Buildkite

buildkite.com
DevOps
Weekend Project

Deliver software at any scale with the world's fastest CI platform

How to Replace Buildkite

Overview

Buildkite is a configurable CI/CD orchestration platform designed for teams who want clarity and control over their software delivery at any scale. It provides unlimited concurrency, dynamic workflows, and comprehensive visibility without sacrificing reliability or understanding. The platform handles over 1 billion daily users through software pushed via Buildkite.

Features

60 features across 22 categories

Access Control(2)

Member PermissionsPremium

Manage default member permissions, such as disabling pipeline creation

Team Permissions

Manage permissions across multiple teams

Also in: Kubernetes Dashboard, Lacework, LastPass

Analytics(2)

Job Retries Report

Analyze job retries to understand flakiness and instability across your pipelines

Visual Pipeline Analytics

Analyze build dependencies, timelines, and bottlenecks through advanced visualization tools with rich logs and detailed annotations

Also in: Hugging Face, Notion, Smartsheet

Audit(2)

Activity LogPremium

Track all user activity within your organization

Inactive User ListPremium

Audit inactive users and easily remove them

Billing(3)

Consolidated BillingPremium

Consolidated billing and invoicing across multiple accounts

Invoice PaymentPremium

Pay annually or via invoice

P95 Billing

Pay only for typical usage while ignoring occasional spikes, removing financial barriers to scaling CI infrastructure

Also in: Insightly, Airtable, Obsidian

Build(1)

Remote Docker BuildsPremium

Execute Docker builds remotely for better resource utilization

Also in: Gatsby, Bamboo

Communication(1)

System BannersPremium

Communicate important messages and alerts to your entire organization

Also in: Jobber, Jira, Insightly

Configuration(3)

Custom Image Support

Use custom Docker images for build agents

Pipeline TemplatesPremium

Define standard pipeline step configurations to use across your organization

Pipelines-as-Code

Define workflows in preferred programming languages using the Buildkite SDK with powerful logic and flexibility

Control(2)

Developer Autonomy with Guardrails

Empower teams to independently control their workflows while maintaining organization-wide security and compliance standards

Pause Queues

Get more control over when queues dispatch jobs to agents—for example, pausing dispatch for an incident or infrastructure upgrade

Deployment(1)

Flexible Deployment Options

Choose where and how pipelines run with self-hosted, Buildkite-hosted, or hybrid deployments across Kubernetes, AWS, Google Cloud, and on-premises

Infrastructure(2)

Hosted Agents - LinuxPremium

Fully managed Linux compute agents in various sizes (Small, Medium, Large)

Hosted Agents - macOSPremium

Fully managed Mac M4 compute agents (Medium and Large sizes)

Integration(2)

Bitbucket Server SupportPremium

Connect to an on-premise Bitbucket Server instance

GitHub Enterprise SupportPremium

Connect to an on-premise GitHub Enterprise instance

Monitoring(2)

Pipeline Dashboard

Monitor, control, and visualize all pipelines in one dashboard showing health and performance metrics

Rich Searchable Logs

Rich, searchable logs with quick feedback loops and early failure detection

Optimization(1)

Smart Scaling for Monorepos

Process only what's changed across your repository, reducing build times and costs for large monorepos

Package Management(10)

Internal Container RegistryPremium

Host internal container registry for private image storage

Package Registries

Manage private package registries with storage, bandwidth, and dependency mirroring

Package Registries - Arbitrary FilesPremium

Store and manage arbitrary file types in registries

Package Registries - Branded EndpointsPremium

Create branded custom endpoints for package registries

Package Registries - Large PackagesPremium

Support for large package files without size restrictions

Package Registries - License ChecksPremium

Automatically check and enforce license compliance for dependencies

Package Registries - Remote Dependency MirroringPremium

Mirror remote dependencies for faster access and reduced external calls

Package Registries - Software ProvenancePremium

Track and verify software provenance and origin

Package Registries - Threat ScanningPremium

Scan packages for security threats and vulnerabilities

Package Registries - Virtual RegistriesPremium

Set up virtual registries for logical organization and access control

Performance(3)

