Evidence
Jenkins
| Feature | Evidence | Jenkins |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $49/mo | Free only |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | data-analysts, data-engineers, startups, analytics-teams | enterprise-teams, on-premise-deployments, complex-pipelines, legacy-systems |
| Founded | 2021 | 2011 |
| Sql Reporting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Markdown Pages | ✓ | ✗ |
| Charts | ✓ | ✗ |
| Static Deployment | ✓ | ✗ |
| Git Integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Data Sources | ✓ | ✗ |
| Pipeline As Code | ✗ | ✓ |
| Plugins | ✗ | ✓ |
| Distributed Builds | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pipeline Visualization | ✗ | ✓ |
| Scm Integration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Artifact Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Notifications | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Evidence Pros
- Code-based reports (version controlled)
- Beautiful output
- Fast static deployment
- SQL-first approach
✗ Evidence Cons
- Requires SQL knowledge
- Not for ad-hoc exploration
- Smaller community
✓ Jenkins Pros
- Completely free and open source
- Extremely extensible with 1,800+ plugins
- Mature and battle-tested over many years
- Supports any programming language and platform
✗ Jenkins Cons
- Dated UI feels old compared to modern CI tools
- Requires significant maintenance and administration
- Groovy-based Jenkinsfiles have steep learning curve
The Verdict
Evidence is built for data analysts and data engineers, with a focus on sql-reporting and markdown-pages. Jenkins targets enterprise teams and on premise deployments and leads with pipeline-as-code and plugins.
Jenkins uses custom enterprise pricing, while Evidence starts at $49/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Jenkins offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Evidence takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.