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CircleCI VS GitHub Actions_

As of 4 November 2026, GitHub Actions is named by 6,089 companies and CircleCI by 671; CircleCI skews to companies under 200 people (54% vs 47%), GitHub Actions to companies over 1,000 (26% vs 21%).

As of 4 November 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.

The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: CircleCI's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, GitHub Actions rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.

CircleCI: 2–200 employees
54%
GitHub Actions: 2–200 employees
47%
CircleCI: 1,000+ employees
21%
GitHub Actions: 1,000+ employees
26%
Postings per company, 90 days
1.9 · 2.8
Website or DNS footprint
0 · 0
671companies name CircleCI
6,089companies name GitHub Actions
382name both
1,263 · 16,950postings in 90 days, CircleCI · GitHub Actions
02 — Side by side

Who chooses which

Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.

By company size
SegmentCircleCIshareGitHub ActionsshareLeans
Self-employed264%1963%even
2-10 employees639%5779%even
11-50 employees13720%98916%CircleCI
51-200 employees15924%1,32222%even
201-500 employees8413%85614%even
501-1000 employees619%58210%even
1001-5000 employees8112%79213%even
5001-10000 employees162%2364%even
10,001+ employees447%5399%GitHub Actions
By industry
SegmentCircleCIshareGitHub ActionsshareLeans
Technology & software41261%3,24253%CircleCI
Business & finance services11417%1,20820%GitHub Actions
Media & content365%2334%even
Manufacturing & industry294%5008%GitHub Actions
Commerce & trade203%1773%even
Consumer services & leisure122%1533%even
Transport, logistics & rental91%831%even
Utilities & infrastructure81%1232%even
Public, community & associations71%1052%even
Health care71%741%even
Property & construction71%761%even
Automotive51%531%even
By country
SegmentCircleCIshareGitHub ActionsshareLeans
United States41462%3,55558%CircleCI
United Kingdom6510%4978%even
India274%1833%even
Germany183%2835%even
Canada173%1462%even
Japan173%601%even
France162%1422%even
Australia81%861%even
United Arab Emirates61%––outside top 12
Sweden61%781%even
Spain41%––outside top 12
Ireland41%––outside top 12
Brazil––841%outside top 12
Netherlands––791%outside top 12
Poland––601%outside top 12
Postings by team (share of each tool's postings)
SegmentCircleCIshareGitHub ActionsshareLeans
Software engineering1,39375%13,95165%CircleCI
IT operations & business systems1307%2,16110%GitHub Actions
Data & AI774%2,44411%GitHub Actions
Customer service & success201%520%even
Engineering (non-software)181%3882%even
Quality, safety & environment151%1331%even
Sales121%800%even
Product, program & project management90%1381%even
Unclassified70%440%even
Marketing & communications40%80%even
construction and civil30%60%even
Finance & accounting30%110%even
Design & UX20%130%even
General management & consulting20%310%even
Human resources20%110%even
arts media and entertainment10%80%even
Business development & strategy10%20%even
Education & training10%70%even
Legal, compliance & risk10%150%even
logistics warehouse and transport10%10%even
skilled trades and field service––60%outside top 12
Administration & office––50%outside top 12
facilities cleaning and security––30%outside top 12
hospitality and food service––30%outside top 12
research and science––20%outside top 12
manufacturing and production––10%outside top 12
Retail & store operations––10%outside top 12
Cite this

Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.

GitHub Actions is named by 6,089 companies in job postings and CircleCI by 671; 382 name both. (Breaknorm, 4 November 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/circleci-vs-github-actions)
How we know

Read from the source, not self-reported

Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →

  • Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
  • Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
  • SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
  • Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
FAQ

CircleCI vs GitHub Actions: questions

Which is more used, CircleCI or GitHub Actions?

By companies naming it in their own job postings, GitHub Actions (6,089) over CircleCI (671). By website-and-DNS footprint, GitHub Actions (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.

Who chooses CircleCI?

54% of CircleCI companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 47% for GitHub Actions. 21% of CircleCI companies have over 1,000 employees, against 26% for GitHub Actions.

Do companies run both?

382 companies name both in their postings, usually CircleCI in marketing and GitHub Actions in sales, or during a migration.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.

Companies and people

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