CircleCI’s contract set is a family of online documents. The Software as a Service Agreement, last updated on 2026-04-07, “controls each Order” and governs access to the cloud services. It incorporates the Acceptable Use Policy, the Copyright Infringement Notice and Takedown Policy, the Privacy Policy and Supplemental Terms. It applies “unless we’ve collectively negotiated a SaaS Agreement or other governing agreement”.[1] Separate documents cover Server (the Software License Agreement), downloaded runner software (the Self-Hosted Applications Terms) and AI features (the AI Terms).[2][3][4]
Editions
| Document | Applies to | Last updated |
|---|---|---|
| Software as a Service Agreement | Cloud plans, support, Self-Hosted Applications[1] | 2026-04-07 |
| Software License Agreement | CircleCI Server[2] | 2024-12-20 |
| Self-Hosted Applications Terms | Downloaded runners and similar applications[3] | 2024-10-07 |
| AI Terms | Optional AI Features, including pre-release features[4] | 2025-08-15 |
The SaaS Agreement does not need to be signed: it “is effective as of the earliest of” clicking an acceptance button, accessing the Services or an Evaluation, or the effective date of an Order.[1] The agreement states in capitals that a person who registers with an employer email address is deemed to represent that employer, and that clicking the acceptance button binds the employer or other entity.[1] For licence managers this means informal sign-ups by developers can create a binding agreement for the organization.
Metrics
The agreement names two units of its own. A “Credit” is “our unit of usage measurement”, purchased in advance and used “to pay for various Fees”; the Credits Pricing Page sets expenditure schedules.[1] A “User” is a discrete instance authorized to run Jobs, determined through identity signals.[1] The product-level units, Credit, Active user and User (SaaS Agreement), are explained in CircleCI cloud plans and credits and CircleCI active users and seats.
Counting / floors
Licence grant. During the Term, and with fees paid, CircleCI grants the customer and its Users “a worldwide, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, non-transferable right” to access the Services and Documentation and to install Self-Hosted Applications on Equipment. The customer must not violate the Acceptable Use Policy, and the agreement grants no right to reproduce or modify other software in the Services.[1] See SaaS licence grant covers access and installing Self-Hosted Applications.
Fees and payment. “Fees are charged in advance through the purchase of Credits and a Support Plan, except for Fees for overages, which are charged in arrears.” Renewal Terms are subject to then-current pricing unless an Order says otherwise. Amounts paid are “non-refundable, non-cancelable and non-creditable”. Payments ten or more days overdue allow CircleCI to limit or suspend access, and payments more than ten days overdue bear 1.5% a month or the legal maximum.[1] Credits “are not returnable or refundable”, mid-term Support Plan downgrades are not provided, and an upgrade is prorated.[1] Relevant rows are Fees are paid in advance through Credits and renew at then-current pricing, Credits are not refundable and support cannot be downgraded mid-term and Overdue payments bear 1.5% monthly interest and may limit access.
Amendment. CircleCI “may modify this Agreement at any time by posting a revised version”; the revision takes effect on publication, or, where an Order has a fixed term of twelve months or longer, at the start of the next renewal Term. The customer’s remedy is not to renew. The agreement adds that “any Order is subject to the version of the Agreement in effect at the time of the Order”.[1] See CircleCI may change the SaaS Agreement by posting a revision.
Precedence. In the SaaS Agreement, “this Agreement takes precedence and prevails over any Order”. The Server agreement reverses this: “the Order takes precedence”, on the subject matter of the Order.[1][2] See The SaaS Agreement prevails over the Order.
Service levels and liability. CircleCI will use “commercially reasonable efforts” to make the Services available at all times, except for planned maintenance, emergency maintenance and force majeure. Its aggregate liability is capped, in capitals in the text, at the greater of the fees paid or payable in the six months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or USD 100. The agreement is governed by California law, with exclusive jurisdiction in the state and federal courts of San Francisco County.[1]
Virtualization & partitioning
No virtualization or partitioning terms appear in the agreements. Licences are measured by Credits and Users, not by machine, so the guidance in virtualization and partitioning does not apply.
