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Developer Tools · head to head

Buildkite vs Delinea

Buildkite logo

Buildkite

Developer Tools

CI/CD pipelines that run on your own compute

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Delinea logo

Delinea

Cybersecurity

Privileged access management from the merged Thycotic and Centrify

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Buildkite has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Buildkite free plan caps at 5 users and 10 concurrent jobs, with 2,000 Linux vCPU minutes per month and 30 day build retention; Delinea the Thycotic and Centrify lineages are integrated unevenly, so buying the full portfolio means running consoles and agents that do not share one administrative model as cleanly as the marketing suggests.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Buildkite and Delinea actually diverge.

Attributes where Buildkite and Delinea differ
AttributeBuildkiteDelinea
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Windows, Linux, macOS
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Buildkite

Nothing recorded that Delinea does not also cover.

Only in Delinea

  • Secret Server
  • Privileged session recording
  • Privilege Manager
  • Server PAM
  • Discovery
  • DevOps secrets
  • Behaviour analytics

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Buildkite

  • CI/CD pipeline automationnot Delinea
  • Test execution at scalenot Delinea
  • Deployment automationnot Delinea

Delinea

  • An organisation whose cyber insurer now requires privileged credentials to be vaulted and rotatednot Buildkite
  • A mid-market IT team that abandoned a heavier PAM rollout and needs a vault that can be in production in weeksnot Buildkite
  • A company removing local administrator rights from every workstation after a ransomware incidentnot Buildkite
  • An audit finding that shared service account passwords are stored in a spreadsheet and used by contractorsnot Buildkite

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Buildkite

  • Free plan caps at 5 users and 10 concurrent jobs, with 2,000 Linux vCPU minutes per month and 30 day build retention
  • Pro plan is $30 per active user per month, capped at 50 users, with only 10 of the up to 250 concurrent agents included before extra usage
  • Enterprise plan enforces a 30 user minimum even though pricing itself is custom
  • Hosted compute beyond included minutes is metered at $0.004 per vCPU minute on Linux and $0.02 per vCPU minute on Mac

Delinea

  • The Thycotic and Centrify lineages are integrated unevenly, so buying the full portfolio means running consoles and agents that do not share one administrative model as cleanly as the marketing suggests.
  • Modules are licensed separately by different units, per privileged user for the vault and per endpoint for privilege management, which makes total cost hard to model and easy to underestimate at scale.
  • Delinea does not publish rates, so buyers benchmark against third party and public sector listings; expect list prices to be negotiable by a wide margin, which means the first quote is not the price.
  • Thoma Bravo ownership since 2021 has coincided with firmer renewal pricing, and buyers with a single-vendor PAM estate have little leverage once credentials are inside the vault.
  • Migrating out of a privileged access vault is a genuinely hard project because every automated process that fetches a secret has to be repointed, so the switching cost is real and the vendor knows it.

Pricing, plan by plan

Buildkite

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 5 users
    • 10 concurrent jobs
    • 2000 Linux vCPU minutes monthly
  • Pro$30/month
    • Up to 50 users
    • 250 concurrent agents (10 included)
    • 4000 Linux vCPU minutes monthly
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Unlimited users (30 minimum)
    • Custom usage limits
    • Full platform access

Delinea

On request
  • Secret Server$undefined/year
    • Priced per privileged user, tiered by edition
    • Cloud or on premises deployment
    • Session recording in higher editions
  • Privilege Manager$undefined/year
    • Priced per endpoint
    • Local admin rights removal and application elevation
    • Licensed separately from Secret Server
  • Server PAM$undefined/year
    • Priced per managed server or per privileged user
    • Just-in-time server access
    • Licensed separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Buildkite if

  • You want to start without paying.
Buildkite review

Choose Delinea if

  • You need secret server.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Linux, macOS.
  • You also want privileged session recording.
Delinea review

Questions people ask

Is Buildkite or Delinea better?
Neither clearly leads. Buildkite starts at Free and Delinea at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Buildkite or Delinea?
Buildkite has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Buildkite and On request for Delinea.
Does Buildkite or Delinea run on more platforms?
Buildkite runs on Web. Delinea runs on Web, Windows, Linux, macOS.
Can I use Buildkite for free?
Yes. Buildkite has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Delinea starts at On request.
What is Buildkite best used for?
Buildkite is most often used for ci/cd pipeline automation, test execution at scale, deployment automation. Of those, ci/cd pipeline automation and test execution at scale are not what Delinea is typically brought in for.
What can Buildkite do that Delinea cannot?
Delinea covers Secret Server, Privileged session recording, Privilege Manager, Server PAM.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Buildkite: Can I use Buildkite without paying?

Yes, Buildkite offers a free plan that includes up to 5 users, 10 concurrent jobs, 2000 Linux vCPU minutes monthly, and 250k test executions per month at no cost.

Source
Delinea: Is Delinea the same as Thycotic?

Delinea is the merged company formed from Thycotic and Centrify in 2021. Secret Server is the former Thycotic product; the server access products come from Centrify.

Buildkite: What happens if I exceed my included compute minutes on Buildkite?

Hosted agent compute is charged separately at $0.004 per Linux vCPU minute and $0.02 per Mac vCPU minute, billed to the second with no minimums.

Source
Delinea: Is pricing published?

Not by Delinea. Public sector frameworks have listed Secret Server Cloud around 348 GBP per user per year, which is a reference point, not a quote.

Buildkite: Do I need an annual commitment for Buildkite's Pro plan?

No, Buildkite's Pro plan is billed monthly at $30 per active user with no long-term contract required. All tiers include a 30-day all-access trial.

Source
Delinea: Does one licence cover endpoints and servers?

No. Secret Server, Privilege Manager and Server PAM are separately licensed on different units. Scope all three if your requirement spans them.

Buildkite: What user limits apply to each Buildkite plan?

Free plan supports up to 5 users, Pro plan supports up to 50 users, and Enterprise plan provides unlimited users with a 30-user minimum.

Source
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