Blacksmith provides Github Actions runners that you can start using by just changing one line in the Github actions workflow file. This post provides a detailed comparison between Blacksmith and WarpBuild to help you make an informed decision.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Blacksmith | WarpBuild | WarpBuild Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPUs | Server class (AMD EPYC, ARM Ampere) | x86-64 (Desktop Class Ryzen 7950X3D), arm64 (Graviton 4) | arm64: 40% more powerful but ~20% more expensive than Blacksmith; x86-64: same performance; Better networking, more disk options |
| Architecture | x86-64, arm64 | x86-64, arm64 | arm64: 40% more powerful but ~20% more expensive than Blacksmith; x86-64: same performance; Better networking, more disk options |
| Concurrency | Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| OS Support | Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 only | Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04, MacOS 13/14/15 with M4 Pro, Windows Server 2022 | Latest Linux, MacOS, Windows, custom images through app |
| Caching | 25GB per repo | Unlimited; 7-day retention; Scales to 100+ jobs with no throttling | Unlimited storage, better scaling, container layer caching |
| Infrastructure | EU and US | Cloud (EU), BYOC (AWS, GCP, Azure any region) | Multiple providers/regions, reduced data transfer costs |
| Sticky Disks | Available | Not available | Cache stored on sticky disks is instantly available to runners, but concurrency is limited |
| Remote Docker Builder | Only x86-64 | x86-64 and arm64 multi-arch builds | Multi arch support for fast, native builds. |
| SSO support | Not available | SSO supported | SSO supported for Microsoft Entra ID, Google, Okta, Auth0, JumpCloud etc. |
| Static IPs | Available as paid feature | Available at no cost (BYOC only) | |
| Pricing | 50% of GitHub cost | x86-64: Same as Blacksmith; arm64: 40% more powerful, 20% more expensive | |
| Snapshots | Not available | Available | Save and restore runner state for persistence and incremental builds. Provides 10x improvement in build times by eliminating dependency installation time. |
| Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC) | Not available | Available | Cloud-hosted control plane with runners in user's cloud account. Provides maximum flexibility, zero management overhead, and is 10x cheaper than Blacksmith. Users can leverage preferential pricing with their cloud providers. |
| Compliance | SOC2 Type2 | SOC2 Type2 | |
| Global Regions | Limited to EU and US | Cloud (EU), Support for 29+ regions globally (BYOC) | Minimizes data transfer costs, improves performance, and supports data residency regulations essential for sensitive workloads. |
| Configurable Disks | Fixed 80-160GB | Configurable sizes, IOPS, and throughput | Optimized for ML/AI workloads, large container builds, monorepos, game and mobile app development. |
| Advanced Dashboard | Richer dashboard | Rich dashboard | Blacksmith has more insights on metrics like cost saved, and analytics on cache usage. |
| Security | Bot requires read-write access to code and build logs. | Bot requires minimal permissions and no code or build logs access. | This is crucial for Enterprises and security conscious teams. |
Conclusion
Blacksmith provides fast Github Actions runners. WarpBuild provides equally fast x86-64 runners, and even faster arm64 runners.
For enterprises, WarpBuild delivers 10x faster builds with SSO, snapshots, multi-arch docker builder cloud. WarpBuild also provides BYOC for improved security and more customization at a fraction of the cost (~5x cheaper compared to Blacksmith).
Get Started Today
WarpBuild is committed to providing you with the tools you need to build faster, smarter, and more cost-effectively. Join us in this new era of development.
For detailed technical documentation, visit WarpBuild Docs. For any errors in this post, please contact us at [email protected].