GitHub Actions (hosted runners) vs Blacksmith
Default scenario: At 50,000 Linux build minutes / month, estimated bills are $2,256/yr for Blacksmith and $2,520/yr for GitHub Actions (hosted runners). That’s a $264 difference before accounting for different features or operating costs.
The services may differ in features, performance, support and the work you need to do yourself. Read the notes and test what matters to your setup.
Your selected usage
50,000 Linux build minutes / month
- GitHub Actions (hosted runners): $2,520/yr estimated
- Blacksmith: $2,256/yr estimated
Estimated costs at different usage levels
| Usage | GitHub Actions (hosted runners) | Blacksmith |
|---|---|---|
| Small team5,000 Linux build minutes / month | $216/yrFree · $0.006/min | $96/yr$0.004/min |
| Scale-up50,000 Linux build minutes / month | $2,520/yrEnterprise Cloud (10 seats) · $0.006/min | $2,256/yr$0.004/min |
| Monorepo500,000 Linux build minutes / month | $34,920/yrEnterprise Cloud (10 seats) · $0.006/min | $23,856/yr$0.004/min |
Linux x64, 2 vCPU equivalent. Faster runners finish jobs sooner, so cost per build can beat cost per minute. Try your own numbers against all ci runners providers.
Side by side
| GitHub Actions (hosted runners) | Blacksmith | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | GitHub's built-in CI/CD with GitHub-hosted runners; minutes included per plan, then billed per minute by runner size. | Drop-in GitHub Actions runners on bare-metal gaming CPUs; per-minute billing with 3,000 free minutes a month. |
| Headquarters | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Parent jurisdiction | 🇺🇸 United States (Microsoft) | 🇺🇸 United States |
| EU self-serve plan | No / not documented | Available; check eligible plans and regions |
| GDPR DPA | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | payg | payg |
| Free tier | Standard hosted runners are free for public repositories; private repos get 2,000 min/month on Free. | 3,000 minutes/month. |
| Open source | No | No |
| Source last checked | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-06 |
| Pricing evidence | Modeled rates | Published rates |
Which should you choose?
Blacksmith has the lower estimated bill at every usage level we tested, from 5,000 Linux build minutes / month to 5,000,000 Linux build minutes / month.
Choose GitHub Actions (hosted runners) if…
Our data shows no advantage on price, residency, jurisdiction or licensing. Compare features in the notes below.
Choose Blacksmith if…
- it has the lower estimated bill at Small team, Scale-up and Monorepo usage
- you need EU data residency on a self-serve plan
Based on estimated list-price bills and the facts above. Features, performance and support aren’t scored.
GitHub Actions (hosted runners) pricing
Published rates converted using workload assumptions. Read the notes. Assumes ten platform seats. Existing seats are not an incremental runner cost; included minutes depend on the plan.
| Plan | Base fee / month | Build minute |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0.006 |
| Team (10 seats) | $40 | $0.006 |
| Enterprise Cloud (10 seats) | $210 | $0.006 |
Private repositories, standard Linux 2-core x64 runner: $0.006/min (1-core $0.002, 2-core arm64 $0.005, larger x64 runners $0.012-$0.252/min, Windows 2-core $0.010, macOS $0.062). Included minutes per month: Free 2,000, Pro/Team 3,000, Enterprise Cloud 50,000 (docs.github.com/en/billing/concepts/product-billing/ github-actions). Seat prices from github.com/pricing: Team $4/user/month, Enterprise $21/user/month; plans modelled with an assumed 10 seats, though seats are bought for the repo platform, not for CI. Standard hosted runners are free for public repositories, and self-hosted runners are not charged. EU data residency (GHE.com) is only for Enterprise Cloud via sales.
GitHub Actions (hosted runners) plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
Blacksmith pricing
Calculated from the listed vendor rates; exclusions still apply.
| Build minute |
|---|
| $0.004 |
Ubuntu x64 2 vCPU (8 GB) runner $0.004/min; ARM $0.0025/min; larger sizes scale per vCPU. 3,000 free minutes per month. No seat or platform fee; Docker layer caching, sticky disks and static IPs are optional add-ons. Regions: us-east (Ashburn), us-west (Phoenix), eu-west (Amsterdam), eu-central (Frankfurt); organisations are pinned to one region and moved to an EU region on request to support. Blacksmith Software, Inc.; DPA at docs.blacksmith.sh/about/data-processing-addendum.
Blacksmith plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
Frequently asked questions
Is GitHub Actions (hosted runners) cheaper than Blacksmith?
Blacksmith has the lower estimated bill at every usage level we tested, from 5,000 Linux build minutes / month to 5,000,000 Linux build minutes / month. At 50,000 Linux build minutes / month, the estimates are $2,520/yr for GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and $2,256/yr for Blacksmith. Estimates use list prices and leave out features, support and operating costs.
Do GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and Blacksmith offer EU data residency?
Blacksmith offers EU data residency on a self-serve plan. GitHub Actions (hosted runners) doesn’t document it on a self-serve plan.
Do GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and Blacksmith have a free tier or trial?
GitHub Actions (hosted runners): Standard hosted runners are free for public repositories; private repos get 2,000 min/month on Free. Blacksmith: 3,000 minutes/month.
Where are GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and Blacksmith based?
GitHub Actions (hosted runners) is headquartered in the United States and owned by Microsoft (the United States). Blacksmith is headquartered in the United States.