Jenkins alternatives in 2025: CI/CD tools that won’t frustrate DevOps engineers

What are people saying about Jenkins? Has it become more of a headache than a help?

While Jenkins was once the go-to CI/CD tool, many DevOps engineers now feel frustrated with its maintenance, scalability, and plugin management. If you’ve spent hours debugging pipelines or dealing with an outdated UI, it’s something many DevOps engineers run into.

Don’t get me wrong; Jenkins still has its place, but 2025 brings better options with better cloud integration, simpler configurations, and faster builds. Cloud-based continuous integration is becoming the norm, so looking at Jenkins alternatives that fit modern workflows makes sense.

If you’re ready to move on, here are some of the best CI/CD tools to consider:

1. Northflank → A modern alternative with cloud-first CI/CD and Kubernetes support.
2. GitHub Actions → Built into GitHub, great for repository-based workflows.
3. GitLab CI/CD → Deep integration with GitLab and flexible automation.
4. CircleCI → Known for speed and cloud-based builds.
5. Harness → AI-powered CI/CD with cost and security optimization.
6. Travis CI → Simple setup, popular for open-source projects.
7. Bitbucket Pipelines → Direct integration with BitBucket repositories.
8. TeamCity → Self-hosted option with customizable build processes.
9. AWS CodePipeline → Works well with AWS services.
10. Azure DevOps → Microsoft’s CI/CD solution with broad enterprise support.

Let’s break down what makes these Jenkins alternatives worth your time.

What is Jenkins?

Jenkins has been around for a long time. It started in 2004 as “Hudson” before changing its name in 2011, and for years, it was the go-to CI/CD tool for DevOps teams. Back then, it made sense. Jenkins gave developers a way to automate builds and deployments when most setups were still running on on-premise servers.

Even now, Jenkins is everywhere. As of 2023, it still holds around 44% of the CI/CD market, with over a million active users and over 200,000 installations worldwide. That is a lot, but it does not mean people are not looking for something better.

The problem? Jenkins was not built for how teams work today. It comes with a lot of setup, plugin management, and maintenance. Cloud-based CI/CD tools take that extra work out of the picture. You know exactly what that means if you have spent time tweaking configurations, fixing broken pipelines, or dealing with self-hosted servers.

Jenkins played a huge role in CI/CD, but things have changed. Cloud-based CI/CD tools scale better, run faster, and do not require constant upkeep. Now teams are looking for automation without the extra maintenance, and many are moving on to better alternatives.

The problems with Jenkins

Many teams still use Jenkins, but that does not mean it is keeping up. If you have used it, you already know how much work goes into maintaining it. What started as a solution for automation has become a system that demands constant upkeep. The more teams try to make Jenkins work for modern workflows, the more problems they encounter.

Let’s look at why so many teams are moving on.

Jenkins is outdated software

Jenkins was built at a different time. It was designed for on-premise setups where teams managed their servers and manually handled everything. That is not how things work anymore, except for teams in industries like finance and government that still rely on self-hosted infrastructure.

DevOps tools in 2025 are built for cloud-based automation, and Jenkins was never designed for that. It lacks native cloud support, making integrating with modern CI/CD workflows harder. The result? More work just to keep things running.

"... while Jenkins offers a wide range of plugins and integrations, managing these plugins and ensuring that they are up-to-date can be time-consuming and challenging. This can lead to compatibility issues and other problems that can slow down the software development process.” ~ Customer review

Security concerns

Security is one of the major reasons teams look for alternatives. Jenkins has a long history of vulnerabilities, and because it relies so heavily on plugins, the risk only increases. Each plugin is a potential entry point, and not all of them are well-maintained. Attackers know this. There have been multiple reports of Jenkins being exploited, including this one about hackers using the script console to gain access.

