12 Best Depot Alternatives for GitHub Actions Runners

Depot built its reputation accelerating Docker builds, then extended that infrastructure into general GitHub Actions runners with Ultra Runners and RAM disk technology.

But this Docker-first philosophy creates blind spots: teams without container workflows pay for features they don't use, the AWS-only infrastructure limits geographic options, and macOS capacity constraints cause unpredictable queue times.

The right alternative depends on whether your workloads actually benefit from Docker optimization, whether you need runners outside AWS regions, or if you're willing to trade managed convenience for infrastructure control.

This guide explores alternatives addressing problems Depot either can't solve or deliberately chose not to.

What Depot optimizes for (and what it doesn't)

Depot excels at one thing spectacularly well: making Docker-heavy workflows fast through colocated runners and BuildKit infrastructure. Their Ultra Runners with RAM disks push general compute performance higher than most alternatives. But this focus creates constraints.

Top Depot alternatives in 2026

Here's how each tool compares:

1. RunsOn

RunsOn gives you what Depot's Business plan "bring your own compute" offers but as the default model: runners executing entirely in your AWS account with your EC2 instances, your S3 buckets, and your security perimeter. The trade-off is operational complexity Depot eliminates.

🌟 Key features

• Self-hosted on EC2 you control completely
• Linux, Windows, GPU, macOS via AWS offerings
• GitHub Actions complete compatibility
• Spot instance prioritization with on-demand backup
• Ephemeral VM per job provisioning
• S3-based unlimited cache through Magic Cache
• Static egress IPs via NAT configuration
• CloudFormation automated deployment
• Cost analytics and attribution built-in

➕ Pros

• Your AWS account means your compliance boundary
• EC2 instance type flexibility Depot restricts
• IAM integration removes credential management
• Unlimited S3 cache vs Depot's included allocations
• Open-source core enables self-hosting option
• AWS credits apply directly to CI spending
• Regional deployment anywhere AWS operates
• Spot pricing delivers economics Depot can't match

➖ Cons

• CloudFormation deployment vs Depot's zero setup
• You troubleshoot AWS issues, not vendor support

💲 Pricing

RunsOn separates platform license from infrastructure costs. Commercial license: €300 annually for unlimited jobs. Sponsorship license: €1,500 yearly adding priority support and source access. AWS charges bill through spot pricing, typically 7-17x cheaper than GitHub's rates. Nonprofits get free licensing.

2. Ubicloud

Ubicloud undercuts Depot's pricing dramatically through Hetzner bare metal while sacrificing Depot's AWS infrastructure advantages. No RAM disks, no Docker builder colocation, no multi-cloud options - just extremely cheap Linux compute for straightforward CI.

🌟 Key features

• Managed runners on Hetzner bare metal
• Linux x64 and arm64 architectures
• Standard and premium performance tiers
• GitHub Managed Runner Application
• German data center high availability
• $1 monthly credit (~1,250 minutes)
• Open-source control plane (AGPL v3)
• Self-hosting option available

➕ Pros

• Dramatically lower per-minute rates than Depot
• Dedicated CPU and memory guaranteed
• Premium tier option for performance-critical workloads
• Open-source model prevents vendor lock-in
• Simple per-minute billing without plan complexity
• Self-hosting gives ultimate control
• Both x64 and arm64 support

➖ Cons

• Germany-only limits global teams
• No Docker-specific optimizations like Depot

💲 Pricing

Per-minute billing monthly: x64 standard starts $0.0008/min for 2 vCPUs (8 GB RAM), scaling to $0.0120/min for 30 vCPUs. Premium doubles standard rates. Arm64 matches standard x64 pricing. Every account gets $1 monthly credit covering ~1,250 minutes on smallest runner.

3. GetMac

GetMac specializes where Depot generalizes: macOS M4 hardware exclusively for iOS development teams. While Depot's macOS offering warns of capacity constraints, GetMac owns M4 Mac Minis specifically sized for their customer base's needs.

🌟 Key features

• M4 Apple Silicon Mac Mini hardware exclusively
• GitHub Actions and GitLab CI support
• Full VM debugging environment (60s launch)
• Pre-installed iOS tooling: Xcode, Fastlane, CocoaPods, Homebrew
• Modern runner and VM management dashboard
• VNC and SSH debugging access
• Ephemeral VM per job isolation
• Standard GitHub Actions cache
• Renewable energy powered facility
• Owned hardware with physical security

➕ Pros

• M4 performance exceeds Depot's M2 offering
• Dedicated capacity vs Depot's shared pool
• VM debugging replicates build environment exactly
• No queue warnings during peak demand
• Higher plans remove concurrency limits entirely
• Full toolset pre-installed saves setup time
• Specialization enables better iOS support

➖ Cons

• macOS only, zero Linux or Windows coverage
• Debug sessions cap at 60 minutes

💲 Pricing

Plan-based with compute minutes: Free (100 minutes), Developer $11.99 (1,000 minutes), Team $33.99 (3,000 minutes), Business $110.99 (10,000 minutes), Enterprise (unlimited custom pricing). Concurrent VM capacity scales 1 to unlimited across tiers.

