Namespace Alternatives for GitHub Actions in 2026

Teams leaving Namespace usually want simpler billing or a cheaper rate at one fixed size. For a simple per-minute swap, WarpBuild and Ubicloud are the closest. For one line of change and a fallback to your old runners, compiler.dev. For cheapest at volume, RunsOn. Prices were checked in October 2026 on each vendor's public pricing page.

Why teams look for alternatives to Namespace

Namespace is the best option on this list for flexibility, and it is a strong choice for macOS. Reasons to look elsewhere are specific.

• Two price levels to model. Its pricing page shows pay-as-you-go rates, while Team ($100/month) and Business ($250/month) include prepaid minutes at about two thirds of those rates. You need to forecast usage to know which you are paying.
• Many shapes to choose from. More RAM per vCPU is a benefit, but it also means more choices before the first job runs.
• macOS cost. Apple Silicon 6 vCPU / 14 GB is $0.09/min and 12 vCPU / 28 GB is $0.18/min on pay as you go, above some competitors.
• Arm on Apple Silicon is early access for Linux.
• Trial rather than a standing free tier. The Developer plan has a 30-day trial without a payment method, then it is paid.
• No fallback described if the service is unavailable.

Quick picks

The alternatives

WarpBuild

Prices for every size are public: Linux x64 $0.004/min (2 vCPU), $0.008 (4), $0.016 (8), $0.032 (16), $0.064 (32); Arm is about a quarter cheaper. macOS M4 Pro 6 vCPU is $0.08/min and 12 vCPU $0.16/min, which undercuts Namespace's pay-as-you-go macOS. The tradeoff: at pay-as-you-go Linux rates Namespace is cheaper per minute ($0.012 at 8 vCPU vs $0.016), and WarpBuild charges $0.20 per GB per month for cache storage.

compiler.dev

One line, runs-on: [self-hosted, Linux, compiler-ci]. The default 8 vCPU / 16 GB fresh VM is $0.012/min, the same as Namespace's $0.012 pay-as-you-go rate at the same shape. There is no plan tier: prepaid credit of $20, $100 (gets $110) or $500 (gets $600), no expiry. The Linux sizes are fixed at 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 vCPU, so you lose Namespace's RAM-heavy shapes. macOS is early access: M4 Pro 14-core at $0.055/min. See the benchmarks for full-pipeline results on 18 stacks (median 1.5× faster across 18 measured stacks (15 faster, 2 the same, 1 slower)).

Blacksmith

3,000 free minutes a month and a co-located cache that serves actions/cache without workflow changes. Linux 2 vCPU x64 is $0.004/min, macOS M4 $0.08/min. The tradeoff is that larger sizes are not priced on the page and add-ons such as sticky disks cost $0.50 per GB per month.

Ubicloud

Standard x64 is $0.00125/min at 2 vCPU, $0.005 at 8 vCPU with 32 GB RAM, $0.01 at 16. That is well under every other rate here. Tradeoffs: new accounts default to the premium tier, which costs more, and there is no macOS.

RunsOn

Runs in your AWS account with no per-minute markup. You pay EC2 by the second, plus an annual license from EUR 300. It suits teams with large, steady volume. You take on the AWS operations.

Depot

Pick it if Docker builds dominate: persistent cache disks, native Intel and Arm builders. Plans are $20 and $200 a month with overage at $0.006/min.

How to choose

1. Pick the machine shape you run most. Compare rates at that shape only. Our runner size picker helps choose one.
2. Decide if you need macOS. If yes, look at WarpBuild, compiler.dev (early access) and Namespace itself.
3. Check whether your usage fits a prepaid plan. If it does, Namespace's prepaid rates may beat the alternatives, and you should stay.
4. Trial two providers for a day on real workflows.

Migration notes

Change the label per job. From a Namespace label to compiler.dev:

jobs:
  test:
    # was: runs-on: namespace-profile-default
    runs-on: [self-hosted, Linux, compiler-ci]

Namespace profile names are defined in your own account, so search .github/ for them before you start. Caches do not move between providers, so expect one cold run. Read GitHub Actions caching if your cache keys are old. For the full comparison with compiler.dev, see Namespace vs compiler.dev. Our provider ranking lists the rest.

FAQ

Is Namespace cheaper than the alternatives?

On pay-as-you-go Linux x64, Namespace's $0.003/min (2 vCPU) beats WarpBuild and Blacksmith, but not Ubicloud. On prepaid plans the rates drop further. Check the plan you would actually buy.

Which alternative has macOS runners?

WarpBuild, Blacksmith, and compiler.dev (early access) all list macOS. Ubicloud and Depot do not list a macOS rate.

Does Namespace have a free tier?

A 30-day trial of the Developer plan without a payment method, then pay as you go.

Do I lose anything moving off Namespace?

Possibly the RAM-heavy machine shapes. compiler.dev's default is 16 GB at 8 vCPU, while Namespace lists up to 64 GB at 32 vCPU.