“Jenkins may not be suitable, for beginners as it has a bit of a learning curve. Its interface appears outdated. It can be resource intensive. Security concerns have been raised by some users. Working with plugins can pose challenges at times.” ~ Customer review

Plugin overload & complexity

Jenkins relies on plugins for almost everything, but that comes with a cost. Some plugins are outdated, poorly maintained, or even abandoned. Teams end up in situations where one update breaks an entire pipeline because of a plugin compatibility issue.

Jenkins tried to fix its plugin issues with Jenkins X and Tekton. Jenkins X was introduced as a cloud-native solution simplifying CI/CD with automated environments and Kubernetes integration. Meanwhile, Tekton started as an open-source framework for building CI/CD systems on Kubernetes. Both tools had complex setups and steep learning curves, making adoption difficult for teams.

Rather than making CI/CD easier, Jenkins adds another layer of complexity that teams have to manage.

Jenkins can be a bit challenging to set up and maintain, especially with complex pipelines. The UI feels outdated, and managing plugins can sometimes lead to compatibility issues. ~ Customer review

Lack of built-in cloud integration

Most teams are no longer running CI/CD on self-hosted servers. They need automation that fits into cloud-based workflows, and Jenkins does not do that natively. It requires extra configurations, workarounds, and constant adjustments to fit into modern DevOps pipelines. Other tools are built for the cloud from day one, and that is why so many teams are moving on.

“Jenkins UI visually outdated and complex configurations may require a learning curve. Now github and gitlab also provide CI/CD with code hosting platform. For containerization technologies like kubernetes and docker it may lack of built-in support for this.” ~ Customer review

💡 Now that we’ve broken down the challenges with Jenkins think about what you really want from a CI/CD solution. You want a setup that works the way you work through a UI, CLI, API, or GitOps. You want to run tests, catch issues early, and ship without stressing over security or infrastructure. The goal is a reliable process for every workload so you can stay focused on building.

Jenkins vs. modern CI/CD tools (best Jenkins alternatives in 2025)

Let’s go through some of the top 10 CI/CD alternatives that teams are using in 2025.

1. Northflank

Northflank is built for cloud-native workflows, making deployments easier without the complexity that comes with Jenkins. If you’re tired of managing self-hosted setups and relying on so many plugins, Northflank handles your infrastructure. Kubernetes support is built-in, so your containerized applications deploy and scale automatically as needed.

It connects directly to GitLab, Bitbucket, and GitHub, skipping extra configuration steps. Pipelines are easy to set up, and automation is ready out of the box, so you won’t have to write custom scripts or get caught up managing third-party integrations or in YAML files. For teams working with microservices, this means spending less time on infrastructure and more time getting features out the door.

See how to build a scalable software architecture (monolith vs. microservices).

2. Bitbucket pipelines

If your team already uses Bitbucket, Bitbucket Pipelines makes it easy to automate builds and deployments without adding more tools to your stack. It is built right into the Bitbucket environment, so everything stays in one place without managing separate CI/CD services or handling complex setups.

Since it’s part of Atlassian’s ecosystem, it connects naturally with tools like Jira, making tracking issues easier and linking deployments to tasks. Compared to Jenkins, getting started is quicker because there are fewer manual configurations. You can define your pipeline with a simple YAML file, commit it, and start automating without getting stuck on plugin compatibility or infrastructure problems.

See how to integrate your application with GitLab and Bitbucket.

3. GitHub Actions

If your team already works with GitHub, GitHub Actions makes sense as a CI/CD option. It connects directly to your repositories, so you can define and run pipelines right alongside your code without managing separate servers or hunting for third-party plugins.

Since GitHub handles the infrastructure, you do not have to think about updates, security patches, or maintenance. The marketplace has plenty of pre-built actions, so automating tasks feels easier to manage than Jenkins’ plugin-heavy setup. You can spend more time building and shipping your projects without stressing over the underlying systems.

See how to use GitHub Action to deploy to Northflank.