Cache VolumesPremium

Persistent cache volumes for faster builds and reduced redundant work

Git Mirror Caching

Cache git mirrors for faster repository access and reduced bandwidth

Unlimited Concurrency

Effortlessly provision unlimited parallel builds with no limits on concurrent jobs

Reporting(1)

Historical Build ExportsPremium

Automatically export historical builds older than a year into your own S3 or GCS bucket in JSON format

Scalability(1)

Unlimited Agents

Connect unlimited agents to process workloads at unmatched speeds and scale to thousands of parallel jobs instantly

Security(9)

API Access OverviewPremium

Inspect your users' API tokens and see how those tokens are being used

API Token Expiry PoliciesPremium

Prevent potential security risks created by unused API tokens

Fine-grained Permissions

Separate workflows based on organization requirements with fine-grained permission controls

GitHub Authentication

Authenticate users via GitHub

Private Log StoragePremium

Store your job logs in a private S3 bucket

SCIM, SAML & ADFSPremium

SCIM support for automatic user management and advanced SSO providers

Session IP Address PinningPremium

Prompt your users to re-authorize when their origin changes

Signed PipelinesPremium

Prevent unauthorized pipeline modifications by signing step definitions and verifying signatures before running jobs

Single Sign-On (SSO)Premium

Connect an SSO provider to simplify and protect access to your organization's data

Support(1)

Priority Email SupportPremium

Priority status for all email support requests

Testing(9)

Test Engine - Auto Assignment

Automatically assign tests to appropriate teams or owners

Test Engine - Auto-QuarantinePremium

Automatically quarantine flaky tests to prevent pipeline blocking

Test Engine - Data Warehouse ExportPremium

Export test data to data warehouse for advanced analytics (Coming soon)

Test Engine - Real-time Flaky Test Identification

Identify flaky tests in real-time to improve test reliability

Test Engine - Team Reporting

Generate team-level reports on test performance and metrics

Test Engine - Test Ownership

Assign ownership to tests for better accountability and tracking

Test Engine - Test Splitting

Effortlessly bin pack your test suite across multiple nodes without manual rebalancing

Test Engine - Test State ManagementPremium

Manage test state across executions for better control

Test Engine - Test Suite Insights

Get comprehensive insights into your test suite performance and metrics

Visualization(1)

Waterfall View

See a timeline of your build in a Gantt chart, broken down by job with metrics like duration and dispatch time

Workflow(1)

Adaptive PipelinesAI

Construct CI/CD workflows that evolve in real-time to handle dynamic needs of AI-accelerated development

Pricing

Personal

Free
  • 3 concurrent jobs (hosted+self-hosted)
  • 50k test executions/mo
  • 1GB storage & bandwidth (combined)
  • 500 minutes/month hosted agents
  • 1 active user
  • 90 days build retention
  • Waterfall view
  • Pause queues
  • Job retries report
  • Real-time flaky test identification
  • Test suite insights
  • Test ownership
  • Auto assignment
  • Team reporting
  • Test splitting
  • Registries
  • Private registries
  • Team permissions
  • GitHub auth
  • Git mirror caching
  • Custom image support
  • Community support

