Concourse CI vs Woodpecker CI
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted ci/cd & build options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Woodpecker CI
Simple, container-native continuous integration
| Feature | Concourse CI | Woodpecker CI |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,906 | ★ 7,909 |
| First released | 2014 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Jenkins, CircleCI | Jenkins, CircleCI |
What are Concourse CI and Woodpecker CI?
Concourse CI
Concourse is an open-source CI/CD system built around the principles of declarative pipelines and reproducible builds. Every task runs in an isolated container for consistent, debuggable builds.
- Declarative YAML pipelines
- Container-isolated tasks
- Visual pipeline graph
- Resource-based design
Woodpecker CI
Woodpecker CI is a simple, community fork of Drone offering container-native continuous integration pipelines. It targets developers who want lightweight CI alongside their Git server. It is deployed via Docker.
- Container-native pipelines
- Simple YAML configuration
- Integrates with Gitea and GitHub
- Lightweight footprint
Concourse CI vs Woodpecker CI: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Woodpecker CI is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Concourse CI. Concourse CI is the more established project (first released 2014), while Woodpecker CI arrived in 2019.
Why pick each one
Choose Concourse CI if…
- Reproducible builds
- Strong isolation
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
Choose Woodpecker CI if…
- Easy to set up
- Lightweight CI
- Good Git integrations
Watch out for
- Fewer features than big CI tools
- Smaller plugin ecosystem
Frequently asked questions
Is Concourse CI or Woodpecker CI better?
Woodpecker CI is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Concourse CI if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Concourse CI and Woodpecker CI free and open-source?
Yes. Concourse CI is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Woodpecker CI under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Concourse CI and Woodpecker CI with Docker?
Concourse CI: yes. Woodpecker CI: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Concourse CI or Woodpecker CI?
Woodpecker CI has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Concourse CI. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.