Codemagic

Overview

Codemagic is a hosted CI/CD service for teams building and shipping mobile apps. It is best suited to developers who want build, test and store-release workflows tied to their code repository; its generous paid build allowances are balanced by a strict 120-minute job cap on most plans.

Support spans Flutter, React Native, native iOS and Android, Unity, Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile, .NET MAUI and Ionic. Builds can start on code pushes, tags or merged pull requests, then follow workflows for development, testing or production distribution. Codemagic also automates delivery to the Apple App Store, Google Play, Microsoft Store and Huawei App Gallery, making it a focused choice for mobile release operations rather than a general-purpose deployment tool.

Nevercode began in 2012, and Codemagic CI/CD launched in December 2018. The company is headquartered in Tartu, Estonia.

Key features

• Repository-driven builds: Pushes, tags and merged pull requests can trigger builds, so teams can connect checks and release workflows to their development process. Self-hosted repositories are supported through HTTPS or SSH authentication.
• Store delivery and signing: Built-in signing identity management and Apple Developer portal integration address a common release chore, while automated deployment reaches four named app stores.
• Integrations: The catalog includes GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket for source control, plus BrowserStack, AWS Device Farm, Firebase, Slack and SonarCloud. That gives teams options to connect testing, app services and notifications without implying every workflow requires them.
• Build environment and data: Builds run in virtual machines destroyed after completion. Codemagic says build data is cleaned when a build ends, except artifacts retained in logs or for download. Sensitive data is stored in an access-limited Google Cloud bucket, encrypted at rest with AES-256 and sent over TLS 1.2 or HTTPS. Its SOC 2 Type II report is available on request; it has not undergone an ISO 27001 audit.

Pricing

The free plan costs nothing and is suitable for an individual evaluating the workflow or running modest builds: it includes one team member, 500 build minutes refilled monthly, one parallel build, 30 days of build history and artifact storage, a 3GB cache per build and a 120-minute duration limit. Community support and the single seat make it a poor fit for a team that needs shared access or dependable concurrent throughput.

Pay as you go has a $0/month base cost and is billed monthly for the previous month’s usage. It allows unlimited team members but only one parallel build, keeps history and artifacts for 60 days, and charges $0.095/minute for Mac mini M2, $0.114/minute for Mac mini M4, and $0.045/minute for Linux X2 and Windows. This avoids a fixed annual commitment, but usage-based Mac costs and the 120-minute build cap matter for frequent or long-running jobs.

Fixed price is billed yearly, with M2, M4 and M4 Max options shown at $3,990, $5,400 and $9,000 per year. It includes unlimited team members and build minutes, three parallel builds, one year of history and artifact storage, a 10GB cache per build and the same 120-minute duration limit. It suits teams with predictable, sustained demand; the annual bill and machine choice are a larger commitment than pay as you go.

Enterprise starts from $12,000 per year and adds unlimited team members and minutes, three parallel builds, custom build machines and duration, priority support, SSO, and signed SLAs, NDAs and DPAs. It is the tier for organizations needing tailored capacity and formal agreements, not a low-cost way to add seats.

The pricing model is freemium, though the listed pricing note says paid from $0.04. The usage-based plan’s machine rates and the fixed-price annual options are the concrete costs above; build minutes are not unlimited in practice if jobs exceed the shared 120-minute limit, except Enterprise offers custom duration.

Platforms

Codemagic is hosted and lists Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, Windows and API platforms. Its mobile framework coverage is the clearest reason to choose it; the broad platform listing should not be mistaken for evidence of a general-purpose pipeline for every kind of software.

Who it's for

Choose Codemagic if a mobile team wants repository-triggered builds, signing support and automated delivery to major app stores, especially when its framework coverage matches the project. The free tier can serve a solo developer with light usage, while the fixed-price plan is more compelling for a larger team that can use its three concurrent builds and unlimited minutes.

Look elsewhere if you need more than one concurrent job on pay as you go, regularly run builds beyond two hours without an Enterprise contract, or need ISO 27001-audited security. Also weigh the annual fixed-price commitment against actual build demand before treating unlimited minutes as a saving.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Broad mobile framework support and integrations with common repositories and testing services make it adaptable across different app stacks.
• Pro: Signing management and deployment to four named stores can consolidate important parts of a mobile release workflow.
• Pro: Fixed-price plans remove minute quotas and allow unlimited team members, useful for teams with steady build volume.
• Con: Free access is limited to one person, one parallel build and 500 monthly minutes, so collaboration and throughput quickly become constraints.
• Con: Pay as you go still allows only one parallel build, and the 120-minute limit can interrupt longer jobs.
• Con: Fixed-price options require annual payment, and ISO 27001 certification is absent.

Alternatives

Bitrise is another freemium mobile CI/CD option; its Hobby plan is free forever for a team of one and provides build credits for a small project a few times per month, making it a fit for occasional solo work.

Appcircle offers a free Starter plan with one concurrent build, a 30-minute maximum per build and 20 builds per month. Pick it when those bounded build allowances suit better than Codemagic’s monthly-minute model.

Argo Rollouts is a free, self-hosted Kubernetes controller and CRDs; choose it for Kubernetes rollout control rather than mobile app build and store-delivery automation.

Jenkins is a free option if you prefer a general CI tool over a mobile-focused hosted service.

Octopus Deploy is a freemium deployment alternative with paid machine and tenant add-ons; consider it when deployment management is the priority.

Argo CD is a free, self-managed GitOps delivery option for Kubernetes.

PipeCD is a free, Apache 2.0-licensed alternative.

Flux CD is a free open-source Kubernetes delivery project that requires a Kubernetes cluster.

Browse Mobile CI/CD Software for more mobile-focused choices, or compare broader Continuous Integration Software, Continuous Delivery Software and Game Build Automation Software.

Verdict

Codemagic is a strong fit for mobile teams that want an integrated route from repository change through signing and app-store delivery, with plan options that scale from a solo free tier to custom enterprise capacity. Its main trade-offs are one-job concurrency on pay as you go, a two-hour cap on most plans and an annual commitment for fixed pricing; teams whose builds or compliance needs exceed those boundaries should compare alternatives.