Best GitHub Actions Runner Providers 2026

The best GitHub Actions runner provider depends on what you are optimizing: lowest price (Ubicloud), macOS (Namespace or Cirrus Runners), Docker builds (Depot), your own AWS account (RunsOn), your own servers (Actuated), or the simplest switch with a safety net (compiler.dev). We checked ten providers' public pricing pages on 22 October 2026 and ranked them by use case instead of pretending there is one winner. We make compiler.dev, so we say where we are not the best choice. Updated monthly. Last checked 22 October 2026.

Summary table

All prices are per minute for Linux x64 and come from each provider's own public page. Dashes mean the page does not give that figure or the model is not per minute. The full table with every size is on the runner pricing page.

Notes: RAM differs by provider, so a column is not always like for like. Namespace shows its pay-as-you-go rate; its Team and Business plans lower it. Ubicloud shows standard hardware; premium costs more.

Method

How we compared, so you can check our work.

• Prices. We read each provider's public pricing page on 22 October 2026 and wrote down only what was on the page. Where two pages from one vendor disagreed (Ubicloud's marketing and docs pages), we used the more detailed one and said so. Where a page did not show a price, we left it out rather than guess.
• Fair comparison. We matched sizes by vCPU and noted RAM when it differed. Per-minute price is not cost per job, because a faster machine finishes sooner. We say so wherever it matters.
• Speed. We did not run a bake-off of all ten. Any speed claim about another provider is that vendor's own claim and is labelled as one. The only measurements we publish are compiler.dev's own: full CI runs on 18 stacks, GitHub-hosted against compiler.dev, median 1.5× faster (15 faster, 2 the same, 1 slower), measured 8 October 2026. See benchmarks.
• Conflict of interest. compiler.dev is ours. We put it where the data puts it and give the other options their due.
• What we left out. Support quality, uptime history and security audits. Ask each vendor, and run a trial on your own repository.

Prices change often, which is why this page is updated monthly. Verify before you buy.

Best by use case

Lowest price per minute: Ubicloud

Ubicloud's standard Linux runners start at $0.00125 per minute for 2 vCPU and $0.005 for 8 vCPU with 32 GB, and it is open source. It also gives a $2.50 monthly credit (1,250 minutes of 2 vCPU). Trade-offs: no macOS, and no fallback described on its pages. Read Ubicloud vs compiler.dev.

Best for macOS and iOS: Namespace, or Cirrus Runners for heavy use

Namespace lists eight macOS shapes up to 16 vCPU and 56 GB, from $0.09 per minute pay as you go. Cirrus Runners gives one M4 Pro runner for a flat $150 a month, which wins once the runner is busy most of the day. compiler.dev's macOS is early access. See Namespace and Cirrus Runners.

Best for Docker builds: Depot

Depot's remote builders with persistent cache disks from 50 GB to 1 TB are built for image builds, at $0.04 per minute on the default 16 vCPU builder. See Depot and Docker layer caching in CI.

Best for ARM and the biggest ecosystem: Blacksmith or WarpBuild

Blacksmith lists ARM at $0.0025 per minute, 3,000 free minutes a month and a co-located cache. WarpBuild lists ARM from $0.003 and bring-your-own-cloud at $0.002 per minute. See Blacksmith and WarpBuild.

Best if you live on AWS: RunsOn

Runners inside your own AWS account, so private network access and data stay with you. A license from EUR 300 a year plus raw EC2 cost, with about $7 a month of control plane. Someone has to own it. See RunsOn.

Best for your own servers and nested virtualization: Actuated

MicroVMs on servers you provide, at $150 a month for the first server with unlimited minutes. See Actuated.

Best for a one-line switch with a safety net: compiler.dev

One runs-on change, five Linux sizes from $0.003 (2 vCPU) to $0.048 (32 vCPU), a default 8 vCPU / 16 GB machine at $0.012, and automatic fallback to your original runners if credit runs out or anything fails. Prepaid credit never expires and a 200 minute trial needs a card but costs nothing until used. Weaknesses: no ARM, no Windows, macOS in early access. See pricing and compare.

Not an option any more: BuildJet

BuildJet shut down on 31 March 2026. Workflows with buildjet-* labels fail. See BuildJet vs compiler.dev for the migration steps.

Staying on GitHub-hosted

Fine when usage is low or you want one vendor. GitHub's own 8-core price is $0.022 a minute, which is the baseline everyone else compares against. See GitHub Actions pricing explained.

How to pick in five minutes

1. List your needs that only some providers meet: macOS, ARM, Windows, GPU, private network, own hardware.
2. Check your monthly minutes with the cost calculator. Low volume favors per-minute billing. High, steady volume favors flat prices.
3. Shortlist two. Run the same workflow on both for a few days, and compare cost per run, not per minute.
4. Check what happens if the provider fails. A fallback is worth real money.
5. Keep the label in one place, such as a reusable workflow, so you can switch again.

Before paying anyone, fix the free things: caching, test sharding and concurrency cancels, all in speeding up GitHub Actions.

FAQ

What is the best GitHub Actions runner provider?

There is no single best one. Ubicloud has the lowest published per-minute price, Namespace and Cirrus lead on macOS, Depot on Docker builds, RunsOn on AWS control, and compiler.dev on the simplest switch with fallback.

Which provider is cheapest?

Among per-minute prices we read on 22 October 2026, Ubicloud at $0.00125 per minute for 2 vCPU. RunsOn and Actuated are not per minute, so they cannot be compared line by line.

Are the speed claims on vendor sites true?

We cannot say. They are vendor claims, mostly against GitHub-hosted runners, and depend on your workload. Only compiler.dev's benchmarks on this site are ours.

How often do runner prices change?

Often enough to check before you buy. GitHub cut its own prices in January 2026. This page is updated monthly.

Can I use more than one provider?

Yes. runs-on is set per job, so many teams use different providers for different jobs.