Semaphore (Semaphore CI) is a cloud-native CI/CD platform. See 2026 usage-based pricing, key features, pros and cons, and alternatives like GitHub Actions.
Category
DevOps
Pricing
Usage-based pay-as-you-go pricing (billed per minute of compute) with a monthly free credit allowance and paid support add-ons; free Enterprise Edition for qualifying smaller companies, from Free tier includes $15 of monthly usage credit; usage billed from $0.0025 per minute for self-hosted agents
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 19, 2026
Founded
2012
Headquarters
Novi Sad, Serbia
Free PlanAPIOpen SourceAIFreemiumSelf-Hosted
Overview
Semaphore is a cloud-native CI/CD platform built by Rendered Text, a company founded in 2009 by Marko Anastasov and Darko Fabijan in Novi Sad, Serbia. The Semaphore product itself launched in March 2012, making it one of the earlier hosted continuous integration platforms still in active use today.
Rendered Text remains a relatively small, independent company with around 46 employees, and reports that Semaphore is used by more than 300,000 organizations worldwide, from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 enterprises, and holds SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications.
Key Features
Semaphore runs automated build, test, and deployment pipelines on every commit or pull request, supporting Ubuntu (x86 and ARM), macOS, and self-hosted agent machines. It offers parallelized test execution, Docker layer caching, and deployment automation to common cloud targets to speed up CI/CD workflows.
Pricing is billed per second of compute usage rather than per seat, so teams pay only for the pipeline time they actually consume, with concurrency, storage, and egress limits included by default on the free tier.
Pricing
Every Semaphore account gets 15 dollars of free monthly usage credit, roughly 2,000 minutes on a standard 2-vCPU Ubuntu x64 machine, along with 20 concurrent jobs and default storage and egress allowances. Beyond that, compute is billed per minute, starting around 0.003 dollars per minute for ARM machines and 0.0025 dollars per minute for self-hosted agents, with macOS machines priced higher at around 0.09 dollars per minute.
Optional paid support tiers range from 50 dollars per month for basic email support up to 750 dollars per month for premium SLA coverage, and Semaphore's self-hosted Enterprise Edition is offered free to companies under 5 million dollars in annual revenue with up to 50 users.
Key Features
Per-second usage-based billing — Compute is billed by the second, prorated per minute, with no per-seat license fees or charges for idle time.
Multi-platform build agents — Run pipelines on Ubuntu x86, Ubuntu ARM, macOS, or self-hosted agent machines depending on workload needs.
Parallelized test execution — Split and run test suites in parallel across multiple machines to reduce overall pipeline duration.
Docker layer caching — Cache Docker image layers between builds to speed up containerized pipeline runs.
Free monthly usage credit — Every account receives 15 dollars of free compute credit each month, plus default concurrency, storage, and egress allowances.
Free Enterprise Edition for smaller companies — Companies with under $5M in annual revenue and up to 50 users can run Semaphore's self-hosted Enterprise Edition at no cost.
SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certification — Semaphore holds SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications, supporting its use by security-conscious and regulated organizations.
Optional priority support tiers — Paid support add-ons ranging from basic email support to premium 24/7 SLA coverage are available on top of usage pricing.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Per-second usage billing means no charges for idle compute or unused seats
Generous free monthly credit and default limits for smaller projects
Free self-hosted Enterprise Edition available for qualifying smaller companies
Long operating history since 2012 with a mature, stable platform
Strong compliance posture with SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications
Cons
Usage-based pricing can be harder to predict and budget for than flat per-seat plans
macOS build minutes are notably more expensive than Linux minutes
Higher-tier support and success packages add significant cost on top of usage pricing
Smaller company size relative to larger CI/CD competitors like CircleCI or GitLab
Enterprise-grade support requires separate paid add-ons rather than being bundled
Pricing
Cloud Free Tier $15 of free usage credit per month Monthly
Cloud Pay-As-You-Go From $0.0025/minute (self-hosted agents) Usage-based, billed per minute
Enterprise Edition (Free Tier) Free N/A
Support Add-Ons $50 to $750 per month Monthly
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Semaphore CI/CD cost?
Semaphore's cloud platform is usage-based, billed per minute of compute, with 15 dollars of free credit included every month. Rates start around 0.0025 dollars per minute for self-hosted agents and scale up depending on machine type.
Is there a free version of Semaphore?
Yes, Semaphore includes a monthly free usage credit of 15 dollars for its cloud platform, and its self-hosted Enterprise Edition is free for companies under $5M in annual revenue with up to 50 users.
When was Semaphore founded?
Semaphore launched in March 2012, built by Rendered Text, a company founded in 2009 by Marko Anastasov and Darko Fabijan.
Where is Semaphore headquartered?
Semaphore's parent company, Rendered Text, is headquartered in Novi Sad, Serbia.
Does Semaphore support macOS builds?
Yes, Semaphore supports macOS build agents, though they are priced higher per minute than Ubuntu-based machines.
Does Semaphore charge per seat?
No, Semaphore does not charge per-seat license fees on its usage-based cloud plans; billing is based on compute minutes consumed.
What certifications does Semaphore hold?
Semaphore is SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certified, supporting adoption by security-conscious and regulated organizations.
What are Semaphore's main competitors?
Semaphore competes with CI/CD platforms including GitHub Actions, CircleCI, GitLab CI/CD, and Buildkite.