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GitHub Actions runners compared

Neutral comparisons of GitHub Actions runner vendors, alternatives to GitHub-hosted and self-hosted runners, and migration guides. Prices are read from each vendor's public page on a stated date.

Vendor vs vendor

Head-to-head comparisons with a fixed table.

Blacksmith vs DepotBlacksmith vs Depot for GitHub Actions runners: per-minute rates, free minutes, cache limits and billing, Blacksmith vs GitHub-hostedBlacksmith vs GitHub Actions hosted runners on price, hardware, cache and free minutes, read today, with the Blacksmith vs BuildkiteBuildkite vs Blacksmith for GitHub Actions teams: one is a label change, the other a platform move with seat Depot vs Blacksmith for Docker buildsDepot vs Blacksmith docker cache in GitHub Actions: a remote BuildKit builder against a sticky disk, with Depot vs GitHub-hostedDepot vs GitHub Actions hosted runners: identical published rates, very different machines. Depot vs NamespaceDepot vs Namespace for GitHub Actions: a per-minute rate card against unit minutes, converted to the same Depot vs WarpBuildDepot vs WarpBuild for GitHub Actions runners: the rates stopped matching. Latchkey vs BuildJetLatchkey vs BuildJet is now a migration: BuildJet stopped running GitHub Actions jobs on 31 March 2026. Latchkey vs GitHub-hosted runnersLatchkey vs GitHub hosted runners for GitHub Actions: the break-even is near 7,700 Linux minutes a month, and Latchkey vs self-hosted runnersLatchkey vs self-hosted runners for GitHub Actions: a worked monthly cost for an ARC fleet, the utilization Namespace vs BlacksmithNamespace vs Blacksmith on GitHub Actions runners: the rate looks lower until you match the RAM. Namespace vs GitHub-hosted runnersNamespace vs GitHub hosted runners for GitHub Actions: unit minutes converted to rates, the shapes that RunsOn vs BlacksmithRunsOn vs Blacksmith for GitHub Actions: a flat annual license in your own AWS account against a managed RunsOn vs DepotRunsOn vs Depot for GitHub Actions: a flat annual license priced by job count against a per-minute meter, RunsOn vs GitHub hostedRunsOn vs GitHub hosted runners: one metered invoice against a license plus your own AWS bill, with the lines Ubicloud vs GitHub hostedUbicloud GitHub Actions runners publish a 4 to 7x saving. The rate cards give the 4 end; the 7 end carries a Ubicloud vs BlacksmithUbicloud vs Blacksmith for GitHub Actions: two published rate cards, the premium tier that is on by default, WarpBuild vs BlacksmithWarpBuild vs Blacksmith for GitHub Actions: identical x64 rates at every size, so free minutes, arm64, BYOC WarpBuild vs GitHub hostedWarpBuild vs GitHub hosted runners: managed, bring-your-own-cloud and Docker builders priced separately, WarpBuild vs NamespaceWarpBuild vs Namespace for GitHub Actions: identical Linux rates, opposite cache meters, and a macOS minute

Alternatives and roundups

Every vendor in one table, ranked by the criterion you care about.

Actuated alternativesActuated alternatives compared on the axis that decides it: a flat licence on your own metal against a Blacksmith alternativesBlacksmith alternatives GitHub Actions teams shortlist, ranked by the rate each vendor published on BuildJet alternativesBuildJet alternative options for GitHub Actions now that BuildJet stopped running jobs on 31 March 2026, with Cirrus CI alternatives for macOSA Cirrus CI alternative for the macOS half of your pipeline, with every published GitHub Actions macOS shape Depot alternativesDepot alternatives GitHub Actions teams are pricing now that Depot lists $0.006 a minute, level with Fastest GitHub Actions runnersThe fastest GitHub Actions runners, judged only on published hardware and published benchmarks, with who ran GitHub Actions runner alternativesGitHub Actions runner alternatives ranked by the rate each vendor published on 2026-09-20, with the memory it Managed runners comparedManaged GitHub Actions runners compared on where jobs run, what you still operate and which meters sit beside Namespace alternativesNamespace runners alternatives for GitHub Actions, priced against its unit-minute model with every rate read RunsOn alternativesRunsOn alternatives split on one question: does the compute stay in your AWS account? WarpBuild alternativesWarpBuild alternatives for GitHub Actions, priced separately against its managed rate and its flat

Migration guides

Moving off a vendor, with the YAML diff and a checklist.

