12 Best RunsOn Alternatives for GitHub Actions Runners

RunsOn provides GitHub Actions runners in your AWS account with excellent cost savings and S3-backed unlimited caching, but it locks you into AWS infrastructure, requires managing CloudFormation stacks and EC2 instances, and only makes sense if you already use AWS heavily. Finding the right alternative depends on whether you want multi-cloud flexibility, prefer managed services without infrastructure overhead, or need platforms beyond what AWS offers.

This guide examines 12 RunsOn alternatives so you can find a runner solution that matches your cloud strategy and operational preferences.

What makes a good RunsOn alternative?

RunsOn excels at leveraging AWS spot instances for dramatic cost savings while maintaining complete infrastructure control through your own AWS account. An alternative should deliver comparable economics, similar infrastructure transparency, or address RunsOn's AWS dependency while maintaining the control and customization that self-hosting provides.

12 Best RunsOn Alternatives

RunsOn maintains one-to-one compatibility with GitHub-hosted runners, requiring only label changes in workflows. Look for alternatives with similar drop-in behavior that won't force workflow rewrites or introduce compatibility issues.

1. Cirun

Cirun orchestrates self-hosted GitHub Actions runners across AWS, GCP, Azure, Oracle Cloud, and on-premise infrastructure. It provisions ephemeral VMs per job based on labels you define in .cirun.yml, giving you RunsOn's self-hosted benefits without AWS lock-in.

🌟 Key features

• Self-hosted runners across AWS, GCP, Azure, Oracle Cloud, and on-premise
• Ephemeral VM provisioning per job via .cirun.yml configuration
• Multi-cloud support breaking free from AWS exclusivity
• Infrastructure control with cost optimization flexibility
• ARM and GPU instance support across all clouds
• GitHub App integration for straightforward setup
• Free tier for public open source repositories

➕ Pros

• Self-hosted runners executing in your cloud accounts
• Multi-cloud support: AWS, GCP, Azure, Oracle Cloud, on-premise
• GitHub App integration for straightforward onboarding
• Repository-specific configuration through .cirun.yml files
• Runner provisioning triggered automatically per job
• One-line workflow changes switching to Cirun labels
• ARM and GPU instance support across clouds
• Preemptible and spot instance optimization
• Free tier for public open source repositories
• Direct cloud provider billing without markup

➖ Cons

Private repository pricing scales with repository count rather than usage volume, which can become expensive for organizations with many repos. You remain responsible for cloud account setup, machine image maintenance, and network configuration across potentially multiple providers.

💲 Pricing

Open Source plan is free with unlimited public repositories, unlimited runners, and full ARM/GPU support across all clouds. Startup plan costs $29 monthly for up to 3 private repositories with Slack and email support. Business plan runs $79 monthly supporting up to 10 private repositories. Enterprise provides custom pricing for unlimited private repositories with premium support. Actual compute bills directly from your chosen cloud provider at their spot or on-demand rates.

2. Ubicloud

Ubicloud delivers GitHub Actions runners at dramatically reduced costs through partnerships with bare metal providers like Hetzner and Leaseweb. The open source platform provides RunsOn-level economics without requiring you to manage any infrastructure.

🌟 Key features

• Fully managed runners eliminating infrastructure management
• Bare metal providers (Hetzner, Leaseweb) for 3-10x cost savings
• Linux x64 and arm64 architecture support
• Open source control plane (AGPL v3) preventing vendor lock-in
• German data centers supporting GDPR compliance
• No CloudFormation, EC2, or S3 configuration needed
• Dedicated CPU, memory, and storage resources

➕ Pros

• Fully managed runners with guaranteed dedicated resources
• Linux x64 and arm64 architecture support
• Aggressive price-performance optimization (3-10x cheaper than GitHub)
• GitHub Managed Runner Application integration
• Multiple German data centers providing high availability
• $1 monthly credit per account covering approximately 1,250 minutes
• Broader platform with VMs, PostgreSQL, and Kubernetes
• Open source control plane licensed under AGPL v3
• Self-hosting option if desired

➖ Cons

Runner infrastructure concentrates in Germany, potentially increasing latency for teams in distant regions. Linux-only support excludes macOS and Windows workloads that RunsOn handles through AWS. You'll maintain a separate billing relationship with Ubicloud alongside GitHub.

💲 Pricing

Per-minute billing at month's end. Linux x64 standard runners start at $0.0008/min for 2 vCPUs with 8 GB RAM, scaling to $0.0120/min for 30 vCPU configurations. Premium runners cost exactly double standard rates. Arm64 pricing matches standard x64 rates. Every account receives $1 monthly credit covering approximately 1,250 minutes on 2 vCPU runners.

