# Buildhound vs Xcode Cloud

> Xcode Cloud is Apple's own CI, built into Xcode and App Store Connect and sold in compute hours. Buildhound runs your GitHub Actions workflows on a Mac you already have, for a flat price per machine.

## A month of macOS 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 |
| [Xcode Cloud](https://developer.apple.com/xcode-cloud/get-started/), checked 16 October 2026 (sold by the hour) | $49.99 | $49.99 | $99.99 |
| [GitHub-hosted](https://docs.github.com/en/billing/reference/actions-runner-pricing), checked 15 October 2026 (`macos-latest`, list price) | $124 | $310 | $620 |

- At 2,000 minutes: One Mac you already have costs $24 a month on Team. Xcode Cloud costs $49.99, and GitHub-hosted $124.
- At 5,000 minutes: One Mac you already have costs $24 a month on Team. Xcode Cloud costs $49.99, and GitHub-hosted $310.
- At 10,000 minutes: One Mac you already have costs $24 a month on Team. Xcode Cloud costs $99.99, and GitHub-hosted $620.

## Choose 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.

## Choose Buildhound 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.

## Side by side

Xcode Cloud's side is from its own pages ([source](https://developer.apple.com/xcode-cloud/get-started/)), checked 16 October 2026.

### Price

| | Buildhound | Xcode Cloud |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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. | Compute hours a month. 25 come with the Apple Developer Program, then 100 for $49.99, 250 for $99.99, 1,000 for $399.99, 10,000 for $3999.99. |
| macOS | Your Mac. A fresh macOS VM per job; Apple allows two per Mac. | Apple platforms. Builds, tests and ships apps on the Xcode and macOS versions you pick. |
| Linux | Your Mac or Linux box. A fresh Linux VM per job, arm64 on a Mac. | Not offered. |
| Windows | Not yet. Windows jobs stay on GitHub-hosted. | Not offered. |

### Where it runs

| | Buildhound | Xcode Cloud |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Machines | Yours. A spare Mac, a Linux box, or a laptop while plugged in and not in use. | Apple's machines. |
| Each job | A fresh VM, destroyed after. It reaches the internet and never your network. | A temporary build environment. For each build. |
| Secrets | On your hardware. Only on a machine a person marked Trusted. | On Apple's machines. |

### When things change

| | Buildhound | Xcode Cloud |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Setup | One prompt to your coding agent. Or two commands by hand. | Workflows in Xcode. Or App Store Connect, not GitHub Actions; it connects to GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket. |

## One line in runs-on

Xcode Cloud workflows live in Xcode and App Store Connect, not in runs-on. Buildhound, on your machine while one can take the job and on GitHub-hosted when none can:

```yaml
runs-on: ${{ vars.BUILDHOUND_MACOS || 'macos-latest' }}
```

Buildhound has no referral agreement with Xcode Cloud. Source: https://buildhound.sh/compare/xcode-cloud.