Software · head to head
GitHub Actions vs Cypress
Cypress
Software
JavaScript end-to-end testing framework with browser-based runner and cloud service
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: GitHub Actions private repository usage is capped at 2,000 minutes per month on GitHub Free and 3,000 on Pro and Team, with anything beyond billed; Cypress limited to web applications; mobile and desktop app testing not supported
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which GitHub Actions and Cypress actually diverge.
| Attribute | GitHub Actions | Cypress |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Founded | 2008 | Unknown |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
GitHub Actions
- Running CI builds and tests on pushes and pull requestsnot Cypress
- Automating releases, container image builds and deployments from a repositorynot Cypress
- Scheduled maintenance jobs and repository automationnot Cypress
Cypress
- End-to-end testing for modern JavaScript web applicationsnot GitHub Actions
- Continuous integration pipelines with parallelised test executionnot GitHub Actions
- Visual regression testing and accessibility verificationnot GitHub Actions
- Flaky test detection and eliminationnot GitHub Actions
- Team collaboration on test maintenance and debuggingnot GitHub Actions
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
GitHub Actions
- Private repository usage is capped at 2,000 minutes per month on GitHub Free and 3,000 on Pro and Team, with anything beyond billed
- Artifact storage is only 500 MB on GitHub Free and 2 GB on Team, and it is shared with GitHub Packages storage
- Larger runners are always charged for, even on public repositories and even when plan quota remains
- Windows runners cost $0.010 per minute against $0.006 for a 2-core Linux runner, so the same workflow costs more per platform
- macOS runners are charged at a higher per-minute rate than Linux runners
- Failed runs consume minutes, so a job that fails after 5 minutes and is re-run for 10 uses 15 minutes of quota
- Storage is billed on hourly accrual in GB-Hours, so deleting artifacts stops future charges but does not remove charges already accrued in the cycle
- Cache storage is a separate 10 GB per repository allowance and peak hourly usage above it is charged
- Minutes are charged to the repository owner, not the person who triggered the run, and anyone with write access can trigger runs
- Without a valid payment method on file, workflows are blocked as soon as the quota is exhausted
Cypress
- Limited to web applications; mobile and desktop app testing not supported
- Free tier capped at 500 test results/month; insufficient for most development teams
- Paid features (flake detection, analytics) not included in free tier
- JavaScript/TypeScript focused; less suitable for polyglot organisations
Pricing, plan by plan
GitHub Actions
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the GitHub Actions review.
Cypress
Free- Starter (Free)Free
- 500 test results/month
- 100 prompt executions/month
- Parallelisation
- Team$67/month
- 120k test results/year
- 9k prompt executions/year
- Flake detection
- Business$267/month
- 120k test results/year
- 24k prompt executions/year
- Spec prioritisation
- Enterprise$null/custom
- 1.8M test results/year
- 60k prompt executions/year
- Unlimited users
Which should you pick?
Questions people ask
- Is GitHub Actions or Cypress better?
- Neither clearly leads. GitHub Actions starts at Free and Cypress at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, GitHub Actions or Cypress?
- GitHub Actions starts at Free and Cypress at Free.
- Does GitHub Actions or Cypress run on more platforms?
- GitHub Actions runs on Web. Cypress runs on macOS, Windows, Linux.
- Can I use GitHub Actions for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is GitHub Actions best used for?
- GitHub Actions is most often used for running ci builds and tests on pushes and pull requests, automating releases, container image builds and deployments from a repository, scheduled maintenance jobs and repository automation. Of those, running ci builds and tests on pushes and pull requests and automating releases, container image builds and deployments from a repository are not what Cypress is typically brought in for.