Pricing overview

Codeship provides continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) services with a tiered pricing structure designed to accommodate various team sizes and project complexities. The core offerings, Codeship Basic and Codeship Pro, each have distinct pricing models reflecting their feature sets and target users. Codeship Basic is tailored for standard CI/CD workflows with predefined environments, while Codeship Pro offers greater customization through Docker and direct control over build pipelines Codeship's official pricing page. A free tier is available for open-source projects, allowing public repositories to utilize the platform without charge. Paid plans typically involve a monthly subscription fee, which includes a set number of parallel builds and build minutes, with additional usage often incurring extra costs.

The pricing strategy aims to provide flexibility, allowing users to scale their CI/CD infrastructure as their needs evolve. For smaller teams or those with less frequent build requirements, the lower-cost plans offer a managed solution. Larger organizations or those with specific infrastructure needs can opt for Codeship Pro, which provides more granular control over the build environment. Enterprise-level solutions are also available for organizations requiring custom configurations, dedicated support, and advanced security features, with pricing determined through direct consultation.

Plans and tiers

Codeship offers two primary product lines, Codeship Basic and Codeship Pro, each with multiple subscription tiers. The pricing for these tiers is generally based on the number of parallel builds, monthly build minutes, and access to specific features.

Codeship Basic

Codeship Basic is designed for projects that benefit from a streamlined setup and pre-configured environments. It's suitable for common applications and teams looking for quick integration and deployment. The pricing for Codeship Basic plans typically scales with the number of parallel builds and included build minutes per month.

  • Starter Plan: Often includes a limited number of parallel builds (e.g., 5) and a set amount of build minutes per month, suitable for small teams or individual developers. The starting paid tier for Codeship Basic is listed at $49 per month for 5 builds per minute Codeship's Basic pricing details.
  • Growth Plans: Offer increased parallel builds and build minutes, accommodating growing teams and more active development cycles.
  • Premium Plans: Provide higher limits on parallel builds and minutes, along with potentially enhanced support or additional features for larger teams.

Codeship Pro

Codeship Pro caters to projects requiring custom Docker environments and fine-grained control over the CI/CD pipeline. This product is ideal for cloud-native applications and complex architectures where specific tools or configurations are necessary. Codeship Pro's pricing structure also considers parallel builds and build minutes, but its value proposition centers on its flexibility and customization capabilities Codeship Pro documentation.

  • Developer Plan: A foundational plan for Codeship Pro, providing access to custom Docker environments and a set allocation of build resources.
  • Team Plan: Offers more substantial resources and features suited for collaborative development teams working on more intricate projects.
  • Enterprise Plan: For large organizations with extensive CI/CD needs, this plan provides custom pricing, dedicated infrastructure options, and advanced security features. This tier is typically negotiated directly with Codeship.

The following table provides a general overview of Codeship's plan structures. Specific pricing figures and exact feature inclusions can vary; users should consult the official Codeship pricing page for the most current information.

Plan Price (Monthly) Key Limits / Features Best For
Codeship Basic (Free) $0 Unlimited builds for public open-source projects, 1 concurrent build. Open-source projects, public repositories.
Codeship Basic (Starter) $49 5 builds/min, unlimited private projects, limited build minutes. Small teams, personal projects, standard web applications.
Codeship Basic (Growth) Varies (e.g., $99+) Increased builds/min, more build minutes, enhanced features. Growing teams, multiple active projects, moderate build frequency.
Codeship Pro (Developer) Varies (e.g., $79+) Custom Docker environments, parallel builds, advanced pipeline control. Developers needing Docker flexibility, microservices.
Codeship Pro (Team) Varies (e.g., $189+) Higher parallel builds, extensive build minutes, team collaboration features. Teams with complex Docker-based workflows, cloud-native apps.
Codeship Pro (Enterprise) Custom Dedicated infrastructure, advanced security, custom support, SLA. Large organizations, high-compliance environments, specific performance needs.

Free tier and limits

Codeship provides a free tier specifically for open-source projects. This offering allows developers to utilize Codeship's CI/CD capabilities for public repositories without incurring any costs. The free tier for open-source projects typically includes unlimited builds and one concurrent build pipeline, which means only one build can run at a time per project Codeship's free tier details. This makes it a viable option for community-driven initiatives and individual contributors working on public codebases.

