# Alternatives to Xcode Cloud > 20 ways to run GitHub Actions jobs instead of Xcode Cloud, each at its vendor's list price checked 17 October 2026 and ranked by what a month of CI costs. Staying with Xcode Cloud is on the list too. At 5,000 minutes a month, the cheapest macOS option is one machine you already have on Buildhound Team at $24. Staying with Xcode Cloud costs $49.99 for macOS. ## A month of macOS CI At 5,000 minutes of macOS CI a month, one machine you already have on Buildhound Team costs least, $24; staying with Xcode Cloud costs $49.99. List prices for private repositories, before free minutes or credits on any side, cheapest first at 5,000 minutes. Public repositories run free on GitHub-hosted standard runners and on Buildhound. Runner sizes differ, as each note says, and a bigger runner may finish the same work in fewer minutes, so a row is the price of the same minutes, not of the same work. One machine runs these minutes a job at a time. | Option | 2,000 minutes | 5,000 minutes | 10,000 minutes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Buildhound Personal (one machine you already have, on a personal account) | $10 | $10 | $10 | | Buildhound Team (one machine you already have, in an organisation) | $24 | $24 | $24 | | [Xcode Cloud](https://developer.apple.com/xcode-cloud/get-started/), checked 16 October 2026, the option to stay (sold by the hour) | $49.99 | $49.99 | $99.99 | | [MacRun](https://macrun.dev/pricing), checked 16 October 2026 (sold by the Mac) | $139 | $139 | $139 | | [Manzanita](https://manzanita.run/), checked 16 October 2026 (sold by the runner) | $149 | $149 | $149 | | [Bitrise Build Hub](https://bitrise.io/pricing), checked 17 October 2026 (M4 Large, 5 CPU, 14 GB, sold in monthly tiers) | $90 | $180 | $300 | | [Namespace](https://namespace.so/pricing), checked 16 October 2026 (4 vCPU, list price) | $120 | $300 | $600 | | [GitHub-hosted runners](https://docs.github.com/en/billing/reference/actions-runner-pricing), checked 15 October 2026 (`macos-latest`, 3 vCPU, list price) | $124 | $310 | $620 | | [Blacksmith](https://www.blacksmith.sh/pricing), checked 16 October 2026 (6 vCPU, list price) | $160 | $400 | $800 | | [Depot](https://depot.dev/docs/github-actions/runner-types), checked 16 October 2026 (8 vCPU, list price, at least the $200 plan) | $200 | $400 | $800 | | [WarpBuild](https://www.warpbuild.com/pricing), checked 16 October 2026 (6 vCPU, list price) | $160 | $400 | $800 | | [Codemagic](https://codemagic.io/pricing/), checked 17 October 2026 (Mac mini M2, list price) | $190 | $475 | $950 | | [CircleCI](https://circleci.com/pricing/price-list/), checked 17 October 2026 (M4 Pro Medium, 6 CPU, 28 GB, list price, at least the $15 plan) | $240 | $600 | $1,200 | | [Buildkite](https://buildkite.com/pricing), checked 17 October 2026 (Hosted M4 Medium, 6 vCPU, list price, at least the $30 plan) | $240 | $600 | $1,200 | ## Stay with Xcode Cloud when - The app is the whole pipeline, from build to TestFlight and the App Store. - You would rather not look after GitHub Actions at all. - The 25 hours a month that come with the developer programme cover your builds. ## A machine you already have fits when - Your CI already lives in GitHub Actions. - The repository also has Linux jobs, a web app or tools Xcode Cloud does not run. - You want a flat price per Mac instead of compute hours. ## Questions ### What is the cheapest alternative to Xcode Cloud for macOS CI? At 5,000 minutes a month, one machine you already have on Buildhound Team at $24, then MacRun at $139, at list prices for private repositories checked 15 and 17 October 2026. ### Is Xcode Cloud cheaper than GitHub-hosted runners for macOS? Yes. At 5,000 minutes a month Xcode Cloud costs $49.99 and GitHub-hosted $310 at list price. ## Every alternative, by kind ### Machines you already have A flat price per machine, never per minute, with GitHub-hosted as the fallback. - [Buildhound](https://buildhound.sh): Clean runners on machines you already have. $24 a machine a month on Team. ### Hosted runners Someone else's machines. - [GitHub-hosted runners](https://buildhound.sh/compare/github-hosted.md): GitHub's own machines, billed by the minute. $0.062 a macOS minute. - [Blacksmith](https://buildhound.sh/compare/blacksmith.md): Hosted runners on bare metal, by the minute. $0.08 a macOS minute. - [Depot](https://buildhound.sh/compare/depot.md): Hosted runners on AWS, sold in monthly plans. $20 a month for 2,000 minutes. - [WarpBuild](https://buildhound.sh/compare/warpbuild.md): Hosted runners by the minute, or in your cloud. $0.004 a Linux minute. - [Namespace](https://buildhound.sh/compare/namespace.md): Hosted runners by the minute or a monthly plan. $0.06 a macOS minute, pay as you go. - [Ubicloud](https://buildhound.sh/compare/ubicloud.md): Low-cost hosted Linux runners, by the minute. $0.00125 a Linux minute. - [Vercel Daemons](https://buildhound.sh/compare/vercel-daemons.md): Runner containers on Vercel, in public beta. No price published in the beta. - [Bitrise Build Hub](https://buildhound.sh/compare/bitrise.md): Hosted Mac and Linux runners for GitHub Actions, in monthly tiers. $15 a month and up. ### Runners in your own cloud Your cloud account's machines, some with a licence or a platform fee. - [RunsOn](https://buildhound.sh/compare/runs-on.md): Runners in your own AWS account, for a yearly licence. €300 a year and up, plus your AWS bill. - [Cirun](https://buildhound.sh/compare/cirun.md): Runners in your own cloud, for a platform fee. $29 a month for 3 private repositories. - [AWS CodeBuild](https://buildhound.sh/compare/aws-codebuild.md): GitHub Actions runners in your AWS account, by the build minute. $0.005 a Linux Small build minute. ### macOS only Apple's own CI, and Macs rented by the month. - [Manzanita](https://buildhound.sh/compare/manzanita.md): macOS runners rented by the month, a VM per job. $149 a runner a month. - [MacRun](https://buildhound.sh/compare/macrun.md): A whole Mac mini rented by the month. $139 a Mac a month. ### Other CI services A different CI system with its own configuration, not GitHub Actions. - [Codemagic](https://buildhound.sh/compare/codemagic.md): Mobile CI with its own workflow file, by the minute or a yearly plan. $0.095 a Mac mini M2 minute. - [CircleCI](https://buildhound.sh/compare/circleci.md): Another CI service, billed in credits for each minute. $0.12 an M4 Pro Medium minute. - [Buildkite](https://buildhound.sh/compare/buildkite.md): Pipelines on your own agents or its hosted machines. $0.12 a hosted M4 Medium minute. ### Your own machines Other ways to run jobs on hardware you have. - [ushr](https://buildhound.sh/compare/ushr.md): Open-source runners on your own machines, by host. Free for one host, then $49 for 3. - [Actions Runner Controller](https://buildhound.sh/compare/actions-runner-controller.md): GitHub's Kubernetes operator for self-hosted runners, free. Free software, on a cluster you run. - [GitHub's own self-hosted runner](https://buildhound.sh/docs/why-not-a-plain-runner.md): GitHub's free runner, registered and kept up by hand. $0, and your time. Buildhound has no referral agreement with any vendor on this page. Source: https://buildhound.sh/alternatives/xcode-cloud.