CircleCI vs Tekton comparison

CircleCI and Google are both solutions in the Build Automation category. CircleCI is ranked #14 with an average rating of 4.0, while Google is ranked #2 with an average rating of 7.8. CircleCI holds a 3.2% mindshare in BA, compared to Google’s 12.3% mindshare. Additionally, 66% of CircleCI users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of Google users who would recommend it.

CircleCI

Read 5 CircleCI reviews

1,154 Views
1,041 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

Tekton

Read 36 Tekton reviews

4,811 Views
3,186 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

CircleCI

Tekton

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

CircleCI and Tekton compete in the continuous integration and continuous delivery space. CircleCI provides a better overall experience for teams prioritizing ease of integration, whereas Tekton's strength is in offering advanced features for customization, especially in Kubernetes environments.

Features: CircleCI includes container-based builds, offers integration with Bitbucket, and enables encryption of environment variables, providing usability for teams without deep DevOps expertise. Tekton is Kubernetes-native, allowing for orchestration of complex pipelines and automated scaling, which is beneficial for executing intricate tasks within Kubernetes. Tekton supports tasks related to automation tools like Fortify and SonarQube and is adaptable for various automation scenarios.

Room for Improvement: CircleCI could enhance integration with container orchestration platforms and expand support for on-premises environments. It might also broaden customization options for teams that require more control. Tekton's setup can be complex for new users, and log management isn't very intuitive, which demands a learning curve. Enhanced customer support accessibility and more comprehensive documentation would also benefit Tekton users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: CircleCI offers streamlined deployment in cloud environments, supported by strong customer service that facilitates ease of use. Tekton integrates tightly with Kubernetes, which can demand more initial setup effort but offers robust customization once configured. While Tekton provides flexibility, its customer support might not always be readily accessible, posing challenges for new users.

Pricing and ROI: CircleCI's lower setup costs and competitive pricing offer strong ROI for organizations looking to optimize operational efficiency. Its payment structures cater to different team sizes, promoting immediate financial returns through operational efficiencies. Tekton can incur higher initial expenses due to its complexity, but offers long-term ROI for companies leveraging its Kubernetes-native strengths for comprehensive applications. Its open-source nature can also lead to cost savings in environments heavily invested in Kubernetes.

To learn more, read our detailed CircleCI vs. Tekton Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

CircleCI vs. Tekton

March 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

CircleCI

Ranking in Build Automation

14th

Average Rating

6.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Tekton

Ranking in Build Automation

2nd

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Build Automation category, the mindshare of CircleCI is 3.2%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tekton is 12.3%, up from 10.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Build Automation

Featured Reviews

reviewer0972521

Chief Technology Officer at Kyberlife

Unhelpful support, unclear billing, and has offers ability to track usage

We've had occasional connectivity issues with cloud resources and build failure due to its own internal system setup and environment. That costs us credits. Support engineers do not thoroughly read and understand issues when emailing them. They reply to me with a totally different context about the problem. Just yesterday, my web applications failed to 'yarn build' after I downgraded the resource class from extr-large to large. I contacted support and got no reply. Billing is a mess. There is duplicate information in the bill downloaded from their website and when I asked for a consolidated bill, they just answered that they didn't have it. There is no transparency on how many billed minutes and credits I spent each day both on their website and the monthly bill which makes it difficult to understand when the monthly bill contains many refill item charges. It is difficult or impossible to track usage and burndown of my subscription and to gain total outstanding refill amounts on a daily basis. Their website doesn't provide sufficient information on credits allocated/calculated for my extra-large resource class.

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AjayKrishna

Senior Software Engineer at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees

If you're dealing with many applications and need a reliable, scalable, and efficient system, I'd recommend this solution

Tekton's most important feature is its cloud-native nature. Unlike Jenkins, which may not scale as efficiently, Tekton's CI pipeline can automatically scale up to handle increased workload demands without needing manual adjustments. Another important aspect is the level of customization offered by Tekton. Each task in the CI pipeline can be customized independently, allowing developers to write code in various languages like shell scripting, Java, or Python and incorporate them into the pipeline as needed. This level of abstraction and customization greatly benefits developers in creating efficient CI pipelines. Also, it can be challenging to understand the logs and troubleshoot issues without clear guidance. It's not always easy to reach technical support and get immediate answers. In my opinion, improvement in this area would be beneficial.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The solution offers continuous integration and continuous delivery."

"Some of the most valuable features include container-based builds, integration with Bit Bucket and being able to store artifacts."

"Enables us to detect exactly which build failed and why, and to push multiple builds to our production environment at a very fast rate."

"The automation workflow in CircleCI related to third-party applications is very good and allows standardization of applications."

"It's a stable product."

"The ability to automate the build process in a seamless way and run workflows effortlessly. It supports parallel builds so it can scale well. Also, it covers the basics of any build and integration tool, including email notifications (especially when tests are fixed), project insights, etc."