Cloud / BYOL
The SaaS Agreement covers both the hosted service and downloadable Self-Hosted Applications. Customers remain responsible for Equipment on which those applications run, and for installing updates promptly.[1][3] A customer that buys through a reseller or marketplace is still bound by the agreement. CircleCI “will invoice your Third-Party Seller, not you”, provisions the service only once it accepts the seller’s Order, may suspend access if it does not receive the seller’s payment, and leaves refunds to the seller.[1] Row: Reseller or marketplace purchase.
Programs
- Evaluations. CircleCI may invite customers to no-charge beta, pilot or trial programs. Evaluations “are licensed solely for internal evaluation purposes, not production use, and are limited to thirty (30) days unless otherwise specified in an Order”.[1]
- Open source credit allowance. “Organizations on our Free Plan can use up to 400,000 credits per month, for free, for Linux open source builds.” Keeping the repository public enables this, and the availability is not shown in the web app. Open source builds continue to run when the personal credit balance is exhausted.[5] The open source page says organizations on the open source plan get up to 400,000 credits a month for Linux, Arm and Docker builds and 30,000 credits for macOS and Windows builds.[6] The credits page gives 30,000 macOS credits in one section and 25,000 in its FAQ, with a limit of two concurrent macOS jobs, so the current figure should be confirmed with CircleCI.[5] CircleCI “no longer offers discounts for open source customers on the Performance Plan”, and users on open source projects are not active users.[5][10] Public projects should also note the security defaults: logs are public, forked pull request builds receive no secrets unless a setting is enabled, and caches are isolated by repository.[7] See Open source organizations get 400,000 Linux credits per month, Open source macOS allowance is stated as 30,000 and 25,000 credits and No open source discounts on the Performance plan.
- Startup program. Eligible startups can receive “up to $20,000 of free compute credits” and up to 24 months. The offer is for companies that are new to CircleCI or on the Free plan, from Pre-Seed to Series A, founded within five years, and part of a recognized accelerator or VC or with proof of at least USD 500K raised. The amount and duration “vary based upon startup stage and location”, the promotional period ends when the credits are consumed or the period ends, and use is governed by the SaaS Agreement.[8] See Startup programme eligibility.
- AI Terms and Chunk. The AI Terms apply to optional AI Features and to pre-release features, which CircleCI may change or discontinue without notice. The customer owns any rights it has in Output. CircleCI says it does “not permit our AI Providers to use Your Data/Customer Data to train or improve their foundation or large language models”. Customers may connect their own AI provider, whose terms then apply.[4] Chunk, the AI agent, is in beta with no extra costs, uses credits and the customer’s model provider tokens, and “will be a paid feature when generally available”.[9] See AI Providers may not train on customer data and Chunk is in beta, uses credits and will be paid.
Audits and compliance
The SaaS Agreement retrieved on 2026-10-08 has no audit clause. Its compliance levers are suspension for breach of the customer obligations or of the payment terms, termination for cause after a thirty-day cure period (ten days for non-payment, immediate for breach of the restrictions), and an indemnity for claims that the customer’s data infringes third-party rights.[1] After expiry or termination, CircleCI “shall not be obligated to retain” the customer’s data for more than thirty days.[1] Either party may assign the agreement to a successor in a merger, acquisition or change of control, but the customer’s assignments “remain subject to pre-transfer usage limitations”.[1] The agreement lets CircleCI “use your name, logo and marks to identify you as a customer” on its website and marketing materials unless the Order says otherwise.[1] See Assignment to a successor needs no consent but keeps pre-transfer usage limits, Customer data may be deleted thirty days after termination and CircleCI may name the customer in marketing unless an Order says otherwise.
Out of scope
- Negotiated enterprise agreements, which supersede the online SaaS Agreement for the customers that sign them.
- The Acceptable Use Policy, Privacy Policy and Data Protection Addendum, which are not licensing documents.
- Legal advice on indemnities, liability caps and governing law.