Mobile Development · head to head
Appcircle vs Codemagic

Appcircle
Mobile Development
Mobile CI/CD platform for building, testing, and publishing apps
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Appcircle the free Starter plan caps builds at 20 per month and 30 minutes per build, limiting use for active teams.; Codemagic minute-based pricing opacity: exact costs for concurrent builds become difficult to predict at scale without calculator
- Prices and features above were last checked on 2 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Appcircle and Codemagic actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Mobile Development).
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 Appcircle
- Mobile Build Automation
- Signing Identity Management
- Testing Distribution
- Store Publishing Automation
- CodePush Updates
- Enterprise App Store
- Microsoft Intune Integration
Only in Codemagic
Nothing recorded that Appcircle does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Appcircle
- Automating mobile app builds and signing for iOS and Androidnot Codemagic
- Distributing test builds to QA and beta testersnot Codemagic
- Pushing over-the-air updates without app store reviewnot Codemagic
- Hosting an internal enterprise app storenot Codemagic
- Self-hosting mobile CI/CD behind a firewallnot Codemagic
Codemagic
- Mobile CI/CD pipelines for iOS and Androidnot Appcircle
- React Native CodePush over-the-air update distributionnot Appcircle
- Enterprise multi-team CI/CD at scalenot Appcircle
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Appcircle
- The free Starter plan caps builds at 20 per month and 30 minutes per build, limiting use for active teams.
- Corporate/on-premises pricing is not published and requires contacting sales.
- Billing is annual with bank transfer terms, which is less flexible than monthly self-serve billing.
- Focused specifically on mobile, so it lacks the general-purpose CI/CD features of broader platforms.
Codemagic
- Minute-based pricing opacity: exact costs for concurrent builds become difficult to predict at scale without calculator
- Free tier severely limited to 500 minutes/month with single parallel build vs. competitors offering more generous free allocations
- M1/M2/M4 pricing variance creates complexity; customers must right-size machine type upfront without clear performance guidance
- Additional concurrency is expensive at $49/month per concurrent build, potentially costing $588/year per extra slot
Pricing, plan by plan
Appcircle
Free- StarterFree
- 1 concurrent build
- 30 minutes max build time
- 20 builds per month
- Corporate$undefined/month
- Customizable limits across all modules
- Public, private cloud, or on-premises deployment
- SSO/LDAP support
Codemagic
Free- Pay as You Go$undefined/mo
- M2 Fixed Plan$3990/year
- M4 Fixed Plan$5400/year
- M4 Max Fixed Plan$9000/year
Which should you pick?
Choose Appcircle if
- You need mobile build automation.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, ios, android, api.
- You also want signing identity management.
Questions people ask
- Is Appcircle or Codemagic better?
- Neither clearly leads. Appcircle starts at Free and Codemagic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Appcircle or Codemagic?
- Appcircle starts at Free and Codemagic at Free.
- Does Appcircle or Codemagic run on more platforms?
- Appcircle runs on web, ios, android, api. Codemagic runs on Web.
- Can I use Appcircle for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Appcircle best used for?
- Appcircle is most often used for automating mobile app builds and signing for ios and android, distributing test builds to qa and beta testers, pushing over-the-air updates without app store review, hosting an internal enterprise app store. Of those, automating mobile app builds and signing for ios and android and distributing test builds to qa and beta testers are not what Codemagic is typically brought in for.
- What can Appcircle do that Codemagic cannot?
- Appcircle covers Mobile Build Automation, Signing Identity Management, Testing Distribution, Store Publishing Automation.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Appcircle: What does Appcircle cost?
Appcircle offers an always-free Starter plan with limited monthly builds, and a Corporate plan with tailored, customizable limits priced through annual licensing.
SourceCodemagic: How much does it cost to add more parallel builds?
Each additional concurrent build costs $49/month ($588/year). Fixed-plan customers can purchase additional concurrency at $1,500–$3,000/year depending on tier.
SourceAppcircle: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?
The free Starter plan includes 1 concurrent build, 30-minute max build time, 20 builds per month, 1,000 CodePush updates, and 100 Testing Distribution downloads per month.
SourceCodemagic: Does Codemagic offer a free tier?
Yes. The free tier includes 500 free M2 build minutes monthly with 1 parallel build maximum, then paid usage kicks in.
SourceAppcircle: How is billing handled on paid plans?
Corporate plans use an annual licensing model with bank transfer payments due within 30 days of invoicing, and usage against limits can be tracked in the billing dashboard.
SourceCodemagic: What is the difference between monthly billing and annual fixed plans?
Pay-as-you-go charges per minute of build time. Fixed annual plans provide unlimited minutes on a specific machine type (M2, M4, or M4 Max) for one upfront yearly payment plus the option to purchase additional concurrency.
SourceCodemagic: Is there a limit to monthly users on React Native CodePush?
Yes. On the fixed-price CodePush plan, users are billed per 100,000 Monthly Active Users (MAU). Overage pricing is $1 per 2,500 installs on pay-as-you-go or a higher per-instance fee on fixed plans.
SourceRelated pages
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