CircleCI Credits Guide
How CircleCI's credit-based billing works, what each resource class costs, and how to optimize your spending.
What Are CircleCI Credits?
CircleCI uses a credit-based system instead of minutes. Credits are consumed based on the compute resources your jobs use. Different resource classes (CPU, RAM, executor type) consume credits at different rates per minute.
This gives you more flexibility than a flat minute-based system: a lightweight lint job uses fewer credits per minute than a heavy compilation job.
Free Plan Allowance
Monthly Credits
30,000
Equivalent Linux Medium
~2,500 min
Credits reset monthly. Paid plans start at 25,000 credits/month with additional credits at volume discounts.
Docker Executor Resource Classes
Docker executors are the most common and cost-effective option. Jobs run in Docker containers with configurable CPU and RAM.
| Resource Class | vCPU | RAM | Credits/Min |
|---|---|---|---|
| small | 1 | 2 GB | 5 |
| medium | 2 | 4 GB | 10 |
| medium+ | 3 | 6 GB | 15 |
| large | 4 | 8 GB | 20 |
| xlarge | 8 | 16 GB | 40 |
| 2xlarge | 16 | 32 GB | 80 |
Machine Executor Resource Classes
Machine executors provide a full VM with Docker pre-installed. Use these when you need Docker-in-Docker, privileged mode, or specific kernel features.
| Resource Class | vCPU | RAM | Credits/Min |
|---|---|---|---|
| medium | 2 | 7.5 GB | 10 |
| large | 4 | 15 GB | 20 |
| xlarge | 8 | 32 GB | 40 |
macOS Resource Classes
macOS executors are the most expensive, primarily used for iOS and macOS app builds.
| Resource Class | vCPU | Credits/Min |
|---|---|---|
| macos.m1.medium.gen1 | 4 | 100 |
| macos.m1.large.gen1 | 8 | 200 |
A 20-minute iOS build on macos.m1.medium.gen1 consumes 2,000 credits — almost 7% of the free plan in a single run.
Optimization Strategies
Right-Size Resource Classes
Most lint and test jobs run fine on small (5 credits/min) instead of the default medium (10 credits/min). That's a 50% reduction for the same wall-clock time.
Use Docker Layer Caching
Enable Docker layer caching (DLC) at 200 credits/run to save minutes of image rebuilding. Pays for itself if your Docker builds take more than 2 minutes.
Leverage Dependency Caching
Use save_cache and restore_cache for node_modules, pip packages, and build artifacts. Cache restoration is fast and free.
Use Workflows with Filters
Trigger expensive jobs only on specific branches or tags. Run full integration suites on main, quick checks on feature branches.
Monitor Credit Consumption
Track which jobs consume the most credits and optimize the biggest offenders first. A single job often accounts for 40%+ of total credit usage.
Track Your CircleCI Credit Usage
Build Quota monitors your CircleCI credits alongside GitHub Actions, Bitrise, and GitLab CI — all in one dashboard.
Start Tracking Free