Enterprise engineering tools have long forced teams into a hard choice: use brittle open source tools or pay a premium for closed platforms. Today, we’re making a major move at Semaphore to change that. We’re announcing three big updates that aim to make enterprise-grade CI/CD more accessible, transparent, and cost-effective:
- The self-hosted enterprise edition is now free for startups and mid-sized teams with ARR under $5M, and also free for larger companies who want to try it out. This isn’t a demo license. It’s the real thing: full functionality, up to 50 users, no time limit. We believe smaller teams shouldn’t be priced out of powerful infrastructure tooling.
- Enterprise features are now source-available. The code in our ee/ folder is now open to read and audit. This helps teams build trust, improve security posture, and even contribute improvements back. It’s a step toward transparency that has long been missing from enterprise CI/CD.
- We’re working directly with all new prospects to help them reduce their Cloud CI/CD spending. Instead of rigid pricing plans or one-size-fits-all tiers, we offer flexible pricing and personalized onboarding. On our hosted (SaaS) platform, we can guarantee 50% lower CI/CD spend compared to your current setup, and we back that with hands-on migration support.
If you’re a startup, you can now run the best of Semaphore in your own environment without paying a cent. If you’re a larger team evaluating alternatives, you can test it freely and get direct help from us. And if you’re already paying for CI/CD elsewhere, we’ll work with you to cut that bill in half.
Why we’re making these moves
This is our strategic bet on the future of developer infrastructure.
We believe the next generation of successful companies will be built on infrastructure they control. Just as Kubernetes won over proprietary container orchestration, and PostgreSQL dominates over expensive database licenses, open and controllable infrastructure always wins in the long run.
Technical advantages that set Semaphore apart
Cloud, hybrid, or on-premise. We cover all deployment scenariosWhether you prefer a fully managed cloud solution, a hybrid setup, or running everything on-premise behind your firewall, Semaphore fits your environment and needs.
Fast, cost-efficient cloud with exceptional supportOur cloud platform is built for speed and efficiency, enabling rapid feedback loops while keeping costs low.
Mature product with robust project managementSemaphore handles complex workflows with ease, whether you use monorepos or multiple repositories.
Rich feature set with built-in deployment orchestrationDeployment orchestration is a first-class citizen, letting you manage releases seamlessly and confidently.
The economic reality
Let’s talk numbers. Based on our experience, a high performance 50-person engineering team with complex CI/CD pipelines pays:
- GitHub Actions: ~$1,500/month
- CircleCI: ~$2,500/month
- GitLab Premium: ~$1500/month
With our free tier, that same team pays $0. With our paid Cloud plans, even large teams save 50% or more.
What this means for you
If you’re a small team (under 50 developers)
You get enterprise-grade CI/CD for free. No feature limitations, no time restrictions, no catch. Just world-class CI/CD that scales with your team.
If you’re a large enterprise
You get significant cost savings, better security, and infrastructure you control. Plus, our source-available model means you’re never locked in. And we’ll work directly with your team to ensure the migration reduces your costs.
If you’re currently using another CI/CD tool
We’ll analyze your current setup, build a migration plan, and guarantee 50% savings. If we can’t deliver on that promise, we’ll cover the difference.
Getting started
For free tier self-hosted users
- Sign up at https://semaphore.io/enterprise
- Deploy to your infrastructure using our Helm charts
- Import your existing pipelines
For enterprise users
- Contact our team for a cost analysis and custom deployment plan
- We’ll provide a detailed migration strategy and ROI projection
- Get your first month free while we handle the transition and optimization
For cloud users
- Try Semaphore for free or schedule a call with our team
- We’ll analyze your current CI/CD setup and costs
- Get a custom plan that guarantees lower costs than your current solution
The bottom line
CI/CD shouldn’t be a luxury service that gets more expensive as you scale. It should be infrastructure you control, customize, and optimize for your specific needs.
We’re making these changes because we believe the future belongs to companies that own their infrastructure. By open-sourcing our enterprise features, providing free self-hosting, and guaranteeing cost savings through direct engineering support, we’re betting that better technology and economics will win over vendor lock-in.
Try it free, save money, and take control of your CI/CD infrastructure.
The post Our new approach to enterprise CI/CD: Free tier, source available, and guaranteed savings appeared first on Semaphore.
