CI/CD tooling has consolidated around GitHub Actions for teams already on GitHub. Its native integration, generous free tier, and 10,000+ Actions marketplace make it the default choice. CircleCI remains the specialist option for teams where build speed is critical — its Docker Layer Caching and test splitting consistently outperform GitHub Actions for large test suites.
GitLab CI is compelling for GitLab teams needing a fully integrated DevSecOps pipeline. Jenkins (self-hosted, free) remains viable for organizations needing complete control with DevOps capacity to maintain it. For new projects starting in 2026, GitHub Actions is the lowest-friction choice in almost all cases.
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