Six Blacksmith alternatives for GitHub Actions, ranked by Linux rate at 2 vCPU

A comparison of six vendors that can replace Blacksmith as a GitHub Actions runner, ranked by their published Linux rate for 2 vCPU as of September 20, 2026. Blacksmith's Ubuntu x64 rate of $0.004 per minute sits mid-table, while its ARM rate of $0.0025 ranks joint third. The article notes Blacksmith's strength in single-core performance and its 3,000 free monthly minutes, but flags add-on caching fees and unpublished billing granularity as reasons teams switch. Ubicloud, Namespace, Latchkey, and Depot are each highlighted for a distinct advantage, such as lower rates, more cores per dollar, reduced re-run waste, or included Docker caching. The comparison covers costs for 10,000 Linux minutes, where Blacksmith x64 comes to $28 per month against $42 for GitHub-hosted Team.
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