Github - Jenkins - compare

Feature	GitHub Actions	Jenkins
Definition	Cloud-native CI/CD tool built into GitHub	Open-source automation server for CI/CD
Setup	No installation; built into GitHub	Requires manual installation and maintenance
Hosting	GitHub-hosted or self-hosted runners	Self-hosted (Jenkins server + agents)
UI/UX	Modern, clean, integrated with GitHub	Traditional web UI; customizable via plugins
Pipeline Language	YAML-based workflows	Groovy (Declarative or Scripted)
Source Control Integration	Native GitHub integration (best experience)	SCM plugin support (Git, GitHub, Bitbucket, SVN, etc.)
Runner/Agent Model	Ephemeral GitHub-hosted runners or self-hosted	Persistent agents; manual scaling
Plugins/Marketplace	GitHub Actions Marketplace with 10K+ actions	1800+ plugins via Jenkins Plugin Manager
Reusable Logic	Composite actions and reusable workflows	Shared libraries and pipeline functions
Execution Model	Event-driven: push, PR, schedule, manual, etc.	SCM polling, webhooks, cron triggers, etc.
Parallel Execution	Native support with strategy.matrix and parallel	Supported via parallel steps or stages
Secrets Management	GitHub Secrets per repo/org/environment	Jenkins Credentials Plugin
Notification	GitHub Notifications, Slack, Email via actions	Email, Slack, HipChat, SMS via plugins
Docker Integration	Built-in support via Marketplace actions	Requires Docker plugin or manual scripting
Kubernetes Support	GitHub-hosted runners or k8s self-hosted runners	Jenkins Kubernetes Plugin for dynamic agent provisioning
Extensibility	Use and publish custom Actions (Docker/container-based)	Write Java plugins or Groovy shared libs
Security	GitHub org/repo permissions + encrypted secrets	Requires admin to configure roles, RBAC, SSL, etc.
Scalability	Scales with GitHub-hosted runners (pay-per-use)	Manual scaling of master and agents
Observability	Logs in GitHub UI; basic monitoring	Advanced logging & monitoring via plugins (e.g., Prometheus, ELK)
Cost	Free up to 2000 min/month for public/private repos; usage-based pricing	Free, but infra and plugins may require effort and cost
Best For	Teams using GitHub, small to mid-size projects, quick automation	Large enterprise pipelines, custom deployments, plugin-rich ecosystems