# Buildhound vs AWS CodeBuild

> AWS CodeBuild can run GitHub Actions jobs as runners in your own AWS account, one build per job, billed by the build minute. Buildhound runs them on machines you already have, for a flat price per machine.

## A month of Linux CI

List prices, before free minutes or credits on any side, cheapest first at 5,000 minutes. One machine runs these minutes a job at a time; more jobs at once need more machines, each counted only on days it runs a job.

| Option | 2,000 minutes | 5,000 minutes | 10,000 minutes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Buildhound Personal (one machine you already have) | $10 | $10 | $10 |
| Buildhound Team (one machine you already have) | $24 | $24 | $24 |
| [AWS CodeBuild](https://aws.amazon.com/codebuild/pricing/), checked 17 October 2026 (Linux Small, 2 vCPU, 4 GiB, list price) | $10 | $25 | $50 |
| [GitHub-hosted](https://docs.github.com/en/billing/reference/actions-runner-pricing), checked 15 October 2026 (`ubuntu-latest`, list price) | $12 | $30 | $60 |

- At 2,000 minutes: AWS CodeBuild costs less here, $10 against $24 for one machine on Team. One machine pays off from about 4,800 minutes a month.
- At 5,000 minutes: One machine you already have costs $24 a month on Team. AWS CodeBuild costs $25, and GitHub-hosted $30.
- At 10,000 minutes: One machine you already have costs $24 a month on Team. AWS CodeBuild costs $50, and GitHub-hosted $60.

## Choose AWS CodeBuild when

- Your team already runs on AWS and wants CI on its bill.
- You want Linux, Arm, Windows or GPU runners of many sizes there.
- Your jobs need to reach resources inside your AWS account.

## Choose Buildhound when

- Your CI includes macOS, which CodeBuild sells only as reserved Macs with a 24-hour minimum.
- You would rather use machines you already have than pay for build minutes.
- You want GitHub-hosted kept as the fallback when no machine can take a job.

## Side by side

AWS CodeBuild's side is from its own pages ([source](https://aws.amazon.com/codebuild/pricing/)), checked 17 October 2026.

### Price

| | Buildhound | AWS CodeBuild |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How it is priced | Flat, per machine. $10 a machine a month on a personal account, $24 in an organisation, counted only on days it runs a job. Public repositories free. | By the build minute. On your AWS bill, with 100 free build minutes a month on the smallest size. |
| macOS | Your Mac. A fresh macOS VM per job; Apple allows two per Mac. | Reserved Macs only. M2 fleets with a 24-hour minimum charge. |
| Linux | Your Mac or Linux box. A fresh Linux VM per job, arm64 on a Mac. | $0.005 a minute. Linux Small, 2 vCPU, 4 GiB; Arm sizes too. |
| Windows | Not yet. Windows jobs stay on GitHub-hosted. | Windows Server. Medium and larger, on your AWS bill. |

### Where it runs

| | Buildhound | AWS CodeBuild |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Machines | Yours. A spare Mac, a Linux box, or a laptop while plugged in and not in use. | Your AWS account. |
| Each job | A fresh VM, destroyed after. It reaches the internet and never your network. | An ephemeral runner. One CodeBuild build per job, ended when the job completes. |
| Secrets | On your hardware. Only on a machine a person marked Trusted. | In your AWS account. |

### When things change

| | Buildhound | AWS CodeBuild |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Setup | One prompt to your coding agent. Or two commands by hand. | A CodeBuild runner project. With a webhook, then a codebuild- label in `runs-on`. |

## One line in runs-on

AWS CodeBuild:

```yaml
runs-on: codebuild-<project>-${{ github.run_id }}-${{ github.run_attempt }}
```

Buildhound, on your machine while one can take the job and on GitHub-hosted when none can:

```yaml
runs-on: ${{ vars.BUILDHOUND_LINUX || 'ubuntu-latest' }}
```

Buildhound has no referral agreement with AWS CodeBuild. Source: https://buildhound.sh/compare/aws-codebuild.