GitHub Actions vs Jenkins
Compare GitHub Actions vs Jenkins features, pricing, and performance metrics side-by-side to find the optimal platform for your engineering workflow.
Feature Comparison Matrix
| Feature | GitHub Actions | Jenkins |
|---|---|---|
| Hosted Runners | ✓ Linux, Windows, macOS runners included | ✗ Self-hosted only, no managed runners |
| Deployment Gate Approvals | ✓ Environment protection rules with required reviewers | ✓ Input step, pipeline approvals via plugins |
| Self-Hosted Runners | ✓ Self-hosted runners supported on all plans | ✓ Master/agent architecture |
| Docker/Kubernetes Support | ✓ Docker container support, native K8s deploy actions | ✓ Via plugins, Docker Pipeline plugin |
| Matrix Builds | ✓ Matrix strategy for OS and version combinations | ✗ Limited, requires Matrix Project Plugin |
| Pipeline as Code | ✓ YAML-based .github/workflows | ✓ Jenkinsfile declarative and scripted pipeline |
| Marketplace/Plugins | ✓ Marketplace with 20,000+ actions | ✓ 1800+ plugins in Update Center |
| Parallel Execution | ✓ Parallel jobs with matrix strategy | ✓ Parallel stages in declarative pipeline |
| Cache Management | ✓ Built-in caching with cache actions | ✗ Requires plugins or manual setup |
| Secrets Management | ✓ Encrypted secrets with environment-level scoping | ✓ Credentials binding plugin, built-in encryption |
| Get Started | Deploy GitHub Actions | Deploy Jenkins |
About GitHub Actions
GitHub Actions is a CI/CD platform integrated directly into GitHub repositories. It allows developers to automate software workflows with YAML-based configuration, supporting any language or cloud provider. With a massive marketplace of pre-built actions and seamless GitHub integration, it is one of the most popular CI/CD choices for teams already on GitHub. It offers both GitHub-hosted and self-hosted runners, matrix builds, and fine-grained access control.
Explore GitHub ActionsAbout Jenkins
Jenkins is the most widely used open-source automation server, providing hundreds of plugins to support building, deploying, and automating any project. As a self-hosted solution, it offers complete control over the CI/CD pipeline infrastructure. Its plugin ecosystem is unparalleled, with integrations for virtually every tool in the DevOps landscape. Jenkins supports Pipeline as Code through Jenkinsfile, distributed builds with master/agent architecture, and extensive API access.
Explore Jenkins