1.3Choosing a Platform

For most teams, the choice is simple: use what integrates with your source control. If your code is on GitHub, use GitHub Actions. If it is on GitLab, use GitLab CI. The friction of using a separate CI platform (e.g., Jenkins with GitHub) rarely justifies the benefits.

Choose Jenkins when:

• You need complex, highly customized pipelines with plugins for niche tools
• You have a dedicated DevOps team to maintain the Jenkins infrastructure
• Your organization already has a mature Jenkins setup

Choose CircleCI when:

• You need the absolute fastest execution times
• Your team uses multiple source control platforms
• You want orbs (reusable pipeline packages) to reduce boilerplate