"It scales automatically based on the number of tasks or pipelines running, which is efficient and effective for our development needs."

"We can make a lot of customizations, and data sharing between tasks using workspaces is very convenient."

"The product's best feature is its ease of implementation."

"One of the best things I appreciate is that Tekton runs on the Kubernetes platform. This is very useful when working on a project with other team members. For instance, suppose we have a very big project that requires building a large amount of source code or running many unit tests. During the build and unit test phases, Tekton on Kubernetes allows us to have a scalable machine to handle these tasks. This scalability is the most useful aspect for me."

"The installation process is seamless, requiring fewer resources compared to Jenkins."

"The platform's most valuable feature is its wireless capability, which makes installation easy and sets up the flow."

"Tekton is a stable product."

"We just have some configuration files, and it will handle the deployments smoother and faster compared to CI/CD 2.0."

More Tekton pros

Cons

"Billing is a mess."

"There needs to be some improvement in the user interface of CircleCI."

"The solution’s pricing could be better."

"Integration with Microsoft Azure is one area for improvement. Azure is growing in its user base, and supports various cloud infrastructure components such as Service Fabric, App Service, etc. Some of Azure’s deployment models (like Kudu) require a steep learning curve, but if CircleCI would come up with such features (deployment to App Service) out of the box, it would be amazing."

"Some of the tool's cons include its minimalistic dashboard, which lacks detailed information and control compared to other tools like Jenkins or GitLab. Additionally, it's primarily used by Japanese companies."

"Tekton could improve by adding better documentation."

"It would be better if Tekton could show the YAML file while it is running, similar to GitHub pipelines, to provide more visibility on what's happening."

"Improvement is needed in the documentation and the overall integration process."

"Tekton lacks integration capabilities compared to other CI/CD tools like Jenkins and Travis."

"One area for improvement is the number of CRDs created during installation. Tekton currently creates 10 to 11 CRDs, which can be overwhelming."

"It would be beneficial to find case studies or more information on complex implementations."

"Compared to traditional tools like Jenkins, Tekton lacks a lot of features. It's not efficient in managing conflicts between multiple pipelines."

More Tekton cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of CircleCI could be less expensive."

"Tekton is an open-source tool."

"The product is free of cost."

"The tool is open-source and free to use."

"It is entirely open source and free of charge."

"The product is free and open-source."

"The solution is open-source."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

24%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about CircleCI?

The solution offers continuous integration and continuous delivery.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CircleCI?

Beware of skyrocketing bills as CircleCI does not provide transparency into how they charge refills. Their monthly billing statement is almost unreadable and their online dashboard doesn't provide ...

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What needs improvement with CircleCI?

See all answers

How does Tekton compare with Jenkins?

When you are evaluating tools for automating your own GitOps-based CI/CD workflow, it is important to keep your requirements and use cases in mind. Tekton deployment is complex and it is not very e...

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What do you like most about Tekton?

Its seamless integration with Kubernetes, being built on top of it and utilizing Custom Resource Definitions, ensures a smooth experience within Kubernetes environments exclusively.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Tekton?

Regarding areas for improvement in Tekton, I have not encountered significant issues. It works well for our use case. However, incorporating AI could be a potential enhancement in the future.

See all answers

Comparisons

TeamCity vs CircleCI

Compared 22% of the time

GitHub Actions vs CircleCI

Compared 15% of the time

GitLab vs CircleCI

Compared 12% of the time

Jenkins vs CircleCI

Compared 9% of the time

Harness vs CircleCI

Compared 8% of the time

More CircleCI Competitors

GitHub Actions vs Tekton

Compared 33% of the time

GitLab vs Tekton

Compared 25% of the time

Harness vs Tekton

Compared 8% of the time

Jenkins vs Tekton

Compared 6% of the time

TeamCity vs Tekton

Compared 5% of the time

More Tekton Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Build Automation

March 2025

Download CircleCI product report

Buyer's Guide

Tekton

March 2025

Download Tekton product report

Overview

CircleCI is a leading platform for automating continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD), valued for its capability to manage software updates efficiently. With an easy-to-configure system using YAML files and robust Docker support, CircleCI streamlines backend updates, frontend developments, and mobile app testing across devices. Its parallelism feature and insightful dashboard reduce processing times and improve workflow visibility, respectively, enhancing team collaboration and productivity while maintaining high-quality outputs across development stages.

CircleCI

Tekton is a powerful yet flexible Kubernetes-native open-source framework for creating continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) systems. It lets you build, test, and deploy across multiple cloud providers or on-premises systems by abstracting away the underlying implementation details.

Google

Sample Customers

Shopify, Zenefits, Concur Technologies, CyberAgent

The Home Depot, PayPal, Target, HSBC, McKesson, Oncology Venture

Buyer's Guide

CircleCI vs. Tekton

March 2025

Free Report: CircleCI vs. Tekton

Find out what your peers are saying about CircleCI vs. Tekton and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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