4 top picks · 0 audience rankings
Best open source CI/CD tools
The best open source CI/CD tool is Drone, with 38,487 GitHub stars, the Apache-2.0 license and a Docker image; Jenkins and GitLab are strong alternatives. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 4 apps in the CI/CD & deployment category of the appsgit catalog.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Drone
harness/harness
Container-native continuous integration platform.
CI/CD & DeploymentGoDockerDrone has 38,487 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 530 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub Actions / CircleCI.
- Rank 2:
Jenkins
jenkinsci/jenkins
The leading open-source automation server for building, testing and deploying software.
CI/CD & DeploymentJavaDockerJenkins has 26,618 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,159 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub Actions / CircleCI.
- Rank 3:
GitLab
gitlabhq/gitlabhq
DevOps platform with Git hosting, CI/CD, issue tracking and security scanning in one app.
Project ManagementRubyDockerGitLab has 24,555 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,397 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub Actions / CircleCI.
Full ranking
All 4 picks, ranked
4 of the 4 apps in the CI/CD & deployment category, ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.
- 1
Drone
Container-native continuous integration platform.
CI/CD & DeploymentDockerDrone has 38,487 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 530 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub Actions / CircleCI.
- 2
Jenkins
The leading open-source automation server for building, testing and deploying software.
CI/CD & DeploymentDockerJenkins has 26,618 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,159 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub Actions / CircleCI.
- 3
GitLab
DevOps platform with Git hosting, CI/CD, issue tracking and security scanning in one app.
Project ManagementDockerGitLab has 24,555 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,397 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub Actions / CircleCI.
- 4
Woodpecker CI
Simple yet powerful container-based CI/CD engine.
CI/CD & DeploymentDockerWoodpecker CI has 7,957 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,325 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub Actions / CircleCI.
What is the best open source CI/CD tool?
The best open source CI/CD tool is Drone, with 38,487 GitHub stars, the Apache-2.0 license and a Docker image; Jenkins and GitLab are strong alternatives. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 4 apps in the CI/CD & deployment category of the appsgit catalog.
Is Drone free?
Yes. Drone is open-source software released under the Apache-2.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.
Can I self-host these CI/CD tools with Docker?
Yes, all of them. Drone, Jenkins and GitLab publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose.
Are all of these CI/CD tools open source?
All 4 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.
Which of these CI/CD tools is the most actively developed?
GitLab, with 2,397 commits in the last 12 months. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.
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