BuildJet 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 description of the features of BuildJet, and see how it compares to WarpBuild.
BuildJet Features
x86-64 and arm64 Runners
BuildJet supports both x86-64 and arm64 architectures. This allows you to build your projects on both platforms, without emulation. This can speed up your builds 2-5x.
Note
WarpBuild Advantage: WarpBuild supports x86-64 and arm64 instances, that are more powerful for faster raw performance.
Concurrency
BuildJet supports up to 64 concurrent x86-64 vCPUs and 32 concurrent arm64 vCPUs for builds. This can be increased at an additional cost of $300/month for 100vCPU.
Note
WarpBuild Advantage: WarpBuild supports unlimited concurrency at no additional cost out of the box for x86-64 and arm64 instances.
OS and Images
BuildJet supports Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 20.04, compatible with Github actions runner images, with some deviations. Custom base images are available for large customers at an additional cost.
Note
WarpBuild Advantage: WarpBuild supports the latest 24.04 ubuntu image as well, and is 100% compatible with Github actions runner images. Users can use the app to setup any number of custom base images directly.
WarpBuild also supports MacOS runners powered by M2 Pros for blazing fast MacOS builds on MacOS 13 and 14.
Caching
BuildJet provides 20GB of cache per repo, free. Any additional usage evicts the oldest cache entries. Users migrating away from BuildJet have reported that the cache performance was slow.
Note
WarpBuild Advantage: WarpBuild provides unlimited cache storage with a 7-day retention policy from last access. The cache performance is blazing fast even for workflows having 100+ concurrent jobs.
This is a major advantage for larger customers, especially when there are large artifacts, monorepos, or container builds with large layers.
WarpBuild supports container large layer caching, which BuildJet does not support.
Hosting Provider
BuildJet runners are hosted on Hetzner, with most of the compute in the EU region.
Note
WarpBuild Advantage: WarpBuild runs compute on AWS, GCP, and Azure and users can choose which region to run their builds in. This has enormous advantages for customers to minimize inter-region data transfer costs and improve performance.
Security
BuildJet runners are KVM-based ephemeral VMs, running on bare-metal. This is potentially subject to noisy neighbors and performance degradation.
Note
WarpBuild Advantage: WarpBuild runners are ephemeral VMs as well, with the virtualization and isolation handled by the underlying cloud provider (AWS, GCP, Azure) and strong performance guarantees. This allows WarpBuild to be more secure and compliant with the most stringent security standards.
Enterprise Compliance
BuildJet is not SOC2 compliant. A Security Assessment Questionnaire is available for a $500 fee.
Note
WarpBuild Advantage: WarpBuild is in the process of getting SOC2 Type2 compliance certification. The documentation will be available for free, on request.
Runner Pricing
BuildJet's pricing is 50% of the cost of a Github Actions runner for x86-64. The arm64 runners are less powerful (about 40% the memory per vCPU) compared to Github hosted runners and are 20% cheaper.
Note
WarpBuild Advantage: WarpBuild x86-64 runners are the same price as BuildJet. The arm64 runners are more powerful on single-core and multi-core performance compared to Github hosted runners while being 40% cheaper.
Missing Features
BuildJet is missing a lot of features essential for robust CI. These features are usually deal breakers for large and fast growing teams. WarpBuild supports all of these features.
Snapshots
WarpBuild supports saving and restoring state from a runner instance for persistence and incremental builds is essential for large codebases. WarpBuild users see a 10x improvement in build times, due to this feature. Snapshots are very useful because the time in a CI workflow spent installing dependencies is eliminated and snapshots enable incremental builds.
Spot Instances
WarpBuild has multiple runner instance configurations including spot instances, which are ideal for low-cost and short-duration workflows.
Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC)
WarpBuild supports BYOC, with a cloud-hosted control plane and the runners spawned in the user's cloud account. This provides the best of both worlds with maximum flexibility and zero management overhead. This is a major advantage for larger customers and is 10x cheaper than BuildJet. Users can leverage preferential pricing agreements with their cloud providers for even more value.
Regions
WarpBuild supports over 29 regions globally. This is huge for minimizing data transfer costs and improving performance. It is essential for some customers with sensitive workloads and data residency regulations.
Static IPs
WarpBuild supports static IPs for the runner instances, required for allowlisting in sensitive workflows.
Disk Configurations
WarpBuild supports configurable disk sizes, iops, and throughput. This is useful for ML/AI workloads, large container builds, monorepos, game developers, and mobile app development.
Dashboard and Analytics
WarpBuild supports a rich dashboard for runners, cache usage, and builds. There are also analytics and insights for the entire repository, including build times, build failure rates, runtime trends, activity heatmaps and more.
Roadmap and Execution
BuildJet's product has remained unchanged for >1.5 years, with no features or updates added. In contrast, WarpBuild is already the most capable product in this space and has been adding new features and capabilities to its platform rapidly since launch less than a year ago.
Conclusion
BuildJet is a basic provider of Github Actions runners, but it is missing a lot of features essential for a robust CI/CD platform. BuildJet has effectively been in maintenance mode for the last ~1.5 years. Large or fast growing teams use WarpBuild for their CI/CD needs for price, performance, and features.
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.
Stay tuned for more updates and features coming soon. Happy building!
For detailed technical documentation, visit WarpBuild Docs. Contact us at [email protected].