Pro

Popular
$30/mo per active user
  • Unlimited self-hosted agents
  • 10 included concurrent agents, then $2.50 USD per agent/mo
  • Unlimited test executions
  • 250 managed tests per org/mo, then $0.10 per managed test/mo
  • 20GB storage & bandwidth combined, then $1.25/GB/mo
  • 2,000 minutes/month hosted agents
  • Unlimited active users
  • 1 year build retention
  • Waterfall view
  • Pause queues
  • Job retries report
  • GitHub Enterprise support
  • Bitbucket Server support
  • Real-time flaky test identification
  • Test suite insights
  • Test ownership
  • Auto assignment
  • Team reporting
  • Test splitting
  • Test state management
  • Auto-quarantine
  • Registries
  • Private registries
  • Remote dependency mirroring
  • Arbitrary files
  • Large packages
  • Team permissions
  • GitHub auth
  • Signed pipelines
  • Single sign-on (SSO)
  • API access overview
  • Git mirror caching
  • Custom image support
  • Cache volumes
  • Linux Small hosted agents at $0.013/minute
  • Linux Medium hosted agents at $0.026/minute
  • Linux Large hosted agents at $0.052/minute
  • Mac M4 Medium hosted agents at $0.18/minute
  • Mac M4 Large hosted agents at $0.36/minute
  • Up to 48 vCPU Linux concurrency
  • Up to 24 vCPU Mac M4 concurrency
  • Priority email support
  • 30-day free trial

Enterprise

Custom
  • Unlimited self-hosted agents with volume discounts
  • Unlimited test executions
  • Managed tests with volume discounts
  • Storage & bandwidth with volume discounts
  • Hosted agents with volume discounts
  • Unlimited active users
  • 1 year build retention
  • Waterfall view
  • Pause queues
  • Job retries report
  • GitHub Enterprise support
  • Bitbucket Server support
  • Historical build exports
  • Pipeline templates
  • Real-time flaky test identification
  • Test suite insights
  • Test ownership
  • Auto assignment
  • Team reporting
  • Test splitting
  • Test state management
  • Auto-quarantine
  • Data warehouse export (Coming soon)
  • Registries
  • Private registries
  • Remote dependency mirroring
  • Arbitrary files
  • Large packages
  • Branded endpoints
  • Virtual registries
  • Software provenance
  • License checks
  • Threat scanning
  • Team permissions
  • Member permissions
  • System banners
  • GitHub auth
  • Signed pipelines
  • Single sign-on (SSO)
  • API access overview
  • SCIM, custom SAML & ADFS
  • Private log storage
  • Activity log
  • Inactive user list
  • API token expiry policies
  • Session IP address pinning
  • Git mirror caching
  • Custom image support
  • Cache volumes
  • Internal container registry
  • Remote Docker builds
  • Linux hosted agents with volume discounts
  • Mac M4 hosted agents with volume discounts
  • Custom Linux concurrency
  • Custom Mac M4 concurrency
  • Priority email support
  • Invoice payment
  • Consolidated billing
  • Advanced governance & control
  • Custom SCIM, SAML, ADFS
  • User & API activity audit logs
  • Build exports
  • Premium support with SLA

Cost Calculator

Keep Paying Buildkite

Monthly$30/mo
Yearly$360/yr
5-Year Total$1.8k

Build It Yourself

Est. Build Time~5 hrs
Hosting$20/mo
DifficultyVery Easy

Total Cost Comparison

1 YearSave $120
SaaS
$360
DIY
$240
3 YearsSave $360
SaaS
$1.1k
DIY
$720
5 YearsSave $600
SaaS
$1.8k
DIY
$1.2k

DIY hosting estimate based on Vercel + Supabase free/pro tiers (~$20/mo). Build time estimated from 60 features at very easy complexity.

Build vs Buy

Should you build a Buildkite alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 60 features.

Buy Buildkite

Better Value
Monthly cost$300/mo
3-year total$10,800
Time to deployDays

Build Your Own

Development cost$36,000
Maintenance$540/mo
3-year total$55,440
Dev time~3 months

Buying Buildkite saves ~$44,640 over 3 years vs building.

Estimates based on 60 features and a BuildScore of 5/5. Actual costs vary.

Integrations

8 known integrations

Amazon S3AWSBitbucket ServerGitHubGitHub EnterpriseGoogle CloudGoogle Cloud StorageKubernetes