Tenki vs BuildJet
How Tenki and BuildJet compare on price, performance, free tier, hardware, and migration.
Tenki vs BuildJet: at a glance
Tenki and BuildJet are both third-party GitHub Actions runner providers that market themselves as faster and cheaper than GitHub-hosted runners. Tenki operates its own bare-metal x64 and Apple Silicon M4 Pro compute pool, runs every job inside an ephemeral microVM, and bundles an AI code reviewer product. BuildJet runs on Hetzner/OVH hardware and focuses exclusively on Linux GitHub Actions runners with a simple, low-cost pricing model.
How we compared
- Sources: Tenki numbers come from this site's product, pricing, and docs pages. BuildJet numbers come from buildjet.com/for-github-actions and BuildJet's public documentation, captured on the "Last updated" date shown above the table of contents.
- Pricing: Tenki's $0.004/min standard rate (a 2 vCPU runner at $0.002 per core/minute) comes from this site's pricing and docs pages. Where BuildJet's pricing depends on profile or plan tier, we link to BuildJet's pricing page rather than restating numbers that may differ.
- Hardware: BuildJet is documented as Linux-only on Hetzner/OVH infrastructure. The macOS entry in the table reflects that explicit documentation (not an inferred gap).
- Performance: this page does not run head-to-head perf benchmarks. Tenki's runner numbers are documented separately in the runner benchmarks with full methodology (hardware, baseline, cache state, sample size). BuildJet's performance claims are restated from BuildJet's marketing copy where cited.
- Updates: re-verified each quarter and on every update to this page. Changes are visible via the
dateModifiedshown above and in this repository's git history.
Quick comparison
| Dimension | Tenki | BuildJet |
|---|---|---|
| Core product | Runners + AI code reviewer | GitHub Actions runners |
| Hardware | Bare-metal x64 and Apple Silicon M4 Pro | Hetzner / OVH bare-metal (primarily Linux) |
| Standard runner price | $0.004/min (2 vCPU / 4 GB Linux) | See buildjet.com/for-github-actions |
| Free tier | $10 in free credit per month, renewed monthly | See BuildJet's current free-tier terms |
| macOS runners | Apple M4 Pro bare-metal | Linux-only |
| Isolation | Ephemeral microVM per job | VM-level isolation |
| AI code review | Included (Tenki Code Reviewer, $1.00 per review) | Not offered |
| Migration effort | One-line runs-on change | One-line runs-on change |
When to choose Tenki
- You need a full drop-in replacement for GitHub-hosted runners across Linux and macOS.
- Apple M4 Pro macOS runners matter for your iOS or cross-platform CI.
- You want microVM-level isolation between jobs for supply-chain safety.
- You want AI pull-request review from the same vendor.
- You value $10 in free credit every month for evaluation.
When to choose BuildJet
- Your CI is Linux-only and extreme price sensitivity matters more than hardware variety.
- You prefer Hetzner/OVH infrastructure for geographic or regulatory reasons.
- You don't need macOS or ancillary products.
Migration
Migrating from BuildJet to Tenki is a single-line change:
jobs:
build:
runs-on: tenki-standard-medium-4c-8g # was: buildjet-2vcpu-ubuntu-2204See the Runners Quickstart for full setup including the two-click Migration Wizard.
FAQ
Is Tenki or BuildJet cheaper?
At the 2 vCPU / 4 GB Linux profile, Tenki is $0.004 per minute. BuildJet publishes competitive per-minute rates on its site, compare the specific profile you run. Differences at other profiles vary by vendor.
Does Tenki support macOS runners?
Yes. Tenki operates Apple M4 Pro macOS bare-metal runners in addition to Linux. BuildJet is primarily Linux-focused.
How does job isolation differ?
Tenki runs each job in an ephemeral microVM that is destroyed after completion, strong isolation, no persistent state, no noisy-neighbor interference. BuildJet uses VM-level isolation.
Does Tenki offer cached builds?
Yes, Tenki operates a Tenki Cache service for GitHub Actions cache acceleration.