4. Harness

Harness takes automation a step further with AI that analyzes your deployment patterns to help optimize performance and cut cloud costs. Manually tracking usage and tweaking configurations takes a lot of time. Harness handles it for you, so you can avoid the back-and-forth and keep moving forward.

Security is built right in, with automatic rollbacks and governance policies that catch issues before they spiral into bigger problems. You won’t have to patch things up after failed deployments or rely on third-party tools to stay compliant.

5. GitLab CI/CD

If your team already used GitLab, setting up GitLab CI/CD becomes much simpler. It’s built right in, so you can automate your workflows without extra tools or complicated integrations. Security scanning, container registry support, and cloud-native features are ready to use from the start.

Pipelines are defined in a simple YAML file, and GitLab Runners take care of execution across multiple machines. This saves you from handling Jenkins agents or constantly fixing configuration issues. Rather than spending hours debugging scripts, you can keep shipping features without unnecessary delays.

See how to integrate GitLab with your applications.

6. Travis CI

For years, Travis CI has been the go-to choice for open-source projects. If you’re hosting your code on GitHub and Bitbucket, it connects easily, letting you automate builds and deployments without spending hours on configuration.

It might not have every advanced feature newer platforms provide, but it can be a reliable option for smaller teams and open-source maintainers. You can run tests, catch issues early, and ship updates without getting lost in complex settings or maintaining your own infrastructure.

7. CircleCI

CircleCI helps you build and ship faster. It speeds up execution with parallelism and caching, so you do not lose time waiting for builds to finish. You do not need to handle your own build infrastructure because everything runs in the cloud.

The platform works with multiple programming languages and containerized environments, making it easy to switch between projects without extra effort. Scaling up for larger deployments happens automatically, so you can handle big releases without constantly adjusting configurations.

8. TeamCity

TeamCity gives you more control over your CI/CD pipelines without adding extra complexity. You can set up multiple build configurations in a single project, which is helpful when handling larger or more complex workflows.

You will not have to spend time managing many plugins like Jenkins. TeamCity has built-in features for test reporting, dependency management, and artifact storage. That means you can keep your builds running without spending hours adjusting configurations.

9. AWS CodePipeline

AWS CodePipeline is a good fit if your team already relies on AWS. It connects with other AWS services, automating application deployments so you can skip third-party tools and unnecessary complexity.

The pay-as-you-go pricing model helps you scale based on what you actually use, reducing the costs of maintaining Jenkins infrastructure.

10. Azure DevOps

If your team works with Microsoft technologies, Azure DevOps gives you a full set of CI/CD tools for Azure environments. You get version control, build automation, and release management all in one place.

Its integration with Azure cloud services makes application deployment easier without layers of complex configurations. This provides enterprises with a CI/CD solution within the Microsoft ecosystem.

See how to deploy, release, and scale workloads on Azure with automation and DevOps collaboration through Northflank.

Jenkins vs. Modern CI/CD Tools: A Quick Comparison

Before wrapping up, let’s break down the key differences between Jenkins and modern CI/CD tools like Northflank. The table below highlights how they stack up in key areas like cloud support, security, and maintenance.

The comparison table shows that modern CI/CD tools simplify the build process, but not all handle deployment. Note that Jenkins focuses on continuous integration, leaving deployment to plugins or manual processes.

In contrast, tools like Northflank automate the full pipeline, including build, release, and preview environments for testing microservices in production-like containers.

This includes Docker builds, making it easier to create and optimize container images. If you want to optimize your Docker build process, check out this guide on Docker Build and Buildx best practices.

Find a CI/CD solution that works for your team

Teams are moving away from Jenkins because nobody wants to spend their day fixing broken plugins or babysitting servers. The best CI/CD tools handle the heavy lifting, so you can push updates and ship features without constant roadblocks.

If you want to try something new, Northflank makes it easy to get started for free. You can run builds and test deployments and see what it’s like when your CI/CD setup works without constant maintenance. Not sure where to begin? Check out these guides or browse the documentation. Or just create a free account and start building right away.