Prices read from Buildkite's own pages on 1 October 2026
Buildkite pricing: per-user plans, self-hosted agents and hosted agents
Buildkite is a CI platform, not a GitHub Actions runner. You pay per active user for the control plane, then either run agents on your own machines or pay per vCPU-minute for Buildkite's hosted agents. That makes it a different purchase from Depot or Blacksmith, which keep you on GitHub Actions.
We run no affiliate links and earn nothing from Buildkite. Every figure below is copied from Buildkite's published pricing and links to its source; nothing is estimated. Read the methodology.
THE SHORT VERSION · 1 OCTOBER 2026
Plans
| Plan | Price | Users | Self-hosted agents | Hosted Linux vCPU-min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Up to 5 | Up to 10 concurrent jobs | 2,000/mo (Small only)[1] |
| Pro | $30 per active user/month | Up to 50 | Up to 250; 10 included, then $3.50/agent/month | 4,000/mo[1] |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited, 30 user minimum | Unlimited, volume discounts | Custom[1] |
Free includes 250k test executions a month; Pro includes 1M, then $15 per million. Enterprise adds a 99.95% platform uptime commitment, SCIM and custom SAML, private log storage and audit log exports.
Hosted agent rates
Hosted agents are billed per vCPU-minute and metered to the second, with no minimums and no rounding. Every shape on a platform uses the same per-vCPU rate.
| Shape | vCPU / RAM | Effective rate per minute |
|---|---|---|
| Linux Small | 2 vCPU, 4 GB | $0.008[1] |
| Linux Medium | 4 vCPU, 16 GB | $0.016[1] |
| Linux Large | 8 vCPU, 32 GB | $0.032[1] |
| Mac M4 Medium | 6 vCPU, 28 GB | $0.12[1] |
| Mac M4 Large | 12 vCPU, 56 GB | $0.24[1] |
Shapes shown are AMD64. ARM64 and larger shapes are available on request for Enterprise customers. Linux vCPU concurrency: up to 20 vCPU on Free, up to 256 on Pro. Mac hosted agents are pay-as-you-go on Pro, up to 48 vCPU.
Buildkite against GitHub-hosted runners
Hosted-agent rates against GitHub's hosted runners. The per-user fee is not in these numbers, and GitHub's rates exclude GitHub plan seats.
| Runner | Buildkite | GitHub-hosted | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux, 2 vCPU (Small) | $0.008[1] | $0.006 (2-core)[2] | +33% |
| Linux, 4 vCPU (Medium) | $0.016[1] | $0.012 (4-core)[2] | +33% |
| Linux, 8 vCPU (Large) | $0.032[1] | $0.022 (8-core)[2] | +45% |
| Mac (Buildkite 6 vCPU M4 vs GitHub 3-4 core) | $0.12[1] | $0.062[2] | +94% (different hardware) |
Difference = Buildkite rate against the GitHub-hosted rate in the same row; negative means Buildkite is cheaper per minute. GitHub rates from our GitHub Actions pricing page, re-read from GitHub's docs on 1 October 2026. Shapes are not identical across vendors, so compare like with like where a row says so.
WORKED EXAMPLE: 10 users on Pro, 25,000 minutes a month on Linux Small hosted agents
List prices only. The GitHub figure excludes GitHub plan seats and any included minutes. With self-hosted Buildkite agents the compute line becomes your own cloud bill instead.
Buildkite's hosted agents cost more per minute than GitHub-hosted runners at every Linux size listed, and the per-user fee comes on top. Teams choose Buildkite for pipeline control and scale, not for a cheaper minute.
The cost picture changes with self-hosted agents: Buildkite then charges the per-user fee plus $3.50 per agent a month beyond 10 on Pro, and the compute is whatever your own machines cost.
Billing details that change the bill
Pro is billed per active user, so cost grows with headcount: 50 users is $1,500 a month before compute.[1]
Beyond the 10 self-hosted agents included on Pro, each additional connected agent is $3.50 a month.[1]
Hosted Linux agents on Free are Small (2 vCPU) only; ARM64 hosted agents are only available on request for Enterprise.[1]
Frequently asked questions
How much does Buildkite cost?+
How much do Buildkite hosted agents cost?+
Does Buildkite charge for self-hosted agents?+
Does Buildkite have a free plan?+
Is Buildkite cheaper than GitHub Actions?+
SOURCES · ALL READ 1 OCTOBER 2026
- [1]Buildkite pricing page: https://buildkite.com/pricing/, read 1 October 2026.
- [2]GitHub Docs, Actions runner pricing: https://docs.github.com/en/billing/reference/actions-runner-pricing, read 1 October 2026.
Vendors change prices without notice. If a figure here no longer matches Buildkite's page, the vendor page wins; tell us and we will re-read it.