[GitHub](/entry/github-vs-gitlab-vs-bitbucket-the-per-seat-number-that-hides-the-real-cost)-hosted Actions runners are slow and, after 2026's pricing changes, not cheap. A cottage industry of drop-in replacements now offers faster machines at lower per-minute rates — you point your workflow at their runners and keep everything else.
| Model | Per-minute (2 vCPU) | Base | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namespace | prepaid credits or PAYG | ~$0.0015–0.002/min | Team $100/mo (100k min + 1k Docker builds) |
| Blacksmith | PAYG, 3,000 free min/mo | $0.004/min | no fixed fee; Docker layer cache ~$0.50/GB/mo |
| Depot | plan-based | ~$0.004/min overage | Developer $20/mo; Startup $200/mo |
Namespace tends to be the cheapest per minute, especially on prepaid credits (~$0.0015/min), and its rates scale cleanly up to 32-vCPU machines (~$0.048/min). Good if raw cost-per-minute is the goal and you can commit to prepaid.
Blacksmith has the simplest on-ramp: 3,000 free minutes a month, no base fee, $0.004/min after that. Its pitch beyond speed is the managed [Docker](/entry/docker-desktop-vs-podman-vs-rancher-desktop-is-the-docker-tax-worth-paying-2026) layer cache (billed separately at ~$0.50/GB/month), which makes container builds dramatically faster.
Depot is more than a runner — it started as a remote Docker build service (fast multi-platform image builds with a shared cache) and added Actions runners and a JavaScript/Rust cache. Plans are $20/month (Developer) and $200/month (Startup, unlimited users), with generous included minutes and cheap overage. Pick it if you want faster Docker builds and faster CI from one vendor.
Cheapest per minute, willing to prepay: Namespace. Simplest start with a strong Docker cache: Blacksmith. Want fast container builds bundled with your CI runners: Depot.