CircleCI
NewAutonomous validation for the AI era
Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 100%·next run
- CircleCI ranks #4 of 45 in CI/CD with an AI visibility score of 36.9 (SlateIndex, Nov 3, 2026).
- CircleCI is most visible on ChatGPT (43) and least on Google AI Mode (29.8).
- AI engines name CircleCI in 22 of the 30 CI/CD buyer prompts SlateIndex tracks.
- toolradar.com is the source AI engines cite most in answers about CircleCI, with 32 citations.
About
Company details for CircleCI
CircleCI is a CI/CD platform that builds, tests and ships code changes. Teams run pipelines on CircleCI compute or on self-hosted runners, and it can also be run entirely on the customer's own infrastructure. Smarter Testing runs only the tests a change affects, and Chunk works through flaky tests, tech debt and pipeline optimizations. It ranks #4 of 45 in CI/CD on SlateIndex and has a visibility score of 36.9 in the latest weekly run.
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, the company employs 201–500 people. Its differentiator: autonomous validation: Smarter Testing runs only the tests a change affects and Chunk handles fix-it work such as flaky tests.
- Website
- circleci.com
- Categories
- CI/CD
- Company size
- 201–500 employees
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Founded
- 2011
- Company type
- Private, venture-backed
- Funding
- Series F
- Pricing
- Free; paid from $15 / mo · usage-based
- Free trial
- Free plan available
- Deployment
- Cloud-hosted service with CircleCI compute and self-hosted runners, or self-managed on the customer's own infrastructure
- Platforms
- Linux, Windows, macOS, Arm, Docker, GPU
- Compliance
- FedRAMP Tailored (LI-SaaS), SOC 2 Type II
- Support
- Community support forum (all plans), Ticket-based global support (Performance and Scale plans), 8x5 and 24x7 SLA options as add-ons
Read from linkedin.com, circleci.com, siit.io, getlatka.com, infoq.com · refreshed Nov 3, 2026.
AI visibility
Latest weekly run · Nov 3 · next run Nov 9
Visibility score trend
Weekly runs over the last 60 days, with up to 7 competitors. Click a name to hide or show its line.
Changes appear after the second weekly run in CI/CD. GitHub leads the category at 83.3%.
Media
Website and product screenshots for CircleCI
AI mentions & citations
Recent answers that name CircleCI
Which CI/CD tool has transparent pricing?
CircleCI is a strong choice for transparent CI/CD pricing: it publishes a free tier and paid plans starting at $15/month, with usage based on credits rather than negotiated enterprise quotes.
Most affordable CI/CD tool that is still reliable
However, depending on your infrastructure, CircleCI and GitLab CI can also be excellent options.
How much does a CI/CD tool cost per month?
Growing team: CircleCI — flexible build infrastructure.
Which CI/CD tool offers a free trial?
CircleCI : Provides a permanent Free tier that includes up to 6,000 build minutes (using small Docker resource classes) and up to 5 active users per month with no credit card required.
Top CI/CD tool options for B2B SaaS companies
My recommendation is to shortlist six platforms: GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, CircleCI, Buildkite, Harness, and Argo CD.
Best CI/CD tool for startups
Which CI/CD tool has the best reviews?
What is the typical pricing model for CI/CD software?
Products & features
What CircleCI sells
CircleCI platform
Cloud CI/CD that runs builds on CircleCI compute or on self-hosted runners
Smarter Testing
Runs only the tests each change affects, with dynamic test splitting and auto-rerun of failed tests
Chunk
Handles fix-it work such as flaky tests, tech debt and optimizations
Chunk MCP server
Feature listed as new that connects AI agents to CircleCI
CircleCI deploys
Release management with incremental releases and automatic rollback
Strengths engines cite
- fast builds and parallelism
- flexible cloud and hybrid CI/CD platform
- free tier with no credit card required
- transparent usage-based credit pricing
- rich integrations and insights
Target market & buyers
Developer teams and platform engineers at startups, SMBs and enterprises
Notable customers include Google, Okta, GOAT, Kalshi, Cypress.io, Microsoft, Airbnb, Huntress.
| Industry | Primary use case |
|---|---|
| Mobile app development | Automated builds, tests and code signing with fastlane and Firebase Distribution |
| AI and LLM applications | Validating agent and model changes, with model evaluation and RAG pipelines |
| Regulated organizations | CI/CD in FedRAMP Tailored and SOC 2 Type II environments |
Funding & recent developments
Funding
| Round | Year | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Seed | 2013 | $2M |
| Series A | 2014 | $6M |
| Series A (per one tracker) | 2015 | $3M |
| Series B | 2016 | $18M |
| Series C | 2018 | $31M |
| Series D | 2019 | $56M |
| Series E | 2020 | $100M |
| Series F | 2021 | $100M |
| Latest known round | Total raised |
|---|---|
| Series F | — |
Recent developments
- Oct 2026ProductCircleCI API v3 available
CircleCI API v3 became available.
- Oct 2026ProductMachine Runner Orchestrator generally available
Included with self-hosted runners at no extra cost; existing installs require uninstall and reinstall.
- Jul 2026CompanyOutage affecting pipelines and UI login
About 1.5 hours of disruption to pipeline starts and UI login, per CircleCI's post-incident report.
- Jun 2026ProductChunk Sidecars launched
Brings CI validation into AI coding agent workflows.
- Jun 2026CompanyCirrus CI shutdown
Cirrus CI was set to shut down on June 1, 2026, with users pointed to CircleCI.
Competitive landscape
How CircleCI compares with its top three alternatives
CircleCI most often appears alongside GitLab, GitHub, Jenkins in AI answers.
What AI answers say
Sentiment and themes from the answers that mention this brand
Positive 43% · Neutral 40% · Mixed 17% of 54 engine answers that mention CircleCI
Praised for
- fast builds and parallelism
- flexible cloud and hybrid CI/CD platform
- free tier with no credit card required
- transparent usage-based credit pricing
- rich integrations and insights
Criticised for
- no standard annual discount
- credit-based pricing less simple than flat rates
Pricing
Usage-based pricing with a free plan
Cite as: SlateIndex, “CircleCI AI visibility profile”, https://slateindex.ai/brand/circleci, data of Nov 3, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.