Travis CI vs Jenkins

by Gralio Apr 29, 2025

Travis CI is a cloud-based CI/CD platform known for its ease of use and tight GitHub integration, suitable for teams wanting a managed solution with quick setup. Jenkins is a highly flexible, self-hosted open-source server offering extensive customization via plugins, ideal for teams needing control and broad integration capabilities, but requires more management effort.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 1272 reviews and 60 websites, saving 7 hours, 34 minutes of reading.

About

Travis CI is a cloud-based platform that helps software developers test and deploy their code automatically. It works with projects of all sizes and integrates with popular cloud platforms. Using simple instructions, developers can set up automatic testing in multiple environments. Travis CI is known for its ease of use, speed, and trusted reputation among developers. It's particularly helpful for catching errors early in the development process and speeding up software releases.
Jenkins is a free and customizable tool that helps businesses automate the building, testing, and deployment of software. Through its extensive plugin library, Jenkins integrates with a wide range of development tools, making it suitable for diverse projects and teams.

Summary

Main difference
Travis CI provides a cloud-based, easy-to-configure CI/CD service tightly integrated with GitHub, focusing on simplicity. Jenkins is a free, open-source, and highly extensible automation server, offering immense customization through plugins but requiring self-hosting and more complex setup.

Relative strengths of Travis CI (compared to Jenkins)

  • * **Simpler Setup and Configuration:** Travis CI uses a straightforward YAML file for configuration and manages the underlying infrastructure, making it easier to get started compared to setting up and configuring a self-hosted Jenkins server.

  • * **Strong GitHub Integration:** Travis CI offers exceptionally smooth, built-in integration with GitHub, automatically handling pull requests and status checks with minimal setup, often simpler than configuring Jenkins plugins for similar functionality.

  • * **Managed Cloud Service:** As a SaaS platform, Travis CI eliminates the need for users to manage build servers, updates, and scaling, reducing operational overhead compared to the self-managed nature of Jenkins.

Relative weaknesses of Travis CI (compared to Jenkins)

  • * **Less Customization and Fewer Integrations:** Jenkins boasts a vast plugin ecosystem allowing integration with almost any tool and deep customization of workflows, whereas Travis CI offers more limited options for extensibility.

  • * **Reported Reliability and Support Concerns:** Users report issues with Travis CI build stability, speed, and customer support responsiveness, while Jenkins' reliability depends on user management and benefits from strong community support.

  • * **Limited Control and Configuration Flexibility:** Being a hosted service, Travis CI offers less control over the build environment and specific configurations compared to the complete control users have with a self-hosted Jenkins instance.

What companies are using Travis CI and Jenkins?

Who should use Travis CI VS. Jenkins

Travis CI is a cloud platform designed to help software teams automate testing and deployment. We find it's particularly popular with teams using GitHub, who appreciate its easy setup for CI/CD pipelines. Based on reviews, users value how it simplifies catching errors early and speeds up releases, supporting numerous languages and cloud environments. It seems like a solid choice for streamlining development workflows a developer might need a tool for catching errors earlier in the development process or for simplifying the CI/CD workflow setup process for automating builds and deployments of their code

Jenkins is a go-to for development teams wanting to automate software building, testing, and deployment. We find its massive plugin library makes it super flexible for different tools and workflows. While users love the customization and automation power, some find the initial setup tricky and the interface a bit dated. Still, it's a powerful, free option, especially if you need lots of integrations for your CI/CD process

  • In our experience, Travis CI works well for medium-sized businesses and is an excellent fit for larger enterprises looking to automate builds.

  • We see Travis CI primarily used by companies within the Software, IT, and Telecommunications sectors, aligning well with its technical focus.

  • In our experience, Jenkins is a solid choice for software development teams across the board, from small startups to large enterprises.

  • We find Jenkins particularly shines in the Software, IT, and Telecommunications sectors, where automating development pipelines is key.

Travis CI and Jenkins features

Supported
Partially supported
Not supported
Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

  • Language Support
    Supported

    Travis CI supports a wide range of languages including Ruby, Python, JavaScript, Java, and C++ making it versatile.

    Supported

    Jenkins supports many languages, including Ruby, Python, Java, and likely C++ and JavaScript via plugins.

  • Simple CI/CD pipelines
    Supported

    Travis CI uses .travis.yml for build configurations, supporting quick test and deployment definitions. It scales pipelines with parallel and matrix builds, offering a precise syntax for developers.

    Supported

    Jenkins supports defining and scaling CI/CD pipelines with a developer-friendly syntax.

  • Automated CI/CD pipelines
    Supported

    Travis CI offers automated CI/CD pipelines, including build, test, and configurable deployment stages.

    Supported

    Jenkins excels at automating CI/CD pipelines, using tools to streamline building, testing, and deployment.

  • Automated testing
    Supported

    Travis CI supports automated testing, a core feature, by automatically building and testing code changes.

    Supported

    Jenkins fully supports running automated tests within CI/CD pipelines.

  • Kubernetes integration
    Partially supported

    Travis CI supports Kubernetes integration through custom scripts, enabling users to build, push images, and deploy to Kubernetes clusters. Native integration is not available.

    Supported

    Jenkins supports Kubernetes integration for efficient CI/CD processes.

  • Pipeline configuration
    Supported

    Travis CI allows defining custom CI/CD pipelines using .travis.yml configuration file.

    Supported

    Jenkins users can create custom CI/CD pipelines using Jenkinsfile which describes pipeline steps.

