Last verified June 2026 · 12 min read
The external GitHub Actions runner shootout, 2026 edition
Every vendor has published their own numbers. Nobody has published them side by side with a neutral methodology until now. This is the page that did not exist.
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Rate and capability comparison
| Provider | Linux x86 $/min | ARM $/min | macOS $/min | Cold start | Warm cache | Setup time | Min/base cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GH Actions (baseline) | $0.006 | $0.005 | $0.062 | ~30s | actions/cache | Built-in | None |
| Depotaff. | $0.004 | $0.004 | $0.080 | ~5s | Built-in | 10 min | $50/mo |
| Namespaceaff. | $0.003 | 6-vCPU min | N/A | ~3s | Built-in | 10 min | Free tier |
| Blacksmithaff. | $0.004 | $0.0025 | N/A | ~4s | Built-in | 10 min | Free tier |
| Ubicloud | $0.001 | $0.001 | N/A | ~6s | Built-in | 15 min | None |
| RunsOnaff. | Your EC2 | Your EC2 | Self-host | 10-20s | Your setup | 1-2 hrs | AWS cost |
Mint = best in column. Orange = most expensive. Rates are for a 2-vCPU runner from each vendor's pricing page, June 2026. Namespace's smallest ARM tier is 6 vCPU ($0.018/min), so it has no 2-vCPU ARM rate. Ubicloud lists $0.001/min standard / $0.0016/min premium. Cold start and cache claims from vendor-published benchmarks. BuildJet shut down on 31 March 2026 (announced 6 February 2026) and has been removed from this comparison.
Per-provider analysis
Depot
The most established external runner. Linux x86, ARM, and macOS support. Strong case-study portfolio with published numbers. SOC 2 Type II.
STRENGTHS
- +Broadest OS support: the only provider here with macOS runners (about $0.08/min)
- +SOC 2 Type II certified, on-prem option available
- +Built-in Docker layer cache and OCI registry
- +Best public case-study evidence base
- +OIDC federation support
WEAKNESSES
- -$50/month minimum makes it less attractive for small teams under 12,500 min/month
- -macOS at $0.08/min is no cheaper than GitHub-hosted ($0.062/min); the macOS draw is availability and speed, not price
- -Linux and ARM both bill at $0.004/min, not a discounted ARM rate
VERDICT
Choose Depot if you need macOS, have a $50+/month CI bill, or need the most mature SOC 2 posture.
Namespace Labs
Namespace focuses on warm-boot runner technology: their runners boot faster than competitors because they keep pre-warmed VMs available. Fastest cold-start at ~3s.
STRENGTHS
- +Fastest cold-start (~3s vs 30s on GitHub-hosted)
- +Built-in warm cache technology
- +Low Linux x86 rate ($0.003/min on-demand, $0.002/min prepaid; free tier available)
- +Strong technical content on their blog
WEAKNESSES
- -No macOS runner support
- -Smallest ARM tier is 6 vCPU ($0.018/min), so no cheap 2-vCPU ARM option
- -Smaller case-study library than Depot
VERDICT
Choose Namespace if cold-start latency is a pain point or you want the fastest possible build startup time.
Blacksmith
Newer runner provider with strong AWS-native integration. Built-in warm cache. Competitive rates. Growing case-study base.
STRENGTHS
- +AWS-native architecture, strong security posture for AWS-first teams
- +Built-in warm cache
- +Low ARM rate at $0.0025/min, second only to Ubicloud ($0.004/min x86)
- +Free tier (3,000 min/month) available
WEAKNESSES
- -No macOS support
- -Newer, smaller community and case-study base than Depot
- -AWS-only (not available in non-AWS deployments)
VERDICT
Choose Blacksmith if you are AWS-native, want strong security without on-prem complexity, and need a free tier to get started.
Ubicloud
Open-source cloud infrastructure with a managed CI runner offering, and the lowest published per-minute rate here. Open-source underpinning means you can audit the full stack.
STRENGTHS
- +Lowest per-minute rate of any provider here: about $0.001/min for a 2-vCPU standard runner ($0.0016/min premium), x86 and ARM alike
- +Open-source: full stack auditable
- +No minimum (a small monthly credit is included)
- +Strong content on CI cost from the Ubicloud engineering blog
WEAKNESSES
- -Smaller adoption than Depot or Namespace
- -Managed offering newer than competitors
VERDICT
Choose Ubicloud for the lowest per-minute rate, or if open-source infrastructure auditability is a requirement.
RunsOn
Managed control plane for GitHub Actions on your own AWS. You supply the AWS account; RunsOn handles runner lifecycle, spot management, and GitHub integration.
STRENGTHS
- +Your EC2 costs (potentially cheapest total cost at scale)
- +Self-hosted economics with managed operations
- +AWS-native: use existing IAM, VPC, security groups
- +Spot instance support built in
WEAKNESSES
- -Requires your own AWS account
- -Cold start is slower than purpose-built providers (10-20s)
- -More setup than pure managed options
VERDICT
Choose RunsOn if you want self-hosted EC2 economics with managed runner lifecycle, especially if you are already running significant AWS infrastructure.
Decision rubric
When not to switch
Your free-tier GH Actions minutes cover your entire bill. Switching adds operational complexity with no financial benefit.
You are on GitHub Enterprise with included minutes in your contract. Check the contract before changing your runner configuration.
You need SOC 2 compliance and your procurement has already blessed GitHub but not the external runner provider. The friction of vendor evaluation may outweigh the savings.
You are under 1,000 minutes per month. The savings are too small to justify any migration effort.
Your engineering team has no spare capacity to test and validate the migration. A failed migration costs more than the CI bill in lost developer time.
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