GitHub Actions (hosted runners) vs Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners)
Default scenario: At 50,000 Linux build minutes / month, estimated bills are $720/yr for Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners) and $2,520/yr for GitHub Actions (hosted runners). That’s a $1,800 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
- Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners): $720/yr estimated
Estimated costs at different usage levels
| Usage | GitHub Actions (hosted runners) | Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners) |
|---|---|---|
| Small team5,000 Linux build minutes / month | $216/yrFree · $0.006/min | $45/yr$0.00125/min |
| Scale-up50,000 Linux build minutes / month | $2,520/yrEnterprise Cloud (10 seats) · $0.006/min | $720/yr$0.00125/min |
| Monorepo500,000 Linux build minutes / month | $34,920/yrEnterprise Cloud (10 seats) · $0.006/min | $7,470/yr$0.00125/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) | Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | GitHub's built-in CI/CD with GitHub-hosted runners; minutes included per plan, then billed per minute by runner size. | Open-source cloud running managed GitHub Actions runners on bare metal in Germany, at a fraction of GitHub's per-minute price. |
| 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. | $2.50/month credit (2,000 standard or 1,250 premium 2 vCPU runner minutes). |
| Open source | No | Yes · self-hostable |
| Source last checked | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-08 |
| Pricing evidence | Modeled rates | Published rates |
Which should you choose?
Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners) 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 Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners) 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
- you want open-source software you can run yourself
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
Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners) pricing
Calculated from the listed vendor rates; exclusions still apply.
| Build minute |
|---|
| $0.00125 |
ubicloud-standard-2 (x64, 2 vCPU, 8 GB) $0.00125/min; 4 vCPU $0.0025, 8 vCPU $0.005, 16 vCPU $0.01, 30 vCPU $0.01875. Premium runners (Ryzen CPUs) $0.002/min at 2 vCPU. Every account gets a $2.50 monthly credit, which the docs describe as 1,250 minutes; that is the premium rate (premium is the default for new accounts), and at the standard rate used here it covers 2,000. The marketing page shows lower "from" rates ($0.0010-0.0012/min) than the docs table used here. Runners run in Germany (Hetzner data centres); customer personal data is stored in the EEA. DPA offered via the terms. Ubicloud, Inc.
Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners) plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
Frequently asked questions
Is GitHub Actions (hosted runners) cheaper than Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners)?
Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners) 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 $720/yr for Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners). Estimates use list prices and leave out features, support and operating costs.
Do GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners) offer EU data residency?
Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners) 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 Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners) 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. Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners): $2.50/month credit (2,000 standard or 1,250 premium 2 vCPU runner minutes).
Where are GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners) based?
GitHub Actions (hosted runners) is headquartered in the United States and owned by Microsoft (the United States). Ubicloud (GitHub Actions runners) is headquartered in the United States.