Qualities

  • Value and Pricing Transparency
    No data
    +0.33
    Rather positive sentiment
  • Ease of Use
    No data
    -0.07
    Neutral sentiment
  • Reliability and Performance
    No data
    +0.7
    Strongly positive sentiment
  • Ease of Implementation
    No data
    -0.47
    Rather negative sentiment
  • Scalability
    No data
    +0.69
    Rather positive sentiment

Travis CI and Jenkins Pricing

Travis CI offers flexible pricing options including usage-based and unlimited plans. They provide a free trial for their usage-based plan. For specific pricing details for the unlimited plan and the self-hosted server option, users need to contact sales.
Plans

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Rather positive
+0.33
We couldn't find a pricing page for Jenkins.

Travis CI and Jenkins review insights

1272 reviews analysed from and

Users love

  • Easy integration with GitHub; streamlines automation of builds and deployments.
  • Good support for a variety of languages and cloud platforms (AWS, Heroku, etc.)
  • Clear and concise build error messages aid quick issue resolution.
  • Simplified CI workflow setup.
  • The ability to automate the entire process of building, testing, and deploying software
  • It can be easily connected to a GitHub repository, making it easy to automate builds and deployments and guarantee the quality of the code with tests.
  • Travis CI mainly helps us quickly build and deploy applications without the overhead to maintain build servers and agents.
  • I like the ease to setup the CI for automating the deployments in the different applications
  • Excellent cloud-based solution for CI/CD without having to self manage the build server and build agent
  • Extensive plugin ecosystem allows for integration with a wide range of tools and technologies.
  • Highly customizable and adaptable to various development environments and workflows.
  • Automates the entire software development lifecycle, including building, testing, and deployment.
  • Strong community support and extensive documentation make it easier to find solutions.

Users dislike

  • Frequent builds stuck or slow, causing delays.
  • Customer service is often slow, unhelpful, or non-responsive.
  • Confusing pricing, especially after the move to .com; OSS credits are unreliable.
  • Difficult to debug builds without access to a live SSH terminal.
  • Limited customization options compared to Jenkins.
  • Not so reliable service with constant downtimes for many months.
  • Setting up auto deploy is hard; takes more than 20 attempts to deploy sometimes.
  • Travis broke their promise of supporting Open Source with free CI service.
  • Has no support for nested virtualization.
  • Not as extensible and customizable because of its limited plugins.
  • The UI has not evolved for years.
  • For users who start trial credits end quite fast above all if they use macOS servers
  • Initial setup can be complex and time-consuming, especially for large-scale projects.
  • The user interface feels outdated and can be cumbersome to navigate at times.
  • Managing and updating a large number of plugins can be cumbersome.
  • Some plugins are outdated or poorly maintained, leading to compatibility issues.

Travis CI and Jenkins Ratings

  • G2
    4.5/5
    (92)
  • Capterra
    4.1/5
    (129)
  • G2
    4.4/5
    (496)
  • Capterra
    4.5/5
    (555)

Company health

Employee growth

17% decrease in the last year
10% decrease in the last year

Web traffic

24% decrease in the last quarter
38% increase in the last quarter

Financing

No data
No data

How do Travis CI's limited customization options compare to Jenkins' extensibility?

Travis CI provides relatively limited customization options, a point highlighted by users who note its restricted plugin availability compared to Jenkins. While Travis CI prioritizes simplicity in setup, Jenkins is designed for high extensibility through its vast plugin ecosystem, enabling significant customization and integration capabilities across diverse development tools and workflows, though managing numerous plugins can sometimes be complex.

Which product offers better support and responsiveness for troubleshooting builds?

Based on user feedback, Jenkins appears to offer better support for troubleshooting builds, primarily through its strong community support and extensive documentation, which users find helpful for finding solutions. While Travis CI offers clear error messages, users frequently report that its customer service is slow, unhelpful, or non-responsive, and also mention difficulties in debugging builds.

What are the advantages of Travis CI?

Travis CI offers advantages primarily through its ease of use and streamlined setup, particularly highlighted by its simple configuration syntax and excellent integration with GitHub. As a fully cloud-based platform, it eliminates the overhead of maintaining build servers and agents. It supports a wide range of programming languages and integrates well with popular cloud platforms, enabling automated testing and deployment across various environments, including directly from pull requests. Users find it simplifies the entire CI/CD workflow, providing automation and clear feedback to speed up development cycles.

What are the disadvantages of Travis CI?

Travis CI users report several disadvantages, including frequent issues with builds being slow or getting stuck, leading to delays and concerns about service reliability and downtime. Customer support is often cited as slow or unhelpful. Debugging builds can be difficult without direct SSH access, and the platform is considered less customizable with fewer plugin options compared to alternatives like Jenkins. Users also find the pricing confusing, particularly regarding changes to open-source credits, and have experienced difficulties setting up auto-deployment.

Alternatives to Travis CI and Jenkins

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Azure Pipelines
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travis-ci vs GitLab
Complete DevOps platform: code, build, deploy, and monitor.
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Logo of CircleCI
travis-ci vs CircleCI
Automates software builds, tests, deploys for faster, reliable delivery.
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Logo of Azure DevOps Server
Azure DevOps Server
Plan, build, test, and deploy software on-premises.
Read more
Logo of CloudBees
CloudBees
Enterprise-grade Jenkins automation for faster, safer software delivery.
Read more
Logo of Buildkite
Buildkite
Fast, secure, and scalable continuous integration and delivery platform.
Read more
Page co-authored by
MK
Michal Kaczor
CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

TT
Tymon Terlikiewicz
CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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