4. Namespace

Namespace matches Depot's developer experience focus but extends beyond Docker workflows. While Depot optimizes container builds, Namespace integrates Bazel, Turborepo, and other build systems with native caching that Depot treats as generic cache storage.

🌟 Key features

• Managed runners for Linux, macOS, Windows
• AMD EPYC, Ampere, Apple M-series hardware
• Configurable runner profiles for size and OS
• Cache Volumes with local data persistence
• Native Bazel, Turborepo, Pants, Moon integrations
• Container acceleration through layer caching
• Git checkout caching for monorepos
• Interactive debugging: breakpoints, SSH, VNC, RDP
• Per-step job observability
• Crash and OOM detection with dumps

➕ Pros

• Build tool integrations beyond Depot's Docker focus
• Developer experience features like breakpoints
• Complete platform coverage including Windows
• Cache flexibility for non-container workflows
• Real-time collaboration during debugging
• Incremental migration path from Depot
• Backend service support for integration tests

➖ Cons

• VM credit pricing more complex than Depot's plans
• Vendor coupling for both compute and cache

💲 Pricing

VM credits: 1 credit = $0.015. Developer plan pay-as-you-go (~$0.0015/min) no base fee. Team plan $100/month: 100,000 minutes, 1,000 Docker builds. Business plan $250/month: 250,000 minutes, 2,500 builds. Enterprise: custom pools, extreme concurrency.

5. BuildJet

BuildJet strips away Depot's Docker complexity entirely, focusing purely on raw compute performance for any workflow type. While Depot optimizes for container-heavy pipelines, BuildJet targets compile-heavy workloads where single-thread CPU speed matters more than Docker layer caching.

🌟 Key features

• Gaming-grade CPUs selected for benchmark scores
• AMD Ryzen and ARM Ampere processor options
• Ubuntu 20.04 and 22.04 images only
• 64 GB SSD allocation per job
• Nested virtualization enabling Android emulators
• 20 GB cache per repository weekly
• Direct replacement for GitHub's setup actions

➕ Pros

• Simpler pricing than Depot's tiered plans
• No Docker assumptions in architecture
• Consistent CPU models unlike some alternatives
• Nested virtualization solves mobile CI problems
• Straightforward cache without complex orchestration
• Geographic presence in Hetzner's network
• Per-minute billing without plan commitments

➖ Cons

• Linux exclusively, no macOS or Windows
• Smaller SSD space than Depot's provisioning

💲 Pricing

BuildJet charges per minute: $0.004 for 2 vCPU (8 GB RAM) through $0.048 for 32 vCPU (64 GB RAM). This sits between Depot's per-minute rates and bare-metal providers' rock-bottom pricing. New accounts receive $5 testing credit.

6. Blacksmith

Blacksmith competes with Depot's observability by making CI performance visible rather than just fast. While Depot focuses on acceleration, Blacksmith adds analytics showing exactly why builds are slow and which tests create bottlenecks.

🌟 Key features

• Bare metal gaming CPUs targeting 2x GitHub speed
• Colocated cache for 4x download acceleration
• Docker layer reuse without BuildKit
• Public image pull cache
• Searchable run history with filtering
• Cross-job centralized log search
• Live SSH access to executing jobs
• Test-level performance analytics
• Custom CI dashboards
• Migration automation wizard

➕ Pros

• Observability depth Depot doesn't prioritize
• Test analytics identify specific bottlenecks
• Centralized logging across entire organization
• Docker features without Depot's BuildKit coupling
• SSH debugging for live troubleshooting
• Transparent cache behavior
• Workflow spending breakdown by project

➖ Cons

• Docker acceleration needs provider-specific actions
• GitHub Actions exclusively, no other CI systems

💲 Pricing

Pay-as-you-go with 3,000 free monthly minutes. Base rate ~$0.004/min for 2 vCPU x64. Docker layer caching costs ~$0.50/GB/month separately. Static IPs and priority Slack support available. Enterprise adds onboarding assistance, uptime SLAs, 24/7 support, and optimization consulting.

7. Cirrus Runners

Cirrus Runners solves Depot's macOS capacity problem through different economics: flat-rate pricing per concurrent runner rather than per-minute consumption. For teams running CI continuously, this delivers predictable costs Depot's usage model can't guarantee.

