Developer Tools · head to head
Buildkite vs Semperis
Buildkite
Developer Tools
CI/CD pipelines that run on your own compute
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
Semperis
Cybersecurity
Identity threat detection and Active Directory forest recovery for AD, Entra ID and Okta, from a privately held US vendor.
- From
- On request
- Free plan
- No
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; Semperis scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Buildkite and Semperis actually diverge.
Identical on both: platforms (Web), 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 Semperis does not also cover.
Only in Semperis
- Active Directory Forest Recovery
- Malware-free restore
- Replication-stream monitoring
- Automated rollback
- Attack indicator scoring
- Entra ID and Okta coverage
- Purple Knight
- Forest Druid
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Buildkite
- CI/CD pipeline automationnot Semperis
- Test execution at scalenot Semperis
- Deployment automationnot Semperis
Semperis
- An organisation that cannot answer an auditor or insurer asking how long it would take to rebuild Active Directory after a destructive attacknot Buildkite
- Post-incident recovery where domain controllers are compromised and restoring from system-state backup would reintroduce the attacker's footholdnot Buildkite
- Continuous detection of privileged group changes and directory-level tampering that domain controller security logs missnot Buildkite
- Hybrid estates where AD, Entra ID and Okta all matter and no single tool currently shows changes across the threenot 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
Semperis
- Scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
- The licence buys tooling, not a proven runbook: forest recovery is only worth what your last rehearsal demonstrated, and a plan that has never been executed end to end in a lab is an untested assumption regardless of what was purchased.
- It overlaps with backup and directory management products from Quest, Veeam, Commvault and others, so the buyer must argue internally why a dedicated product is needed alongside a backup contract that already claims to protect Active Directory.
- Running Directory Services Protector well requires someone who understands AD internals, replication metadata and Tier 0 attack paths, and without that person the alerts on privileged changes are either ignored or auto-reverted in ways that break legitimate administration.
- Licensing is driven by identity object counts, so directories carrying years of stale user accounts and service principals pay for objects that should have been deleted, and the cleanup project that would reduce the bill is the one nobody has time for.
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
Semperis
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Semperis review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Semperis if
- You need active directory forest recovery.
- You also want malware-free restore.
Questions people ask
- Is Buildkite or Semperis better?
- Neither clearly leads. Buildkite starts at Free and Semperis at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Buildkite or Semperis?
- Buildkite has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Buildkite and On request for Semperis.
- Does Buildkite or Semperis run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Buildkite for free?
- Yes. Buildkite has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Semperis 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 Semperis is typically brought in for.
- What can Buildkite do that Semperis cannot?
- Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery, Malware-free restore, Replication-stream monitoring, Automated rollback.
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.
SourceSemperis: Does this replace my backups?
No. It replaces the Active Directory recovery procedure specifically. You still need backups for everything else, and the point of Semperis is that a generic system-state backup of a domain controller is a poor way to recover a forest because it restores the operating system along with whatever compromised it.
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.
SourceSemperis: Is it useful if we are cloud-only on Entra ID?
Partly. Directory Services Protector covers Entra ID and Okta for change tracking and posture, but the forest recovery product, which is the strongest reason to buy, applies to on-premises Active Directory. A genuinely cloud-only organisation should weigh it against Microsoft's own tooling.
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.
SourceSemperis: Are Purple Knight and Forest Druid really free?
Yes, both are free downloads with no licence requirement, and they are widely used by organisations that are not Semperis customers. They are also, transparently, the top of the sales funnel.
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.
SourceSemperis: How long does forest recovery actually take?
The honest answer is whatever your rehearsal took. The vendor's case is hours instead of days, and automation genuinely removes most manual steps, but the number that matters for your board is the one from a test in your own environment.
Semperis: Does it require agents on domain controllers?
It collects directory changes from the AD replication stream, which is what lets it see changes that bypass the security log. Deployment details vary by product and version, so confirm the exact architecture against your domain controller change-control rules.
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