Azure Pipelines vs Jenkins

Continuous integration is aided by Jenkins, an open-source automation server. It is managed on-site where it is installed. Azure Pipelines is a continuous integration tool that can handle build and release orchestration and is accessible in the cloud or on-premises. Which of these two reasonable and well-liked options is actually the best for your circumstances?

Simplicity

From an organizational standpoint, it’s crucial to identify the tool that will help you reach your goal sooner. It is important to keep in mind that there is an additional time-based cost for this integration even though it is unquestionably true that Jenkins and Azure DevOps can integrate with one another. Utilizing multiple tools necessitates additional maintenance and training costs. In many situations, using fewer tools is preferable, especially if the extra tools are unnecessary.

Additionally, Azure Pipelines has native integrations with services like Azure Boards and Git repos. Given that it offers a seamless end-to-end traceability matrix of code and items across releases, this kind of integration is difficult to overlook.

YAML

A developer can define the pipeline as code using YAML. Even though not every team should use YAML to define pipelines, it can be a strong tool with some advantages. For example, because the pipeline is managed as a source file, it will undergo the usual code review procedure, improving quality. If something goes wrong, it is also simpler to compare different pipeline versions. Jenkins lacks the YAML interface while Azure Pipelines has it in addition to the standard GUI.

Cost

The total cost of a solution is something we must always take into account. All the necessary infrastructure for running pipelines is already present in an Azure DevOps instance. Additionally, Azure Pipelines offers unlimited build minutes for a self-hosted job or 30 hours of free monthly builds hosted by Microsoft. This is not the case with Jenkins. Jenkins is open-source and thus free to use, but you would be in charge of setting up, maintaining, and paying for your build infrastructure.

This isn’t a discussion of which technology is superior. Both are developed enough to satisfy every build requirement for the majority of companies. Choosing the solution that causes the least friction for you and your teams is the goal here. Contact us right away if you’d like more details or to speak with one of our experts.