🌟 Key features

• Flat monthly rate per concurrent runner, unlimited minutes
• macOS M4 Pro: 4 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM, GPU
• Linux x86: 16 vCPUs, 48 GB RAM with KVM
• Linux arm64: 8 vCPUs, 24 GB RAM
• Linux GPU: 8 vCPUs, 24 GB RAM, Nvidia
• 2-3x performance vs GitHub defaults
• Resource class selection via runner labels
• Smaller shapes available for light jobs
• Cirrus-optimized cache action
• 10 GB cache per runner

➕ Pros

• Unlimited minutes eliminate usage anxiety completely
• macOS capacity guaranteed by flat-rate economics
• GPU support Depot restricts to Business plan
• Budget predictability vs Depot's overage charges
• Priority queuing through workflow labels
• Nonprofit discount cuts costs 50%
• No vendor lock-in to Docker workflows

➖ Cons

• Expensive for sporadic CI usage patterns
• Linux images not identical to GitHub's

💲 Pricing

$150 monthly per concurrent runner with unlimited minutes. All runner types (macOS, Linux x86, Linux arm, Linux GPU) same price. 15% annual discount with commitment. 50% nonprofit discount. Effective per-minute cost drops with heavy usage (~$0.003/min high-volume).

8. runmyjob.io

runmyjob.io (Puzl Cloud) addresses a Depot blind spot: their per-minute billing charges full rate while your job waits on external APIs or databases. Load-based billing charges only active CPU and memory consumption, making I/O-heavy workflows dramatically cheaper.

🌟 Key features

• Load-based billing: CPU-seconds and memory-seconds consumed
• KVM microVMs for strong isolation
• GitHub Actions and GitLab CI support
• 150 GB ephemeral filesystem per job
• Interactive Web Terminal for GitLab debugging
• Up to 48 vCPUs and 96 GB RAM per job
• Declarative API for runner management
• Job cache on Business tier and above
• Complete GitHub Actions compatibility
• EU-based infrastructure

➕ Pros

• Revolutionary pricing for I/O-bound workloads
• Integration tests with external services cost less
• KVM isolation stronger than Depot's approach
• Resource limits exceed Depot's maximums
• GitLab support alongside GitHub Actions
• Free tier enables thorough evaluation
• No vendor lock-in through standard integrations

➖ Cons

• Load-based billing requires mental model shift
• Currently Linux only, Windows and ARM coming

💲 Pricing

Free: €0/month, 1 integration, 10 concurrent jobs, 12 vCPUs/32 GB RAM per job, 400 vCPU-minutes/800 GB-minutes included, then €0.00002 per vCPU-second and €0.000001 per GB-second. Business: €50/month, 3 integrations, unlimited concurrency, 48 vCPUs/96 GB RAM, 2,000 vCPU-minutes/4,000 GB-minutes included, 10 GB persistent storage, job caching. Enterprise: custom resources, GPU, dedicated nodes, priority support.

9. Cirun

Cirun extends RunsOn's self-hosted concept beyond AWS: connect any cloud provider (GCP, Azure, Oracle) or on-premise infrastructure. This multi-cloud flexibility solves Depot's AWS limitation while maintaining the security boundary of your infrastructure.

🌟 Key features

• Self-hosted across multiple cloud providers
• GitHub App integration
• Per-repository .cirun.yml configuration
• Single workflow line change to Cirun labels
• Ephemeral VM per job
• Multi-cloud and on-premise support
• ARM and GPU instance types
• Preemptible/spot optimization
• Zero platform cost for open-source projects

➕ Pros

• Infrastructure stays in your accounts
• Cloud provider choice vs Depot's AWS lock-in
• ARM and GPU support
• Spot instances reduce costs below Depot
• Open-source projects get free platform
• Geographic deployment flexibility
• Compliance through your infrastructure

➖ Cons

• Repository-count pricing for private projects
• You manage cloud accounts and images

💲 Pricing

Open Source free: unlimited public repos, unlimited runners, all clouds. Startup $29/month: 3 private repos with support. Business $79/month: 10 private repos. Enterprise custom: unlimited private repos, premium support. Runner compute bills from your cloud provider.

10. Actuated

Actuated provides what Depot's bring-your-own-compute offers but for any infrastructure: your bare metal servers anywhere, orchestrated by Actuated's control plane creating Firecracker microVMs. This gives security teams control Depot's AWS-only model can't provide.

