CircleCI vs Dagger: Pricing Comparison 2026
Side-by-side pricing comparison of CircleCI and Dagger. See all plans, features, and costs at a glance.
Bottom line: CircleCI starts at $15/mo, making it $35/mo cheaper than Dagger ($50/mo). CircleCI offers a free plan.
Last updated: July 6, 2026
Dagger - Dagger eliminates CI platform lock-in with portable pipeline code; CircleCI is easier to start but harder to migrate away from.
CircleCI vs Dagger: Quick Pricing Facts
| Feature | CircleCI | Dagger |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $15/mo | $50/mo |
| Number of Plans | 3 | 3 |
| Free Tier | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing Model | usage-based | open-source |
| Annual Discount | N/A | N/A |
CircleCI is the more affordable option, starting at $15/mo compared to Dagger's $50/mo. Both are Dev Tools with 6 combined pricing plans and 5 features compared.
Both tools offer free plans, making them accessible for teams on a budget. CircleCI uses usage-based pricing while Dagger uses open-source 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 |  CircleCI Try free |  Dagger Try free |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Free $0/monthCheapest | |
| Tier 2 | Performance $15/monthCheapest | Team $50/month $4 / year Includes
|
| Tier 3 | Scale Custom pricing | Enterprise Custom pricing Includes
|
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Dagger
Dagger eliminates CI platform lock-in with portable pipeline code; CircleCI is easier to start but harder to migrate away from.
Based on pricing data only. Review the full comparison below for your specific needs.
Try Dagger freeFree plan availableWhich Should You Choose?
Choose CircleCI if:
- •You need a managed CI/CD cloud platform with out-of-the-box infrastructure
- •Your team wants a SaaS solution for pipelines without managing build orchestration code
- •CircleCI's orbs, integrations, and hosted runners meet your needs
Choose Dagger if:
- •You want to define CI/CD pipelines as code using a portable DAG runtime
- •Dagger's ability to run the same pipeline locally, on CI, and in any environment is the key advantage
- •Your team wants pipeline logic that is not locked to a specific CI platform
Dagger is a programmable CI/CD engine - you write pipeline logic in Go, Python, or TypeScript and run it anywhere: locally, on CircleCI, GitHub Actions, or any other runner. CircleCI is a hosted CI/CD platform with its own config format and infrastructure. Dagger is open source and free; you pay only for the compute you use. CircleCI has a free tier and starts at $15/month. Teams frustrated by CI lock-in and YAML sprawl are migrating to Dagger for portable pipeline logic.
Frequently Asked Questions: CircleCI vs Dagger
Which is cheaper, CircleCI or Dagger?
How many pricing plans does CircleCI have vs Dagger?
Does CircleCI or Dagger offer a free plan?
Can I save money by paying annually for CircleCI or Dagger?
Does CircleCI or Dagger offer custom enterprise pricing?
What pricing models do CircleCI and Dagger use?
How do CircleCI and Dagger compare for Dev Tools?
Sources
- CircleCI Official Pricing- Vendor pricing page
- Dagger Official Pricing- Vendor pricing page
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