Is CircleCI or Depot better?

Neither clearly leads. CircleCI starts at Free and Depot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, CircleCI or Depot?

CircleCI starts at Free and Depot at Free.

Does CircleCI or Depot run on more platforms?

CircleCI runs on Web. Depot runs on Cloud, GitHub, CLI.

Can I use CircleCI for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is CircleCI best used for?

CircleCI is most often used for continuous integration pipelines for application code, parallel test execution across containers, docker-based builds with layer caching, deployment pipelines with approval gates. Of those, continuous integration pipelines for application code and parallel test execution across containers are not what Depot is typically brought in for.

What can CircleCI do that Depot cannot?

Depot covers Depot CI, Container builds, GitHub Actions runners, Distributed caching.

Testing · head to head

CircleCI vs Depot

CircleCI

Testing

The leading CI/CD platform

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Depot

Developer Tools

Cloud-based builds and CI runs 55x faster with less cost

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: CircleCI the free plan covers 6,000 build minutes and 5 active users a month; Depot developer plan minute limits may be insufficient for active development

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CircleCI and Depot actually diverge.

Attributes where CircleCI and Depot differ
Attribute	CircleCI	Depot
Pricing model	subscription	Unknown
Platforms	Web	Cloud, GitHub, CLI
Category	Testing	Developer Tools
Founded	2011	2022

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 CircleCI

Nothing recorded that Depot does not also cover.

Only in Depot

Depot CI
Container builds
GitHub Actions runners
Distributed caching
Build API
Depot Registry
Cross-platform builds
SSH debugging

What people use each for

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

CircleCI

Continuous integration pipelines for application codenot Depot
Parallel test execution across containersnot Depot
Docker-based builds with layer cachingnot Depot
Deployment pipelines with approval gatesnot Depot
Self-hosted runners for private infrastructurenot Depot

Depot

Accelerating Docker builds for container-based developmentnot CircleCI
Replacing GitHub Actions runners with faster infrastructurenot CircleCI
Distributing cache across Monorepo buildsnot CircleCI
Debugging failed CI builds interactively with SSHnot CircleCI

Where each one falls short

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

CircleCI

The free plan covers 6,000 build minutes and 5 active users a month
Active users are billed at $15 each beyond the included five, and an active user is anyone who commits to a project
Everything runs on credits, so compute, Docker layer caching at 200 credits a job and IP ranges at 450 credits per GB all draw from the same pool
Network and storage overage costs 420 credits per GB
Free credits expire monthly with no rollover, and paid credits expire after a year
Scale is annual billing only

Depot

Developer plan minute limits may be insufficient for active development
Startup plan at $200/mo is expensive for smaller teams
Business plan requires custom pricing consultation
macOS M2 runners not available on Developer plan

Pricing, plan by plan

CircleCI

Free

FreeFree
- Up to 6,000 build minutes (small Docker resource class)
- Up to 5 active users per month
- 30,000 free credits per month
Performance$15/month
- 30,000 credits included monthly
- 5 active users included (additional users $15/month each)
- 80x concurrency
Scale$null/year
- Custom number of credits
- Customizable user limits
- Unlimited concurrency

Depot

Free

Developer$20/month
- 1 user
- 500 Docker build minutes per month
- 2,000 Depot CI minutes per month
Startup$200/month
- Unlimited users
- 5,000 Docker build minutes per month
- 20,000 Depot CI minutes per month
Business$undefined/custom
- Custom pricing
- Unlimited users
- Custom monthly compute

Which should you pick?

Choose CircleCI if

You want to start without paying.

CircleCI review

Choose Depot if

You need depot ci.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Cloud, GitHub, CLI.
You also want container builds.

Depot review

Questions people ask

Is CircleCI or Depot better?: Neither clearly leads. CircleCI starts at Free and Depot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CircleCI or Depot?: CircleCI starts at Free and Depot at Free.
Does CircleCI or Depot run on more platforms?: CircleCI runs on Web. Depot runs on Cloud, GitHub, CLI.
Can I use CircleCI for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is CircleCI best used for?: CircleCI is most often used for continuous integration pipelines for application code, parallel test execution across containers, docker-based builds with layer caching, deployment pipelines with approval gates. Of those, continuous integration pipelines for application code and parallel test execution across containers are not what Depot is typically brought in for.
What can CircleCI do that Depot cannot?: Depot covers Depot CI, Container builds, GitHub Actions runners, Distributed caching.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CircleCI: How much does CircleCI Performance plan cost?

CircleCI Performance plan costs $15 USD per month and includes 30,000 credits, 5 active users, 80x concurrency, 5 GB network, and 2 GB storage. Additional users beyond 5 cost $15 each per month.

Source

Depot: How much faster are Depot runners compared to GitHub Actions?

Depot runners offer 30% faster CPUs and 10x faster networking than standard GitHub-hosted runners, enabling builds to complete significantly faster.

Source

CircleCI: Can I purchase additional credits on CircleCI Performance plan?

Yes, additional credits are available at $15 for every 25,000 credits purchased. Paid credits roll over month to month and expire after one year; free plan credits expire monthly without rollover.

Source

Depot: What is included in the Developer plan?

Developer plan ($20/month) includes 500 Docker build minutes, 2,000 Depot CI minutes, 2,000 GitHub Actions minutes, 25 GB storage, unlimited concurrency, and community support.

Source

CircleCI: What is included in the CircleCI free plan?

The free plan includes up to 6,000 build minutes per month (small Docker resource class), 5 active users, 30,000 free credits monthly, 30x concurrency, 1 GB network, 2 GB storage, and community support. No credit card required.

Source

Depot: Can I use Depot with my own AWS account?

Yes, Depot Managed allows deployment within customer AWS accounts. This is available to interested customers; contact sales for details.

Source

CircleCI: What are the Scale plan limits and pricing?

CircleCI Scale plan offers custom pricing billed annually with unlimited concurrency, 50 GB network, 200 GB storage, customizable credits and users, enterprise controls, and GPU environment access. Requires contacting sales for a quote.

Source

CircleCI vs Depot

CircleCI

Depot

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in CircleCI

Only in Depot

What people use each for

CircleCI

Depot

Where each one falls short

CircleCI

Depot

Pricing, plan by plan

CircleCI

Depot

Which should you pick?

Choose CircleCI if

Choose Depot if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on CircleCI

More on Depot

Keep looking

Other head to heads