🌟 Key features

• Firecracker microVMs launching in 1-2 seconds
• Managed control plane, your hardware
• Centrally maintained Ubuntu guest images
• x86-64 and arm64 host support
• GPU support for ML workloads
• Concurrent job pricing, unmetered minutes
• Multi-organization dashboard
• Build queue visibility
• 120-day insights retention
• Job duration trend reporting
• SSH debugging support
• CLI for programmatic management

➕ Pros

• Hardware location your choice, not AWS only
• MicroVM isolation exceeds standard VMs
• Predictable costs through concurrency pricing
• Guest images maintained without your effort
• GitHub and GitLab CI compatibility
• Bare metal performance without cloud premium
• Compliance requirements you control

➖ Cons

• You procure and maintain physical hosts
• Linux only, no Windows or macOS

💲 Pricing

Basic $250/month: 5 concurrent jobs, unmetered minutes, 1 VM host max, single GitHub org, reports, SSH debugging, UK hours Slack support. ~$0.008/min at 30K monthly minutes. Higher tiers for 10, 15, 20, 35, 50+ concurrent jobs. Custom plans for larger fleets.

11. Buildkite

Buildkite represents complete divergence from Depot's runner-only model: a full CI/CD platform with test analytics, package registries, and pipeline orchestration. You're not augmenting GitHub Actions, you're replacing it with agents you control while Buildkite manages coordination.

🌟 Key features

• Complete CI/CD platform beyond runners
• GitHub integration preserving source control
• YAML-based pipeline definitions
• Cross-platform agent architecture
• Cluster and queue workload organization
• Multi-provider Git support
• Test Engine for large suite optimization
• Package registries for artifacts
• Insights: retry analysis, queue control, exports
• Enterprise security: SSO, SCIM, audit logs

➕ Pros

• Test Engine solves flakiness problems at scale
• Self-hosted agents give ultimate control
• Pipeline model more flexible than GitHub Actions
• Package registries consolidate artifact storage
• Platform designed for enterprise complexity
• User-based pricing for predictable budgets
• Agent flexibility exceeds Depot's runner constraints

➖ Cons

• Complete platform migration, not runner swap
• Steeper learning curve than Depot

💲 Pricing

Personal free: 3 concurrent jobs, 1 user, 50K test executions, 1 GB registries, 500 mins Linux small. Pro $30/user/month: 10 self-hosted agents, unlimited tests (then $0.10/managed test), 20 GB registries, 2,000 mins Linux small, SSO. Enterprise: custom pricing, unlimited pipelines, volume discounts, advanced governance. Hosted agents: Linux small $0.013/min, medium $0.026/min, large $0.052/min. Mac M4 medium $0.18/min, large $0.36/min.

12. DevZero

DevZero targets teams already running Kubernetes who want CI runners alongside application workloads. Instead of Depot's dedicated runner infrastructure, DevZero optimizes your existing cluster spending while adding GitHub Actions capability through Actions Runner Controller.

🌟 Key features

• Kubernetes cost and resource monitoring
• Savings projections with modeling
• Automated optimization via balance operator
• Pod live migration support
• Spot instance management
• EKS, GKE, AKS, on-premise clusters
• GitHub Actions via Actions Runner Controller
• Runner scale sets with DevZero labels
• Audit logging and cost export

➕ Pros

• Consolidates CI with application spending
• Kubernetes-native fits container infrastructure
• Automated rightsizing beyond recommendations
• Complete cluster control vs Depot's abstraction
• Spot management reduces costs
• Multi-cloud through Kubernetes

➖ Cons

• Overkill if only concerned with CI
• Requires operators in clusters

💲 Pricing

Free: 2 clusters, 45 days, monitoring/attribution. Scaling/Optimization $7/CPU/month: up to 2,000 CPUs, workload optimization, spot management, Slack support. Enterprise: custom pricing, SSO, GPU optimization, dedicated support.

Final thoughts

Depot's Ultra Runners with RAM disks deliver impressive Docker performance, but this specialization creates constraints. If your workflows don't center around containers, you're funding infrastructure optimizations you never use.

For straightforward compute needs, Ubicloud and BuildJet strip away Docker complexity for pure performance at lower costs. When you need infrastructure control, RunsOn puts runners in your AWS account, Actuated lets you use your own hardware, and Cirun works across any cloud provider.

For iOS teams, GetMac provides dedicated M4 capacity that eliminates Depot's macOS queue warnings entirely. When debugging matters, Blacksmith surfaces test-level bottlenecks and performance patterns that Depot's dashboards don't expose. For modern build tools, Namespace treats Bazel and Turborepo as first-class citizens rather than generic cache targets.

You don't have to replace Depot completely. Keep it for Docker-heavy workflows where it shines, then layer in GetMac for iOS builds, RunsOn for applications without containers, or Cirrus Runners when you need reliable GPU access.

Your decision hinges on whether Depot's Docker optimization aligns with what your pipelines actually do.