLab CI/CD

Leader

An integrated platform combining source control, continuous integration/deployment, and built-in security scanning to automate the entire software delivery lifecycle with support for both cloud and self-hosted deployments.

Independently observed

Jenkins

A self-contained Java application that automates building, testing, and deployment workflows. Extensible through hundreds of community-maintained plugins and supports distributing work across multiple machines.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

GitLab CI/CD

Leader
SubscriptionFree tier

Free tier available. Premium and Ultimate tiers available with expanded features.

  • FreeFree
    • Source Code Management
    • CI/CD
as of verify ↗

Jenkins

Open source
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✗
macOS
GitLab CI/CD✗
Jenkins✓
Windows
GitLab CI/CD✗
Jenkins✓
Linux
GitLab CI/CD✗
Jenkins✓
CLI
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✗
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✗
Self-hosted
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✓
On-premise
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✗
Air-gapped
GitLab CI/CD✓
Jenkins✗

Integrations

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

GitLab CI/CD

Leader
21 total
  • AWS Marketplace
  • Google Cloud Marketplace
  • AWS
  • Google Cloud Platform
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker
  • LDAP
  • OAuth
  • Jenkins
  • Jira
  • Slack
  • SAML
  • Anchore
  • Prisma Cloud
  • Checkmarx
  • CodeSecure
  • Fortify
  • Venafi
  • Veracode
  • Akismet
  • reCAPTCHA
Independently observed

Jenkins

1 total
  • Subversion
Independently observed
Still deciding?

GitLab CI/CD or Jenkins: 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.