diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index 40ba933cf0d9..0c76fed5ffdd 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -55,7 +55,6 @@ commands:
               graphviz \
               inkscape \
               lmodern \
-              ninja-build \
               optipng \
               texlive-fonts-recommended \
               texlive-latex-base \
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cygwin.yml b/.github/workflows/cygwin.yml
index 52dae6362ce3..9cb0c41b314a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cygwin.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cygwin.yml
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           packages: >-
             ccache gcc-g++ gdb git graphviz libcairo-devel libffi-devel
-            libgeos-devel libQt5Core-devel pkgconf libglib2.0-devel ninja
+            libgeos-devel libQt5Core-devel pkgconf libglib2.0-devel
             noto-cjk-fonts
             python3${{ matrix.python-minor-version }}-devel
             python3${{ matrix.python-minor-version }}-pip
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 626cb6e2d628..fb1e23cbdb87 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -170,7 +170,6 @@ jobs:
               libxcb-render-util0 \
               libxcb-xinerama0 \
               lmodern \
-              ninja-build \
               pkg-config \
               qtbase5-dev \
               texlive-fonts-recommended \
@@ -204,7 +203,7 @@ jobs:
             done
             # Workaround for https://github.com/actions/runner-images/issues/10984
             brew uninstall --ignore-dependencies --force pkg-config@0.29.2
-            brew install ccache ffmpeg ghostscript gobject-introspection gtk4 imagemagick ninja
+            brew install ccache ffmpeg ghostscript gobject-introspection gtk4 imagemagick
             brew install --cask font-noto-sans-cjk font-noto-sans-cjk-sc inkscape
             ;;
           esac
@@ -262,7 +261,7 @@ jobs:
           python -m pip install --upgrade $PRE \
             'contourpy>=1.0.1' cycler fonttools kiwisolver importlib_resources \
             packaging pillow 'pyparsing!=3.1.0' python-dateutil setuptools-scm \
-            'meson-python>=0.13.1' 'pybind11>=2.13.2' \
+            'meson-python>=0.13.1' 'pybind11>=2.13.2' 'ninja>=1.8.2' \
             -r requirements/testing/all.txt \
             ${{ matrix.extra-requirements }}
 
diff --git a/azure-pipelines.yml b/azure-pipelines.yml
index fff14a1819d6..d71a81c14f2e 100644
--- a/azure-pipelines.yml
+++ b/azure-pipelines.yml
@@ -71,10 +71,6 @@ stages:
               architecture: 'x64'
             displayName: 'Use Python $(python.version)'
 
-          - bash: |
-              choco install ninja
-            displayName: 'Install dependencies'
-
           - bash: |
               python -m pip install --upgrade pip
               python -m pip install --upgrade -r requirements/dev/build-requirements.txt
diff --git a/requirements/dev/build-requirements.txt b/requirements/dev/build-requirements.txt
index 4d2a098c3c4f..49d610957549 100644
--- a/requirements/dev/build-requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements/dev/build-requirements.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 pybind11>=2.13.2,!=2.13.3
 meson-python
+ninja>=1.8.2
 setuptools-scm