Migrate from CodeBuild runnersA CodeBuild GitHub Actions runner alternative means undoing a project, a webhook and a composite label: the Migrate from Actions Runner ControllerAn Actions Runner Controller alternative for GitHub Actions: what carries over from ARC, the runs-on change, Migrate from Cirrus CICirrus CI shutting down on 1 June 2026 leaves every .cirrus.yml task homeless. Migrate from BlacksmithMigrate from Blacksmith to another GitHub Actions runner: the label map by size, what replaces sticky disks Migrate from BuildJetMigrate from BuildJet to another GitHub Actions runner: the pre-flight checklist, the runs-on diff, and what Migrate from DepotMigrate from Depot runners to another GitHub Actions runner: the label map, what the branch-shared cache does Migrate from Namespace runnersMigrate from Namespace runners: the profile label map, the nscloud actions to undo, and the cache scope Migrate from self-hosted runnersMigrate from self-hosted GitHub Actions runners without a rewrite: the checklist, the runs-on diff, and the Migrate from WarpBuildMigrate from WarpBuild to another GitHub Actions runner: the label map, the metered add-ons that leave the

Hosted, self-hosted, managed

The three ways to run Actions, compared.

ARC vs managed runnersARC vs managed runners: what Helm actually installs, the list GitHub Support will not help with, and the one GitHub larger runners vs managedAre github larger runners worth it? Rates and sizes against managed GitHub Actions runners, the GitHub Actions vs Argo WorkflowsGitHub Actions vs Argo Workflows: the fan-out ceiling in each, what a step costs in pods, and why most teams GitHub Actions vs Azure PipelinesGitHub Actions vs Azure Pipelines: one sells minutes and caps concurrency, the other sells the concurrency. GitHub Actions vs Concourse CIGitHub Actions vs Concourse: one reacts to a webhook, the other polls resources every minute. GitHub Actions vs Drone CIGitHub Actions vs Drone CI: the repository redirects to Harness, the license caps commercial use at 32 days, GitHub Actions vs GitLab CIGitHub Actions vs GitLab CI, priced properly: GitLab multiplies each minute by a cost factor, GitHub sells a GitHub Actions vs JenkinsGitHub Actions vs Jenkins with the catalog counted: 2,111 plugins in the update center, 767 with a published GitHub Actions vs Woodpecker CIGitHub Actions vs Woodpecker CI: a server and agent that idle at 100 MB and 30 MB, six supported forges, and Hosted vs self-hosted vs managedGitHub-hosted vs self-hosted vs managed GitHub Actions runners on price, hardware, cache, concurrency and Self-hosted vs managed runnersSelf-hosted vs managed runners for GitHub Actions: the ops work GitHub documents, isolation semantics, and a

Vendor explainers

What each vendor is, costs, and does well.

Blacksmith pricing explainedBlacksmith CI pricing for GitHub Actions runners, read today: every rate by platform and size, the free Blacksmith troubleshootingBlacksmith runner not picked up is usually a label typo or a missing GitHub App. What RunsOn isRunsOn GitHub Actions runners are EC2 instances in your own AWS account behind a flat licence: what it What are Depot runners?How Depot GitHub Actions runners work: ephemeral EC2 by size, per-second tracking with a size multiplier, the What is Blacksmith CI?What Blacksmith CI is, how its GitHub Actions runners work, every published size and label, the caching What Ubicloud CI isWhat is Ubicloud CI: an open source cloud selling GitHub Actions runners from Germany. What are Namespace runners?How namespace runners work on GitHub Actions: profiles and labels, machine shapes, unit-minute billing, cache What are WarpBuild runners?How WarpBuild GitHub Actions runners work: the runner tags and rates, a cache that needs its own action,

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