Runloft vs GitHub-hosted runners
GitHub-hosted runners need no setup and are where most workflows start. Runloft keeps the same one-job-per-VM model at half the Linux price, and bills seconds instead of rounding every job up to a minute.
| Feature | GitHub-hosted runners | Runloft |
|---|---|---|
| Linux, 2 vCPU, per minute | $0.006 | $0.003 |
| Windows, 2 vCPU, per minute | $0.01 | $0.007 (by request) |
| macOS, per minute | $0.062 | $0.06 (by request) |
| Billing granularity | Each job rounded up to the minute | Per second, no minimum |
| Fresh VM for every job | Yes | Yes |
| Personal accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Free usage | Included minutes depend on your GitHub plan | 3,000 Linux minutes per month |
| Setup | None | Install a GitHub App, change runs-on |
GitHub prices from GitHub’s public Actions pricing, October 2026. Runloft prices are on the pricing page.
When GitHub-hosted runners is the better fit
- Your usage fits inside the minutes included with your GitHub plan.
- You need GitHub features tied to their larger runners, such as Azure private networking or static IP ranges.
- You want zero vendors beyond GitHub.
When Runloft is
- You run many short jobs, where rounding each one up to a minute dominates the bill.
- Agents and review bots run on every pull request and comment, and the minutes add up.
- You want 2 and 4 vCPU Linux at a linear per-vCPU price; larger x64 and arm64 sizes are open on request.
Trying it takes one line
Install the GitHub App on one repository and change one job. If it is not for you, change the line back; there is nothing else to undo.
All comparisons. Others: Blacksmith, Depot, Ubicloud, WarpBuild, Namespace, RunsOn
.github/workflows/ci.yml
jobs:
build:
- runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+ runs-on: runloft-ubuntu-24.04