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Buildkite vs Trigger.dev: Pricing Comparison 2026

Side-by-side pricing comparison of Buildkite and Trigger.dev. See all plans, features, and costs at a glance.

Bottom line: Trigger.dev starts at $0.000025/mo, making it $30/mo cheaper than Buildkite ($30/mo). Buildkite offers a free plan.

Last updated: August 24, 2026

Data compiled by Arthur Jacquemin
Updated August 24, 2026

Buildkite vs Trigger.dev: Quick Pricing Facts

FeatureBuildkiteTrigger.dev
Starting Price$30/mo$0.000025/mo
Number of Plans35
Free TierYesYes
Pricing Modelper-seatusage-based
Annual DiscountN/AN/A

Trigger.dev is the more affordable option, starting at $0.000025/mo compared to Buildkite's $30/mo. Both are Dev Tools with 8 combined pricing plans and 18 features compared. At comparable tiers, the monthly price difference is $30.

Both tools offer free plans, making them accessible for teams on a budget. Buildkite uses per-seat pricing while Trigger.dev uses usage-based pricing, which may affect your total cost at scale.

Review the detailed tier-by-tier comparison above to see exactly which features are included at each price point and find the best fit for your Dev Tools needs.

Pricing Plans
Buildkite
Buildkite
Try free
Trigger.dev
Trigger.dev
Try free
Tier 1
Personal
$0/monthCheapest
Includes
  • 3 concurrent jobs (hosted+self-hosted) per org/mo
  • 50k test executions/mo
  • 1GB storage & bandwidth (combined)/mo
  • 500 minutes/month
FreePopular
$0/monthCheapest
Tier 2
ProPopular
$30/monthCheapest
$30 / year
Includes
  • 10 concurrent self-hosted agents per org/mo
  • Unlimited test executions
  • 250 managed tests per org/mo
  • 20GB storage & bandwidth (combined) per org/mo
  • 2,000 minutes/month
  • SSO
  • Priority email support
Compute pricing
Custom pricing
Tier 3
Enterprise
Custom pricing
Includes
  • Build the perfect plan for your business
  • Unlimited pipelines
  • Volume discounts
  • Advanced governance & control
  • Custom SCIM, SAML, ADFS
  • User & API activity audit logs
  • Build exports
Run pricing
$0/monthCheapest
Tier 4
-
Frequently asked questionsPopular
Custom pricing
Tier 5
-
Ready to start building?
Custom pricing

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Buildkite

CI/CD platform running builds on your own infrastructure

View all Buildkite plans

Trigger.dev

Background jobs and workflow engine for serverless applications

View all Trigger.dev plans

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Buildkite if:

  • You need CI/CD with build agents on your own infrastructure for deployment pipelines
  • Large parallel application builds are the core engineering need
  • Pipeline orchestration at scale is required

Choose Trigger.dev if:

  • You need a TypeScript-native background job platform with real-time logs
  • Running long-running tasks from Next.js or Node.js with retries is the use case
  • Writing background jobs as regular TypeScript code is the developer experience goal

Buildkite orchestrates deployment pipelines; Trigger.dev runs application background jobs. Both are orchestration tools for different concerns. Trigger.dev has a free tier; Pro starts at $20/month. Buildkite starts at $350/month.

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Frequently Asked Questions: Buildkite vs Trigger.dev

Which is cheaper, Buildkite or Trigger.dev?
As of August 2026, Trigger.dev starts at a lower price point. Buildkite starts at $30/mo while Trigger.dev starts at $0.000025/mo. However, the best value depends on the features you need at each tier.
How many pricing plans does Buildkite have vs Trigger.dev?
Buildkite offers 3 pricing plans, while Trigger.dev offers 5 plans. More plans typically means more flexibility to match your exact needs and budget.
Does Buildkite or Trigger.dev offer a free plan?
Yes, both Buildkite and Trigger.dev offer free plans. Compare the feature limits of each free tier to see which better fits your use case before upgrading.
Can I save money by paying annually for Buildkite or Trigger.dev?
Both Buildkite and Trigger.dev offer annual billing options. Check each plan's yearly pricing for potential savings compared to monthly billing.
What is the most popular Buildkite plan?
The Pro plan is Buildkite's most popular tier, priced at $30/mo. Key features include 10 concurrent self-hosted agents per org/mo, Unlimited test executions, 250 managed tests per org/mo.
What is the most popular Trigger.dev plan?
The Free plan is Trigger.dev's most popular tier, priced at Free.
Does Buildkite or Trigger.dev offer custom enterprise pricing?
Yes, both Buildkite and Trigger.dev offer custom enterprise pricing tiers with quote-based pricing. Contact each vendor for a tailored quote.
AI Recommendations

Sources

  1. Buildkite Official Pricing- Vendor pricing page
  2. Trigger.dev Official Pricing- Vendor pricing page

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