

CircleCI and Make are competing tools in software development and automation workflows. CircleCI has an edge with its advanced feature set, while Make is preferred for its cost-effectiveness and ease of deployment.
Features: CircleCI offers advanced CI/CD capabilities, integration with various developer tools, and robust performance monitoring. Make stands out with its extensive automation and integration capabilities, low-code interface, and wide app compatibility.
Room for Improvement: CircleCI could enhance its pricing models for smaller businesses and improve its user interface for beginners. Make may benefit from increasing integration speed and developing more in-depth analytical tools. Both platforms could expand their libraries for more third-party integrations.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: CircleCI provides efficient cloud-based deployment with strong customer support tools. Make offers both cloud and on-premise deployment options, catering to environments with strict data needs. Feedback suggests Make excels in providing quick resolutions and personalized support.
Pricing and ROI: CircleCI's pricing is suitable for larger enterprises, providing high ROI with its automation and rapid deployment. Make's flexible pricing plans, like pay-as-you-go options, attract small to medium businesses, emphasizing affordability and quick ROI.
I have seen a return on investment with CircleCI, as it saves money and time, requires fewer employees because it automates deployments easily, and enables us to complete all development tasks in much less time with limited employees.
It also has a credit system, so you pay for what you use, making it way cheaper than having a dedicated server running 24/7.
Before we were using CircleCI, deploying and setting up architecture or deploying an application for our customers took one or two days, but using CircleCI, it only takes around half a day, so it has improved significantly.
I have indeed seen a return on investment as it has saved us hundreds of hours in repetitive tasks, streamlining our follow-up to the leads that we are generating.
I implemented a booking system for my client that previously required data to be entered directly into Google Sheets and reminders to be sent manually; using Make, they have saved about 50% of their time, which equals one labor resource, translating to a significant amount of money saved.
With that extra time each month, I could focus more on sales and upscaling my business, so it is really worth it.
CircleCI provides detailed documentation, which often allowed us to troubleshoot and resolve problems independently.
I would rate the customer support a ten out of ten, as they take money but provide the best customer support.
Whenever we have had issues with initial setup or questions, both the customer support and technical support teams have been excellent.
We have escalated a few issues that we faced during some integrations, and we received reasonable responses from Make support.
They were doing the best job for my use cases and my problems.
When I had a problem during the pricing payment, the customer support handled it very well.
Everything works together, and it is very scalable and performs well.
It is highly scalable, as it is not on our system, so we do not need to take care of the runners as well.
In the cloud version, CircleCI allows you to go from running one job to 1,000 jobs instantly, so it is very robust.
When you have an error, it is very hard to do error handling and debugging.
It can handle increasing workloads or more complex automations easily, but I need to set up each and every component carefully.
Make's scalability is very good, and if the pricing were lower, I could scale a lot more.
It is most important for CircleCI to be stable and reliable because we run a production environment on it.
We are using this software as a service solution, and if it goes down, the whole engineering stops working almost—we cannot push anything, and building does not work at all.
Overall, CircleCI has been stable and reliable for our needs at Ericsson in different telecom projects.
I think there is also UI clutter; with very complex pipelines running with hundreds of steps, it becomes difficult to navigate in the web interface.
If CircleCI implemented a function approach similar to GitHub Actions, it would be significantly better.
CircleCI should leverage the growing trend of AI by offering an out-of-the-box AI-driven dynamic YAML file creation feature using natural language processing.
There should be clarity about whether the data is secure while passing through these automations or integrations created within Make.
I would love to have more detailed logs, step-by-step error tracing, and better visualization of failed executions, as I think it would improve the user experience significantly.
The lagging problem needs to be solved.
A large server costs more credits per minute than a small one, but there is a risk that some scripts or an infinite loop can burn through $500 of credit in a weekend if you do not set up spending limits or alerts.
So far, we have been able to keep everything within our organization's budget.
The pricing varies depending on how we use the pipelines, which run frequently, leading to variability in costs.
Licensing was affordable.
I found a solution that allows me to use Make almost for free, just using the Docker on-premises.
It's cost-effective and it's pocket-friendly.
The GitHub integration is most valuable because of its ease of use, as it only requires integration with the GitHub repository and then creating the pipeline as a YAML file within the repository code.
Among those features, I find the most valuable in my day-to-day work the automation aspect, as we have a large product team with many developers who continuously create branches and push code, necessitating automation that builds the pipeline and the branches automatically while giving faster feedback.
Running parallel jobs where dev gets automatically updated every time has helped our team significantly.
Make has positively impacted my organization by enabling us to solve use cases for hundreds of clients across hundreds of different platforms, providing the customization capabilities to automate accounting and invoicing processes that save dozens of man-hours a month, and allowing us to build custom churn, retention, and engagement costs that have driven a 30% reduction in churn.
Instead of spending several days implementing and testing API integrations inside our FastAPI back end, I was able to build the workflows in a few hours using Make.
The task that I would complete in a span of one day is completed in a matter of minutes by using Make.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| Make | 0.5% |
| CircleCI | 0.5% |
| Other | 99.0% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 8 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 2 |
| Large Enterprise | 13 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 14 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 1 |
| Large Enterprise | 6 |
CircleCI is a continuous integration and delivery platform that automates software development, streamlining the process for engineers and developers. It's valued for its ability to enhance development speed while maintaining high software quality.
Known for its robust CI/CD capabilities, CircleCI supports a wide range of programming languages and integrations, allowing teams to build and deploy code with efficiency and reliability. Its flexibility and automation features help teams quickly adapt to changing project requirements. CircleCI's cloud-based architecture ensures scalability and accessibility, making it an attractive option for modern development environments.
What are CircleCI's key features?In tech-driven industries, CircleCI enables efficient software development pipelines. Its ability to run automated tests and manage deployments effectively is particularly beneficial in fast-paced, innovation-driven fields like fintech, mobile app development, and SaaS platforms. Offering tools that meet high-demand environments, it supports teams in delivering timely and quality software products.
Make is a robust automation platform that streamlines workflows, connecting apps to enhance productivity. Tailored for tech-savvy users, it offers dynamic automation solutions that optimize processes and facilitate seamless integration of disparate systems.
At its core, Make empowers businesses to automate tasks through an intuitive builder with drag-and-drop capabilities. Ideal for professionals who need to integrate systems efficiently, it supports a wide range of applications, aiding in the creation of complex workflows without the need for extensive coding. Users value its adaptability, making it a popular choice for enhancing operational efficiency.
What features does Make offer?In industries like retail and technology, Make has become essential for automating inventory management, order processing, and customer relationship tasks. Companies leverage its capacity to connect multiple databases, CRM systems, and sales platforms, driving growth and operational excellence.
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