3. Depot

Depot provides managed GitHub Actions runners with exceptional performance through fast compute and intelligent caching. It specializes in accelerating both standard workflows and Docker builds without infrastructure management.

🌟 Key features

• Managed runners for Linux, Windows, and macOS M2
• Ultra Runners with memory-backed storage for I/O-heavy workloads
• Integrated caching across regular Actions and Docker layers
• No CloudFormation stacks or EC2 monitoring required
• Intel and ARM architecture support
• Performance matching or exceeding RunsOn spot instances
• Self-hosting option available for AWS deployment

➕ Pros

• Managed runners spanning Linux, Windows, and macOS M2
• Ultra Runners featuring provisioned I/O for maximum throughput
• Intel and ARM architecture support
• Integrated high-speed GitHub Actions cache
• Ephemeral VMs maintaining clean state per job
• Repository-scoped persistent cache volumes
• Per-second billing without minute minimums
• Optional egress filtering for security compliance
• Self-hosting option for running in your AWS account
• Native Docker registry and build cache integration

➖ Cons

Managed service pricing runs higher than self-hosted economics when factoring in AWS spot rates. macOS runner capacity can occasionally cause queue delays during peak demand periods.

💲 Pricing

Developer tier costs $20 monthly, including 500 Docker build minutes, 2,000 Actions minutes, and 25 GB cache storage for one user. Startup tier runs $200 monthly with unlimited users, 5,000 Docker minutes, 20,000 Actions minutes, and 250 GB cache, plus $0.004/min overage charges for Actions. Business tier provides dedicated infrastructure and custom runner pools. All runner time bills per second.

4. Buildkite

Buildkite operates as a complete CI/CD platform that integrates with GitHub, GitLab, or other Git providers. You maintain source control in GitHub while Buildkite handles pipeline execution, build orchestration, test analytics, and deployments.

🌟 Key features

• Complete CI/CD platform beyond just runners
• Self-hosted agents for RunsOn-level cost control
• Test Engine for large test suite optimization
• Advanced pipeline capabilities exceeding GitHub Actions
• Native integration with GitHub, GitLab, and other Git providers
• Cross-platform agent support
• Enterprise security features (SSO, SCIM, audit logs)

➕ Pros

• Complete CI/CD platform with pipelines and dashboards
• Native GitHub integration through webhooks
• Pipeline definitions using pipeline.yml format
• Cross-platform agents functioning as build runners
• Cluster and queue model for workload organization
• Support for multiple Git providers beyond GitHub
• Buildkite Test Engine for large test suite optimization
• Buildkite Package Registries for artifact management
• Insights features including retry analysis, queue control, and data exports
• Enterprise security features including SSO, SCIM, and audit logs

➖ Cons

Migrating to Buildkite requires rewriting workflows from GitHub Actions syntax to Buildkite pipelines - this isn't a simple label change. The platform pricing model differs significantly from pay-per-minute alternatives.

💲 Pricing

Personal plan is free, including 3 concurrent jobs, 1 user, 50,000 test executions, 1 GB Package Registries storage, and 500 minutes Linux small. Pro plan costs $30 per user monthly with 10 self-hosted agents, unlimited test executions (then $0.10/managed test), 20 GB registries storage, 2,000 minutes Linux small, and SSO support. Enterprise provides custom pricing with unlimited pipelines, volume discounts, and 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.

5. Namespace

Namespace prioritizes both performance and debuggability for GitHub Actions workflows. It wraps runners with developer-focused tooling including persistent cache volumes, remote Docker builders, interactive debugging, and granular observability.

🌟 Key features

• Managed runners for Linux, macOS, and Windows
• Cache Volumes persisting data locally without S3 configuration
• Interactive debugging with breakpoints and SSH/VNC/RDP access
• Native integrations with Bazel, Turborepo, Pants, and Moon
• Granular job observability tracking per-step performance
• Remote Docker builders and container image acceleration
• No infrastructure management required

➕ Pros

• Managed runners spanning Linux, macOS, and Windows platforms
• AMD EPYC, Ampere, and Apple M-series hardware options
• Runner profiles configuring OS, architecture, and machine specifications
• Cache Volumes providing persistent local data across workflow runs
• Native build tool integrations for Bazel, Turborepo, Pants, and Moon
• Container image acceleration through intelligent layer caching
• Git checkout caching optimized for large monorepos
• Interactive debugging with workflow breakpoints and SSH/VNC/RDP
• Granular job observability tracking performance per step
• Crash and OOM detection with automatic dump capture

➖ Cons

The unit minute and VM credit pricing system adds complexity compared to RunsOn's straightforward license plus AWS billing model. Bundling both compute and caching with a single vendor creates potential lock-in.

