Maybe Github Actions qualify? https://github.com/features/actions I must say it looks almost like Gitlab's pipeline system, but somewhat more flexible. If Github's free plan allows you to use pipelines I might just have to test it to compare.
It does. I'm using them now, but they might still be only available to beta users right now.
I'm pretty sure it will be paid feature in near future.
Not for public pipelines. I don't think it will be for personal private repos either. I'm sure they will add pricing plans that allow you to execute more pipelines in parallel, etc though. What makes you so sure it will be a paid feature?