For private projects, Codeship does not offer a perpetual free tier beyond initial trial periods. Instead, users must subscribe to a paid plan, even for minimal usage. The specific limitations of the free open-source tier, such as included build minutes or access to advanced features, are detailed on the official Codeship pricing page. While it supports fundamental CI/CD processes, organizations requiring private repositories or higher concurrency will need to upgrade to a paid Codeship Basic or Codeship Pro plan.

Real-world cost examples

Understanding Codeship's pricing involves considering the interplay of parallel builds, monthly build minutes, and the choice between Basic and Pro offerings. These examples illustrate potential scenarios:

Example 1: Small team with a standard web application

A small development team of three individuals is building a standard Ruby on Rails web application with a single repository. They require continuous integration for every pull request and continuous deployment to a staging environment. Their build times average 5-7 minutes, and they typically run 30-40 builds per day during active development. They do not have complex Docker requirements.

  • Codeship Plan: Codeship Basic (Starter or a low-end Growth plan).
  • Requirements: 1-2 parallel builds, approximately 6,000-8,400 build minutes per month (assuming 40 builds/day * 6 min/build * 30 days/month).
  • Estimated Cost: Starting at $49/month for the Codeship Basic Starter plan, which typically includes 5 builds/min. Additional build minutes might incur extra charges if the base allocation is exceeded. The team would need to monitor their usage to ensure they remain within their plan's limits or upgrade to a higher Basic tier Codeship Basic pricing.

Example 2: Medium-sized team with microservices and Docker

A medium-sized team is developing a suite of microservices, each deployed as a Docker container. They have five active repositories, each with its own CI/CD pipeline. Builds involve Docker image creation and pushing to a registry, averaging 10-15 minutes per build. They need to run at least 3-4 builds concurrently across different services and deploy to multiple environments.

  • Codeship Plan: Codeship Pro (Developer or Team plan).
  • Requirements: 3-4 parallel builds, custom Docker environments, approximately 18,000-27,000 build minutes per month (assuming 60 builds/day * 10 min/build * 30 days/month, distributed across services).
  • Estimated Cost: This scenario would likely fall into the higher tiers of Codeship Pro, such as a Team plan. While specific pricing varies, these plans typically start from around $189+ per month to accommodate the higher concurrency and build minute requirements, along with the custom Docker capabilities Codeship Pro plans.

Example 3: Open-source project

A developer maintains a popular open-source library on GitHub. They want to ensure code quality and run tests automatically on every pull request and commit to the main branch. The project is public and does not require private repositories.

  • Codeship Plan: Codeship Basic (Free for Open Source).
  • Requirements: Unlimited builds, 1 concurrent build, public repository.
  • Estimated Cost: $0.00. The project qualifies for Codeship's free tier, allowing continuous integration without any financial outlay Codeship's open-source offering.

How the pricing compares

Codeship operates in a competitive CI/CD market, with alternatives like CircleCI, Travis CI, and GitHub Actions offering similar services. The pricing models among these platforms share commonalities but also present distinct differences.

  • CircleCI: Offers a free tier with limited build minutes and parallel jobs, scaling up with paid plans based on resource classes and usage. CircleCI's pricing can become usage-heavy, with costs accumulating based on the type of machine used for builds CircleCI pricing information. Codeship's Basic plans, with their fixed parallel builds, can offer more predictable costs for simpler setups.
  • Travis CI: Historically popular for open-source projects, Travis CI also provides a free tier for public repositories. Its paid plans for private repositories are often structured around the number of concurrent jobs and active users. Travis CI's pricing for private repositories can be competitive, similar to Codeship Basic, particularly for teams with a moderate number of concurrent builds Travis CI pricing plans.
  • GitHub Actions: Integrated directly into GitHub, Actions offers a generous free tier for both public and private repositories, measured in build minutes. Paid usage beyond the free tier is charged per minute, with different rates for Linux, Windows, and macOS runners. GitHub Actions can be particularly cost-effective for projects already hosted on GitHub, as it removes the need for external integrations and offers a substantial free allowance GitHub Actions features. Codeship Pro's strength lies in its Docker-native approach and control, which might appeal more to users prioritizing custom environments over tight GitHub integration.

Codeship's distinction, particularly with Codeship Pro, is its emphasis on Docker-native workflows and direct control over the CI/CD environment. While other platforms also support Docker, Codeship Pro's design prioritizes this approach, which can be advantageous for teams deeply invested in containerization. For simpler, more opinionated workflows, Codeship Basic provides a competitive, managed service. The choice between Codeship and its alternatives often comes down to the specific technical requirements (e.g., Docker flexibility, operating system runners), existing ecosystem integrations, and the predictability desired in monthly costs.