TeamCity 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 | TeamCity | Woodpecker CI |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | Proprietary | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | — | ★ 7,909 |
| First released | 2006 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Jenkins, CircleCI | Jenkins, CircleCI |
What are TeamCity and Woodpecker CI?
TeamCity
TeamCity is a build management and continuous integration server from JetBrains. The Professional edition is free for self-hosting smaller teams and supports many build runners and VCS systems.
- Smart build configuration
- Build chains and dependencies
- Rich VCS integration
- Detailed test reporting
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
TeamCity vs Woodpecker CI: key differences
TeamCity is written in Java, while Woodpecker CI is built with Go. Licensing differs — Proprietary for TeamCity versus Apache-2.0 for Woodpecker CI. Woodpecker CI is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for TeamCity. TeamCity is the more established project (first released 2006), while Woodpecker CI arrived in 2019.
Why pick each one
Choose TeamCity if…
- Released under the Proprietary license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Java
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 TeamCity or Woodpecker CI better?
Neither is universally better. Woodpecker CI has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are TeamCity and Woodpecker CI free and open-source?
Yes. TeamCity is licensed under Proprietary and Woodpecker CI under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run TeamCity and Woodpecker CI with Docker?
TeamCity: yes. Woodpecker CI: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, TeamCity or Woodpecker CI?
Woodpecker CI has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for TeamCity. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.