AppVeyor

AppVeyor is a continuous integration service built around Windows development, with hosted builds and a customer-installed server option. It best suits teams that need configurable build matrices and deployment workflows; the 60-minute job limit is a meaningful constraint for longer builds.

Overview

AppVeyor can take a change from repository checkout through dependency installation, build, tests and artifact packaging to deployment, with finalizer scripts available at the end. Projects can be configured in an appveyor.yml file or through the interface, giving teams a choice between configuration in the repository and UI-based setup.

Hosted builds run on pristine virtual machines that are not shared between builds, and machine state is not preserved between jobs. That provides a clean environment for each run, but teams must restore what they need; caching is supported. Pull-request checks are also available.

Key features

Build matrices can combine operating systems, environment variables, platforms, configurations, test categories and build clouds into multiple jobs. This is useful for validating a wide range of build conditions in one pipeline, though the plan's concurrent-job allowance determines how quickly those jobs can run.

AppVeyor can retrieve configuration YAML from GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Kiln and Gitea. Deployment options include inline providers and environment deployments that can be triggered manually or through the API. The REST API covers teams, projects, builds, environments and deployments, with bearer-token authentication.

Secure variables can be encrypted with account-specific keys and are not decoded during pull-request builds by default. This is a useful safeguard for CI workflows that handle credentials. Teams needing infrastructure control can install AppVeyor Server on their own server; it supports Windows, Linux and macOS.

Pricing

AppVeyor has a free plan, paid plans from $29 a month and a 14-day trial. All plans have a maximum build-job execution time of 60 minutes, so upgrading does not remove that ceiling.

The free plan is generous on public project count, but limits hosted concurrency to one job and includes community rather than priority support. Basic adds a private project and priority support, while Pro removes the private-project cap without increasing concurrency. Premium is the only listed tier with two concurrent jobs. The plans specify five self-hosted jobs, and the 60-minute ceiling still applies. Priority support aims to respond to email or forum inquiries within 24 hours, usually within 12, and includes project-setup help.

Platforms

AppVeyor is available through the web and API, and supports Linux, macOS, Windows and self-hosted use. Its cross-platform build options make it relevant beyond its Windows-development roots, while the server installation gives teams an on-premises route.

Who it's for

AppVeyor is a strong fit for Windows-focused developers and teams that need repository-configured CI, build matrices, pull-request checks and deployment controls. It also suits open-source projects that can use the free plan and teams that need a self-hosted installation. Look elsewhere if jobs may exceed 60 minutes or if a team needs more than two concurrent jobs among the listed plans.

Pros and cons

• Flexible configuration: YAML and UI options let teams choose how to manage project setup.
• Broad pipeline coverage: Jobs can proceed from checkout through packaging and deployment, with API-controlled environment deployments.
• Isolated hosted builds: Pristine, unshared virtual machines reduce reliance on another build's state, while caching helps restore needed files.
• Firm runtime cap: Every plan stops at a 60-minute maximum build-job execution time.
• Limited concurrency at lower tiers: Open-source, Basic and Pro each allow one concurrent job; parallel matrix work can therefore queue.
• Basic's narrow scope: At $29 a month it covers just one private project, while Pro costs $59 a month for unlimited private projects but still allows only one concurrent job.

Alternatives

For a more development-environment-oriented option, consider GitHub Codespaces: it has a free plan and listed 2-core and 4-core compute plans at $0.18 a month and 0.36 USD, respectively.

Bitrise is another freemium choice with a free Hobby plan for a one-person team and build credits suited to a small project a few times per month. Codemagic offers a free plan with one team member, 500 monthly-refilled build minutes and one parallel build, so it is worth comparing when those limits fit your workload.

GameCI is free and open source, though CI provider build minutes may cost extra. Semaphore is an alternative if an Apache 2.0-licensed, self-hostable CI option is important. Argo Workflows is a free, open-source workflow engine for Kubernetes.

Azure Test Plans is a freemium alternative with a Basic + Test Plans option at $52 a month per user for test-planning features. Bitbucket Pipelines offers a free plan with up to five users, unlimited public and private repositories, 1 GB of LFS storage and 50 build minutes per month.

Browse Game Build Automation Software or Continuous Integration Software for more options.

Verdict

Choose AppVeyor if Windows-focused CI, configurable matrices, deployment controls and the option to run an on-premises server match your workflow. Its clean hosted builds and free public-project plan are strong advantages, but the 60-minute job cap and one-job concurrency on three of its four plans make it a poor fit for long-running or highly parallel workloads.