Ubicloud vs compiler.dev: Runner Price Compared

Ubicloud has the lowest published per-minute prices of any runner provider we checked, and it is open source. compiler.dev costs more per minute but gives you a bigger default machine, a fallback to your own runners, and measured full-pipeline results. If the only question is "what is the cheapest minute," Ubicloud wins. If the question is "what is the cheapest finished build," it depends on your jobs. Prices were checked in October 2026 on Ubicloud's pricing docs.

What Ubicloud is

Ubicloud describes itself as an open source cloud that can run anywhere. Its GitHub Actions product is managed runners on its own infrastructure, with the source code public on GitHub. You can use the hosted service, or manage your own runners with the open source software. That second option is rare and is the main reason to pick Ubicloud over a closed provider.

Each job runs in a clean, ephemeral VM isolated with Linux KVM, and it uses GitHub's just-in-time runner configuration. There are two hardware classes. Standard runs on AMD EPYC Genoa CPUs. Premium runs on AMD Ryzen 9 CPUs, and new accounts get Premium by default, with automatic fallback to Standard if Premium capacity is full. You can turn Premium off in account settings.

Side-by-side

Ubicloud's marketing page and its docs pricing page show different numbers, so we used the docs page, which is the more detailed one. Treat all of these as indicative and check the page before you commit. Ubicloud is cheaper at every size we could compare: its premium 8 vCPU / 32 GB at $0.008 is below compiler.dev's 8 vCPU / 16 GB at $0.012 and gives double the memory.

Where Ubicloud is the better choice

• Price is the deciding factor. At 8 vCPU the standard rate of $0.005 per minute is less than a quarter of GitHub's $0.022 for the same size. That is a large gap on a big bill.
• You want ARM Linux. Ubicloud's arm64 runners are priced the same as standard x64 at each size on its docs page.
• Open source matters to you. You can read the code, and you can run your own runners with it, which also removes the vendor risk of a shutdown.
• You have a lot of small jobs. The free credit of 1,250 minutes of 2 vCPU a month is useful for light projects.
• Memory-heavy jobs. At the same 8 vCPU you get 32 GB on Ubicloud against 16 GB on compiler.dev's default.

Where compiler.dev is the better choice

• You want a safety net. If compiler.dev runs out of credit or cannot start a job, your own runners take it. Ubicloud's pages do not describe a fallback; if its capacity is full for both classes, jobs wait.
• You want full-pipeline numbers. Our benchmarks report whole CI runs, with databases and ten test shards, the headline result is a median 1.5× faster across 18 measured stacks (15 faster, 2 the same, 1 slower) than GitHub-hosted runs. We have not tested Ubicloud, so we do not claim to beat it on speed. A lower rate helps only if your job takes the same time or less.
• You need macOS. Ubicloud lists no macOS runners. compiler.dev has macOS M4 Pro in early access.
• You want help during a GitHub outage. compiler.dev re-delivers missed webhooks and re-runs failed jobs when GitHub recovers. See GitHub status.
• You do not want to manage anything. Ubicloud's self-managed option is powerful but it is work.

How to switch

Ubicloud's quickstart: create an account, add a card (the credit applies), connect GitHub under "GitHub Runners", then change the label.

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubicloud-standard-8
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: make test

The label is the size, so ubicloud-standard-2 is 2 vCPU. If your org uses an IP allowlist, Ubicloud publishes its ranges at https://api.ubicloud.com/ips-v4.

To compiler.dev:

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: [self-hosted, Linux, compiler-ci]

Install the app at app.compiler.dev.

What a lower rate is worth

Say a pipeline uses 40,000 minutes a month on 8 vCPU machines. At $0.005 that is $200; at $0.012 it is $480; at GitHub's $0.022 it is $880. If compiler.dev finishes the same work in fewer minutes, the gap shrinks, and if it is not faster it does not. Use the cost calculator with your own minutes, then run the same workflow on both for a few days. For other ways to cut the bill, see reduce your GitHub Actions bill. Our full provider ranking lists everything we checked.

FAQ

Is Ubicloud the cheapest GitHub Actions runner?

Among providers with per-minute prices on public pages in October 2026, yes: $0.00125 per minute for 2 vCPU standard, and $0.005 for 8 vCPU. RunsOn on your own AWS account has no per-minute price, since you pay AWS directly, so it cannot be compared line by line.

Is Ubicloud really open source?

Its site says so and the source is on GitHub. You can also manage your own runners rather than use the hosted service.

Does Ubicloud have macOS runners?

Not on the pages we read. If you need macOS, look at Namespace or compiler.dev's early access macOS.

What is the difference between standard and premium?

Standard uses AMD EPYC Genoa CPUs. Premium uses AMD Ryzen 9 CPUs and costs more per minute. New accounts start on premium with fallback to standard.