Depot Alternatives for GitHub Actions in 2026

If you are leaving Depot, the right alternative depends on which half you use. For Docker image builds with a persistent cache, Blacksmith is the nearest match. For plain runner minutes without a monthly plan, WarpBuild, Ubicloud and compiler.dev all bill per minute or from prepaid credit. Prices below were checked in October 2026 on each vendor's public page.

Why teams look for alternatives to Depot

Depot is strong at Docker builds, so people rarely leave over quality. The reasons we see are about the shape of the bill and the product.

• A monthly plan, not pure usage. On its pricing page, Developer is $20 a month with 2,000 runner minutes and Startup is $200 a month with 20,000. Extra runner usage is $0.006/min. A team that uses few minutes in a quiet month still pays the plan.
• No free tier. There is a 7-day trial on paid plans, but nothing like a monthly free allowance.
• Only one runner price is published. The 2 vCPU Linux rate is listed. Sizes up to 64 vCPU exist, but you cannot compare larger sizes from the page alone.
• You mostly run tests, not image builds. Container builds are $0.04/min on a 16 vCPU builder. If few of your minutes are Docker work, you are paying for a specialty you do not use.
• Workflow changes for the best results. The remote builder needs its own build action or CLI in place of the standard Docker steps.
• No described fallback if the service has a problem.

Where Depot is better than most alternatives: multi-architecture image builds on native Intel and Arm hardware, and cache disks from 50 GB to 1 TB next to the builder.

Quick picks

The alternatives

Blacksmith

The closest to Depot's mix of runners plus Docker caching. It offers Docker layer caching through sticky disks at $0.50 per GB per month, and a builder replacement. Runner rates start at $0.004/min for 2 vCPU x64 and it includes 3,000 free minutes a month. The tradeoff: its page does not map prices to larger sizes, and the Docker actions are vendor-specific, so moving away later means editing workflows again.

compiler.dev

Runners only, no image-build product. One line, runs-on: [self-hosted, Linux, compiler-ci], gives an 8 vCPU / 16 GB fresh VM at $0.012/min, with other sizes from $0.003 (2 vCPU) to $0.048 (32 vCPU). A Docker layer cache stays on the machine, and jobs fall back to your old runners if credit runs out. Billing is prepaid credit that never expires, with a 200 minute trial (card required). The tradeoff is that it will not match a dedicated builder with a huge cache disk. Our benchmarks cover full pipelines, not image builds.

WarpBuild

Public prices at every size: Linux x64 from $0.004/min (2 vCPU) to $0.064/min (32 vCPU), Arm from $0.003/min, macOS M4 Pro 6 vCPU at $0.08/min. Cache storage is $0.20 per GB per month plus $0.0001 per operation. It suits teams that want a per-minute bill and Arm.

Ubicloud

The cheapest published rates: 2 vCPU x64 at $0.00125/min and 16 vCPU at $0.01/min on the standard tier. The default for new accounts is the more expensive premium tier, and there is no macOS. The open source cloud is a plus for teams that care about that.

Namespace

Linux x64 at $0.003/min (2 vCPU) up to $0.048/min (32 vCPU) on pay as you go, with more RAM-heavy shapes available. Team ($100/month) and Business ($250/month) bundle prepaid minutes at roughly two thirds of the listed rate. You need to model plan tiers to know your real price.

RunsOn

Runs in your AWS account and bills EC2 by the second with no markup, plus an annual license from EUR 300. It suits high volume. You manage the AWS side, and it does not replace a managed Docker builder.

How to choose

1. Split your last month of minutes into Docker build time and everything else. The cost calculator helps.
2. If Docker is most of it, keep Depot or move to Blacksmith. If it is under a quarter, a plain runner provider is likely cheaper.
3. Compare at the vCPU size you actually run, using the runner price table.
4. Trial two providers on your real workflow before moving anything.

Migration notes

You do not have to leave entirely, because runs-on is per job. Many teams keep Depot for the one image-build job and move test jobs elsewhere:

jobs:
  image:
    runs-on: depot-ubuntu-24.04
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: depot/setup-action@v1
  test:
    runs-on: [self-hosted, Linux, compiler-ci]
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: npm ci && npm test

If you leave fully, switch depot/build-push-action back to docker/build-push-action and expect cold layer caches on the first run. Read Docker layer caching in CI for options that work on any runner. For the full comparison with compiler.dev, see Depot vs compiler.dev. The provider ranking covers the rest.

FAQ

What is the best Depot alternative for Docker builds?

Blacksmith is the closest on published features, with sticky disks for layer caches. Otherwise, keep Depot for image builds and move other jobs.

Is there a Depot alternative with a free tier?

Blacksmith has 3,000 free minutes a month, Ubicloud a $2.50 monthly credit, and Namespace a 30-day trial without a card.

Is Depot more expensive than other runners?

At 2 vCPU, its $0.006/min overage rate is above WarpBuild ($0.004), Namespace ($0.003) and Ubicloud ($0.00125). It also includes Docker build products the others do not list, so compare what you use.

Will my Docker cache move with me?

No. Caches do not transfer between providers, so the first build on a new one is cold.