💲 Pricing

VM credits price at $0.015 each. Developer plan operates pay-as-you-go at roughly $0.0015/min in unit minutes with no base fee. Team plan costs $100 monthly, including 100,000 minutes and 1,000 Docker builds. Business plan runs $250 monthly with 250,000 minutes and 2,500 builds. Enterprise tier offers custom runner pools and very high concurrency limits.

6. Cirrus Runners

Cirrus Runners implements flat-rate pricing by charging per concurrent runner instead of per-minute fees. Once you pay for concurrency, you can execute unlimited minutes on modern CPUs and GPUs.

🌟 Key features

• Flat monthly rate per concurrent runner with unlimited minutes
• macOS M4 Pro and GPU support exceeding AWS offerings
• No surprise bills regardless of usage volume
• Managed service eliminating CloudFormation and EC2 maintenance
• Linux x86, arm64, and GPU runner options
• Performance 2-3x faster than GitHub runners
• Fixed concurrency pricing similar to RunsOn's license model

➕ Pros

• Fixed $150 monthly price per concurrent runner with unlimited minutes
• macOS M4 Pro runners with 4 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM, and GPU access
• Linux x86 runners providing 16 vCPUs and 48 GB RAM with KVM
• Linux arm64 runners with 8 vCPUs and 24 GB RAM
• Linux GPU runners featuring 8 vCPUs, 24 GB RAM, and Nvidia GPU
• Performance roughly 2-3x faster than GitHub runners
• Flexible resource classes selected via image name suffixes
• Optional smaller Linux machine shapes for lighter workloads
• Cirrus cache action for optimized restore and save operations
• 10 GB cache allocation per runner

➖ Cons

The flat pricing structure can become expensive for teams with sporadic or low CI usage. Cache storage caps at 10 GB per runner, potentially constraining projects with large dependency trees that benefit from RunsOn's unlimited S3 caching.

💲 Pricing

Each concurrent runner costs $150 monthly with truly unlimited minute usage. All runner types - macOS, Linux x86, Linux arm, and Linux GPU - carry the same flat rate. Annual commitment provides 15% discount. Nonprofit discount cuts pricing by 50% for qualifying non-revenue projects. Effective per-minute cost drops significantly with heavy usage, reaching approximately $0.003/min for high-volume teams.

7. BuildJet

BuildJet provides managed GitHub Actions runners powered by gaming-grade CPUs delivering approximately 2x performance improvements over GitHub's default runners. It focuses exclusively on Linux workloads with straightforward per-minute pricing.

🌟 Key features

• Gaming-grade CPUs delivering 2x performance over GitHub runners
• Simple per-minute billing eliminating AWS account setup
• No CloudFormation or EC2 monitoring required
• Instant scaling handling burst workloads
• Linux support across AMD and ARM architectures
• 20 GB cache per repository
• Fully managed service with zero infrastructure overhead

➕ Pros

• Managed runners with gaming-grade CPUs for strong single-core performance
• Linux support across both AMD and ARM architectures
• Approximately 2x performance versus GitHub-hosted runners
• Per-minute billing with transparent pricing
• 20 GB cache per repository refreshed weekly
• Simple migration requiring only runner label changes
• No infrastructure to provision or maintain
• Instant scaling without capacity constraints

➖ Cons

Linux-only support excludes macOS and Windows workloads that RunsOn handles through AWS. Per-minute pricing can become expensive for extremely high-volume usage compared to RunsOn's flat license plus spot rates.

💲 Pricing

Free tier includes 3,000 minutes monthly across all repositories. Paid usage bills per minute with rates starting around $0.004/min for standard configurations. Pricing scales with machine size and architecture. No base fees or subscription charges beyond actual minute consumption.

8. GetMac

GetMac specializes exclusively in macOS runners powered by Apple Silicon M4 Mac Mini hardware housed in ISO-certified TIER III data centers. It targets iOS and macOS CI/CD workflows as a drop-in GitHub Actions replacement.

