CircleCI Pricing 2026: Credits System Explained
CircleCI uses credits instead of minutes. Credits are consumed at different rates depending on the executor type and resource class. A Linux medium job burns 10 credits/minute. A macOS large job burns 100 credits/minute — 10× more expensive. Understanding credit consumption by resource class is the key to budgeting CircleCI accurately.
CircleCI Plans
Resource Classes & Credit Costs
Credit price: $0.0006/credit. Effective per-minute cost = credits/min × $0.0006.
| Resource Class | OS | vCPU | RAM | Credits/min | $/min | 10-min cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | Linux | 1 | 2 GB | 5 | $0.003 | $0.03 |
| Medium | Linux | 2 | 4 GB | 10 | $0.006 | $0.06 |
| Medium+ | Linux | 4 | 8 GB | 15 | $0.009 | $0.09 |
| Large | Linux | 4 | 8 GB | 20 | $0.012 | $0.12 |
| X-Large | Linux | 8 | 16 GB | 40 | $0.024 | $0.24 |
| 2X-Large | Linux | 16 | 32 GB | 80 | $0.048 | $0.48 |
| Medium (4 vCPU / 8 GB) | macOS | 4 | 8 GB | 50 | $0.030 | $0.30 |
| Large (8 vCPU / 16 GB) | macOS | 8 | 16 GB | 100 | $0.060 | $0.60 |
| Windows Medium | Windows | 4 | 15 GB | 40 | $0.024 | $0.24 |
| Windows Large | Windows | 8 | 30 GB | 80 | $0.048 | $0.48 |
How to Calculate Your CircleCI Bill
Step 1: Count credits used
Step 2: Subtract included credits
Step 3: Calculate cost
Step 4: Consider resource sizing
Choosing Small instead of Medium halves your credit burn if the job fits in 1 vCPU / 2 GB RAM. Test job performance on smaller resource classes before defaulting to Medium+.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does CircleCI pricing work?
CircleCI uses a credit-based pricing model. Credits are consumed based on the resource class (CPU/RAM) of the executor running your job, multiplied by the duration in minutes. A Linux medium executor (2 vCPU, 4 GB) costs 10 credits/minute. The Free plan includes 6,000 credits/month. Performance plans start at $15/month for 25,000 credits. Additional credits are purchased as needed at approximately $0.0006 per credit.
How much is 1,000 CircleCI credits?
1,000 CircleCI credits cost approximately $0.60. On a Linux medium executor (10 credits/min), 1,000 credits = 100 minutes of compute = $0.60. Compared to GitHub Actions Linux at $0.010/min, CircleCI Linux medium is effectively $0.006/min — slightly cheaper per minute but with the complexity of a credits conversion. The Performance plan ($15/mo) includes 25,000 credits = 2,500 Linux medium minutes.
Do CircleCI credits expire?
On the Free plan, unused credits expire at the end of each month. On paid Performance and Scale plans, credits do not expire — they roll over indefinitely. This makes CircleCI attractive for teams with variable build loads, as unused credits accumulate for high-activity months. Additional purchased credit packs are also non-expiring on paid plans.
Is CircleCI cheaper than GitHub Actions?
For Linux builds, CircleCI Performance can be cheaper per minute than GitHub Actions: CircleCI Linux medium is ~$0.006/min vs GitHub Actions Linux at $0.010/min (including platform fee). However, GitHub Actions is integrated with GitHub repositories at no extra cost for repo hosting. CircleCI is platform-agnostic and works with GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket. For macOS builds, CircleCI charges 50 credits/min = $0.03/min, significantly cheaper than GitHub Actions' $0.082/min.
What is CircleCI Scale plan?
CircleCI Scale is a custom enterprise plan starting around $2,000/month. It includes 500,000+ credits, unlimited concurrent jobs, private orb publishing, custom runner support, SLA guarantees, and dedicated account management. Scale is designed for large engineering organizations with hundreds of developers and high build volumes. Custom pricing is negotiated directly with CircleCI sales.