Software Development · head to head
TeamCity vs CircleCI
TeamCity
Software Development
JetBrains continuous integration and delivery server
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: TeamCity detailed pricing requires visiting a calculator and isn't transparent on the main pricing page.; CircleCI the free plan covers 6,000 build minutes and 5 active users a month
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which TeamCity and CircleCI actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), 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 TeamCity
- Build Chains
- Parallel Test Execution
- VCS Integration
- Build History & Analytics
- Docker & Kubernetes Support
- Access Control
Only in CircleCI
Nothing recorded that TeamCity does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
TeamCity
- Running build and test pipelines for enterprise software teamsnot CircleCI
- Self-hosting CI/CD infrastructure behind a firewallnot CircleCI
- Coordinating multi-stage build chains with dependenciesnot CircleCI
- Scaling build capacity with additional agentsnot CircleCI
CircleCI
- Continuous integration pipelines for application codenot TeamCity
- Parallel test execution across containersnot TeamCity
- Docker-based builds with layer cachingnot TeamCity
- Deployment pipelines with approval gatesnot TeamCity
- Self-hosted runners for private infrastructurenot TeamCity
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
TeamCity
- Detailed pricing requires visiting a calculator and isn't transparent on the main pricing page.
- Self-hosted setup and agent management require more operational overhead than fully managed CI/CD services.
- Additional build agents and users are priced incrementally, which can add up for larger teams.
- The UI and configuration model have a steeper learning curve compared to YAML-first CI tools.
CircleCI
- The free plan covers 6,000 build minutes and 5 active users a month
- Active users are billed at $15 each beyond the included five, and an active user is anyone who commits to a project
- Everything runs on credits, so compute, Docker layer caching at 200 credits a job and IP ranges at 450 credits per GB all draw from the same pool
- Network and storage overage costs 420 credits per GB
- Free credits expire monthly with no rollover, and paid credits expire after a year
- Scale is annual billing only
Pricing, plan by plan
TeamCity
Free- Free TierFree
- Includes 3 build agents
- 100 build configurations
- On-premises or Cloud
- TeamCity Cloud / On-Premises$undefined/month
- Priced per additional build agent
- Additional users on Cloud plans
- Enterprise support options
CircleCI
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the CircleCI review.
Which should you pick?
Choose TeamCity if
- You need build chains.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, windows, mac, linux, api.
- You also want parallel test execution.
Questions people ask
- Is TeamCity or CircleCI better?
- Neither clearly leads. TeamCity starts at Free and CircleCI at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, TeamCity or CircleCI?
- TeamCity starts at Free and CircleCI at Free.
- Does TeamCity or CircleCI run on more platforms?
- TeamCity runs on web, windows, mac, linux, api. CircleCI runs on Web.
- Can I use TeamCity for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is TeamCity best used for?
- TeamCity is most often used for running build and test pipelines for enterprise software teams, self-hosting ci/cd infrastructure behind a firewall, coordinating multi-stage build chains with dependencies, scaling build capacity with additional agents. Of those, running build and test pipelines for enterprise software teams and self-hosting ci/cd infrastructure behind a firewall are not what CircleCI is typically brought in for.
- What can TeamCity do that CircleCI cannot?
- TeamCity covers Build Chains, Parallel Test Execution, VCS Integration, Build History & Analytics.
Related pages
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- CircleCI vs Cursor
- CircleCI vs Windsurf
- CircleCI vs Zed
- CircleCI vs Amp
- CircleCI vs Codacy
- CircleCI vs DeepSource
- CircleCI vs Augment Code
- CircleCI vs Drizzle ORM
- CircleCI vs Flagsmith
- CircleCI vs Unleash
- CircleCI vs Baseten
- CircleCI vs Braintrust
- CircleCI vs Bun
- CircleCI vs Cline
- CircleCI vs Devin
- CircleCI vs Factory
- CircleCI vs Humanloop
- CircleCI vs Langfuse
- CircleCI vs Insomnia
- CircleCI vs BrowserStack
- CircleCI vs BugHerd
- CircleCI vs Cypress
- CircleCI vs GitHub Actions
- CircleCI vs Playwright
- CircleCI vs Zephyr Scale