Blacksmith
80/100A quick, cheap runner swap for GitHub Actions with good caching; every change still runs every test.
Who it suits
GitHub Actions teams that want faster, cheaper machines across Linux, Windows and macOS without touching their workflows.
Who should avoid it
You are not on GitHub Actions, or your wait is dominated by running the whole suite on every change.
| Criterion (weight) | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pipeline speed (20%) | ●●●●● | Faster hardware than GitHub's standard runners and colocated caches; Blacksmith states 2x faster, its own estimate. |
| Caching (10%) | ●●●●● | Colocated cache with faster downloads, plus Docker layer caching and sticky disks at $0.50/GB a month each. |
| Parallelism (10%) | ●●●●● | Larger machines and your own matrix; it does not split tests for you. |
| Hosting model (10%) | ●●●●● | Managed Linux x64 and Arm, Windows and macOS. No self-hosted option on the pricing page. |
| Pricing transparency (10%) | ●●●●● | Published per-minute rates per OS and size, free monthly minutes, add-ons priced on the page. |
| Migration effort (15%) | ●●●●● | Change the runs-on label per job; change it back to leave. |
| Ecosystem (10%) | ●●●●● | Keeps the GitHub Actions marketplace; its own add-ons are few. |
| Fit for agent-written changes (15%) | ●●●●● | Faster and cheaper per minute, but every agent-written change still pays for the whole suite. |
Strengths
- Swap the runs-on label to move a job; workflows stay as they are
- Linux x64 and Arm, Windows and macOS runners on one bill
- Docker layer caching and sticky disks as paid add-ons; cache downloads it says are 4x faster
- 3,000 free minutes a month and published per-minute rates
Limits
- A runner layer, not a CI/CD platform: needs GitHub Actions
- Runs every test on every change; speed comes from hardware and caching
- Its "2x faster" and "67% savings" figures are its own estimates against GitHub's runners
- Managed only; no self-hosted option is listed on its pricing page
Cost
Ubuntu x64 from $0.004 a minute (2 vCPU), Arm $0.0025, Windows $0.008, macOS M4 $0.08; 3,000 free minutes a month; add-ons extra. As published on Blacksmith’s pricing page; check there before you budget.
Verdict
Blacksmith is the simplest way to put GitHub Actions jobs on faster, cheaper machines, and the only runner swap here that also covers Windows and macOS in the same price list. Migration is a label change and pricing is plain per-minute. It ranks below Graphide CI because it makes each run faster without making it smaller: every change still runs the full suite, so as agents push more changes your minutes and queue grow with them. Treat its "2x faster" as its estimate and measure against your own baseline.