🌟 Key features

• M4 Apple Silicon outperforming AWS EC2 Mac instances
• Managed service eliminating mac1.metal or mac2.metal management
• Better performance than AWS Intel-based Mac offerings
• Plan-based pricing simpler than EC2 mac instance billing
• Full macOS VM debugging environment
• Pre-configured tooling (Xcode, Fastlane, CocoaPods, Homebrew)
• ISO-certified TIER III data centers

➕ Pros

• M4 Apple Silicon Mac Mini infrastructure
• GitHub Actions and GitLab CI compatibility
• Full macOS VM debugging environment launching in approximately 60 seconds
• Pre-configured tooling including Xcode, Fastlane, CocoaPods, Homebrew
• Contemporary dashboard for runner and VM management
• VNC and SSH access for live debugging sessions
• Ephemeral isolated VMs maintaining clean state per job
• Standard GitHub Actions caching support
• 100% renewable energy powered data center operations
• Owned hardware with physical security controls

➖ Cons

macOS-only support means you'll need separate runners for Linux and Windows workloads. Manually started VMs for debugging or testing purposes cap at 60-minute sessions.

💲 Pricing

Plan-based pricing bundles compute minutes. Free tier provides 100 minutes at $0 monthly. Developer plan offers 1,000 minutes for $11.99. Team plan includes 3,000 minutes at $33.99. Business plan delivers 10,000 minutes for $110.99. Enterprise plan provides unlimited minutes with custom pricing. Concurrent VM capacity scales with plan tiers from 1 VM up to unlimited.

9. Actuated

Actuated provides a hosted control plane for self-hosted runners with maximum isolation. You provide bare metal or nested virtualization servers, install the agent, and Actuated creates Firecracker microVMs - one per job - for strong security boundaries.

🌟 Key features

• Self-hosted benefits without AWS dependency
• Fixed concurrency pricing with unlimited minutes
• Choose your own hardware and location
• Firecracker microVMs with isolation comparable to EC2
• x86-64 and arm64 host support
• GPU support for machine learning workloads
• Fully managed control plane handling orchestration

➕ Pros

• Firecracker microVMs starting in roughly 1-2 seconds
• Fully managed control plane handling orchestration
• Centrally maintained Ubuntu guest image
• x86-64 and arm64 host support
• GPU support for machine learning workloads
• Fixed concurrency model with unlimited minute usage
• Multi-organization dashboard for fleet management
• Build queue visibility across all jobs
• Historical insights covering up to 120 days
• Job duration increase reports highlighting trends
• SSH debugging support for live troubleshooting
• CLI for programmatic management

➖ Cons

You must provide and maintain your own bare metal host servers. Linux-only support excludes macOS and Windows workloads that RunsOn handles through AWS.

💲 Pricing

Basic plan costs $250 monthly, including 5 concurrent jobs, unmetered minutes, up to 1 VM host, single GitHub organization support, reports, SSH debugging, and Slack support during UK business hours. At 30,000 minutes monthly usage, this works out to approximately $0.008/min. Additional tiers available for 10, 15, 20, 35, and 50+ concurrent jobs. Custom plans available for larger runner fleets.

10. Blacksmith

Blacksmith emphasizes raw execution speed combined with deep observability into CI performance. It runs on bare metal hardware with gaming CPUs and adds specialized tooling for understanding where pipeline time goes.

🌟 Key features

• Bare metal gaming CPUs removing AWS complexity
• Colocated caching delivering 4x faster downloads without S3
• Centralized log search exceeding CloudWatch capabilities
• Test-level analytics for performance insights
• Live SSH access simplifying debugging vs EC2 Systems Manager
• Approximately 2x performance over GitHub runners
• Docker layer reuse and public image caching

➕ Pros

• Approximately 2x performance improvement over GitHub runners
• Colocated cache delivering roughly 4x faster downloads
• Docker layer reuse accelerating container builds
• Public image pull cache reducing registry bottlenecks
• Run history with filtering and search capabilities
• Centralized log search spanning all workflow executions
• Live SSH access into active jobs for debugging
• Test-level analytics identifying performance problems
• Dedicated CI analytics dashboards
• Migration wizard for straightforward onboarding

➖ Cons

Linux-only focus excludes macOS and Windows workloads that RunsOn supports through AWS. Docker acceleration features require using Blacksmith-specific actions instead of standard tooling.

💲 Pricing

Usage-based pricing with 3,000 free minutes monthly. Base runner rate starts around $0.004/min for 2 vCPU x64 configurations, scaling up for larger machine shapes. Docker layer caching costs approximately $0.50/GB/month as an optional add-on. Additional features include static IP addresses and priority Slack support. Enterprise tier adds white-glove onboarding, uptime SLA guarantees, 24/7 support access, and CI optimization consulting.

