Testing · head to head
CircleCI vs Puppeteer
The short version
- Each has a real cost: CircleCI the free plan covers 6,000 build minutes and 5 active users a month; Puppeteer chrome and Firefox only, with no Safari or WebKit story
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which CircleCI and Puppeteer actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Testing).
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 Puppeteer does not also cover.
Only in Puppeteer
- DevTools Protocol
- Headless by default
- PDF and screenshots
- Network interception
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
CircleCI
- Continuous integration pipelines for application codenot Puppeteer
- Parallel test execution across containersnot Puppeteer
- Docker-based builds with layer cachingnot Puppeteer
- Deployment pipelines with approval gatesnot Puppeteer
- Self-hosted runners for private infrastructurenot Puppeteer
Puppeteer
- Generating PDFs or screenshots of rendered pages on a servernot CircleCI
- Scraping sites that require JavaScript executionnot CircleCI
- Automating browser tasks where a full test framework is unnecessarynot 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
Puppeteer
- Chrome and Firefox only, with no Safari or WebKit story
- Not a test framework: assertions, retries and reporting need Jest or similar bolted on
- Bundles a Chromium download, which makes installs large and awkward in constrained CI images
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
Puppeteer
Free- PuppeteerFree
- Full functionality
- Unlimited tests
- Community support
Which should you pick?
Choose Puppeteer if
- You need devtools protocol.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
- You also want headless by default.
Questions people ask
- Is CircleCI or Puppeteer better?
- Neither clearly leads. CircleCI starts at Free and Puppeteer at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, CircleCI or Puppeteer?
- CircleCI starts at Free and Puppeteer at Free.
- Does CircleCI or Puppeteer run on more platforms?
- CircleCI runs on Web. Puppeteer runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
- 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 Puppeteer is typically brought in for.
- What can CircleCI do that Puppeteer cannot?
- Puppeteer covers DevTools Protocol, Headless by default, PDF and screenshots, Network interception.
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.
SourcePuppeteer: Is Puppeteer free?
Yes, open source from the Chrome team.
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.
SourcePuppeteer: Puppeteer or Playwright?
Playwright came from the same original team, adds WebKit and Firefox support, automatic waiting and a test runner. Puppeteer stays a focused Chrome automation library, which is simpler if automation rather than testing is the goal.
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.
SourcePuppeteer: Can Puppeteer generate PDFs?
Yes, and it is one of the most common uses — rendering a page and printing it to PDF server-side.
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.
SourceRelated pages
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