11. runmyjob.io

runmyjob.io (also called Puzl Cloud) implements a load-based billing model where you pay only for CPU and memory resources your jobs actually consume, not for idle runner time. Each job executes in an isolated KVM-based microVM delivering near bare-metal performance.

🌟 Key features

• Load-based billing eliminating idle capacity costs
• Pay only for actual CPU and memory consumption
• Jobs with I/O wait time cost substantially less
• Resource limits up to 48 vCPUs and 96 GB RAM
• Managed service removing CloudFormation and EC2 maintenance
• KVM-based microVMs with near bare-metal performance
• EU-based infrastructure

➕ Pros

• Load-based billing charging for CPU-seconds and memory-seconds actually utilized
• KVM-based Spike Instances providing strong per-job isolation
• GitHub Actions and GitLab CI support
• Ephemeral filesystem per job defaulting to 150 GB
• Interactive Web Terminal for GitLab pipeline debugging
• Up to 48 vCPUs and 96 GB RAM per individual job
• Declarative API for programmatic runner management
• Job cache on Business tier and above
• Complete GitHub Actions environment compatibility
• EU-based infrastructure

➖ Cons

The load-based billing model requires understanding a different pricing structure than RunsOn's license plus AWS costs. Currently supports only Linux, with Windows and ARM support on the roadmap.

💲 Pricing

Free plan at €0 monthly includes 1 integration, 10 concurrent jobs, up to 12 vCPUs and 32 GB RAM per job, 400 vCPU-minutes and 800 GB-minutes included monthly, then €0.00002 per vCPU-second and €0.000001 per GB-second beyond limits. Business plan costs €50 monthly with 3 integrations, unlimited concurrent jobs, 48 vCPUs and 96 GB RAM per job, 2,000 vCPU-minutes and 4,000 GB-minutes included, plus 10 GB persistent storage and job caching. Enterprise tier provides custom resources, GPU support, dedicated nodes, and priority support.

12. DevZero

DevZero targets Kubernetes cost and resource optimization, treating GitHub Actions runners as one workload type among many. It connects to your clusters, analyzes utilization and spending patterns, then applies automated policy-based optimizations to right-size pods and nodes.

🌟 Key features

• Kubernetes cost and resource optimization platform
• Consolidates CI with application workloads under unified control
• Optimizes existing cluster capacity vs separate EC2 infrastructure
• GitHub Actions integration via Actions Runner Controller
• Automated rightsizing for pods and nodes
• Support for EKS, GKE, AKS, and on-premise clusters
• Pod live migration and spot instance management

➕ Pros

• Kubernetes cost and resource monitoring across clusters
• Savings insights with before and after projections
• Automated optimization through balance operator
• Pod live migration support for workload shifting
• Spot instance management and optimization
• Support for EKS, GKE, AKS, and on-premise clusters
• GitHub Actions integration via Actions Runner Controller
• Runner scale sets with DevZero-specific labels
• Audit logging and cost export capabilities

➖ Cons

DevZero is overkill if your sole concern is GitHub Actions minutes rather than broader Kubernetes optimization. You'll need to run operators in your clusters, adding operational complexity. Pricing ties to CPUs under management rather than actual CI usage.

💲 Pricing

Free tier includes up to 2 clusters for 45 days with monitoring and attribution. Scaling and Optimization plan costs $7 per CPU monthly, supporting up to 2,000 CPUs with workload optimization, spot management, and Slack support. Enterprise tier offers custom pricing with SSO, GPU optimization, and dedicated support channels.

Final thoughts

RunsOn works well for AWS-focused teams wanting infrastructure control and cost savings, but the AWS dependency and operational overhead don't fit every situation.

For multi-cloud support, Cirun runs on AWS, GCP, Azure, and on-premise, while Actuated lets you use your own bare metal. For managed services, Depot, BuildJet, and Ubicloud handle all infrastructure without CloudFormation or EC2.

If you need macOS or Windows, GetMac delivers M4 macOS runners, Depot and Namespace cover Windows, and Cirrus Runners provides GPU support. For better debugging, Blacksmith adds CI analytics and centralized logs, while Namespace provides SSH/VNC/RDP access.

Many teams combine solutions: RunsOn for high-volume Linux jobs, specialized runners for macOS or GPU workloads. Your choice depends on cloud strategy and how much infrastructure you want to manage.