CRACI vs WarpBuild

The short answer

WarpBuild is a GitHub Actions runner provider. It offers hosted runners on Linux, Windows and macOS, a fast cache, snapshot runners, remote Docker builders, and a bring-your-own-cloud (BYOC) option that runs the same runners in your AWS, GCP or Azure account. If you want the widest platform coverage from one runner vendor, or runners inside your own cloud, WarpBuild is a strong option.

CRACI is a GitHub Actions-compatible runner built around supply chain security: every job produces an SBOM of what it fetched and runs under an egress policy. WarpBuild competes on speed, price and where the runner lives; CRACI on what the runner records and controls. Both replace the GitHub-hosted runner, so you choose one.

At a glance

What WarpBuild does well

• Platforms and sizes. Linux runners on x86-64 (Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 and 26.04) and arm64 (24.04 and 26.04) from 2 vCPUs and 8 GB of RAM up to 32 vCPUs and 128 GB, Windows Server 2022 and 2025 runners from 4 vCPUs, macOS 14, 15 and 26 on Apple M4 Pro, and Linux arm64 runners on Apple Silicon. Nested virtualization is available on x86-64 Linux.
• Isolation. Every runner is an ephemeral virtual machine, created for the job and destroyed afterwards, with its own encrypted storage volume. WarpBuild says it does not access your code or store build secrets.
• Caching and Docker. A cache with no size cap, billed at $0.20 per GB-month on hosted runners, container-layer caching, snapshot runners that restore a prepared machine state, and remote Docker builders with native amd64 and arm64 builds that also work from other CI systems.
• Bring your own cloud. BYOC runs WarpBuild-managed runners in your own AWS, GCP or Azure account, in any region, with static IPs, spot instances, standby disks and custom VM images. WarpBuild lists BYOC Linux and Windows runners at $0.002 per minute, with add-ons free, on top of what you pay your cloud provider.
• Enterprise. SOC 2 Type II covering security, availability and confidentiality, region-specific infrastructure, SAML SSO, SCIM, a 99.9% uptime SLA backed by credits, warm pools that start jobs in under 10 seconds, SSH debugging, and support for GitHub Enterprise Server.

On speed, WarpBuild advertises builds twice as fast as GitHub-hosted runners, and two to ten times faster on its pricing page. Those are WarpBuild's claims, and we have not benchmarked CRACI against WarpBuild; your own pipeline is the fair test.

Price and sizing

On x86-64 the two list the same price per minute, $0.004 at 2 vCPU and $0.064 at 32 vCPU. WarpBuild's arm64 price is lower, because CRACI charges ARM64 at the same rate as x86-64. BYOC moves the compute cost to your own cloud bill. CRACI meters per second instead of per minute, so short jobs are billed for the seconds they run. Memory per vCPU differs too (3 GB on CRACI, 4 GB on WarpBuild Linux), so match what your builds need before comparing. See CRACI pricing for current terms.

Where CRACI is different

CRACI treats the build as the source of truth for what you ship.

A record of what the build fetched

While each job runs, a package-aware proxy records traffic to package sources: npm, PyPI, RubyGems, Cargo, Go, Nix, OCI, apt, apk and Git sources, plus download presets. Dependency evidence travels with CI caches, so a package restored from a cache is still counted. Each job's SBOM, in CycloneDX or SPDX, carries a completeness state per job and per cache, so you know when the record is complete and when it is not.

Egress policy that comes with the runner

CRACI policies are default deny or default allow, with 24 built-in software-source presets, typed custom sources for npm, PyPI, apt, apk, the Go proxy, Nix, Cargo, OCI registries and Git over HTTPS and SSH, and explicit TLS, TCP, UDP and ICMP rules. Policies are validated before the job starts, fail closed, and send an alert on a violation. CRACI runners also use a stable egress IP range.

WarpBuild's docs do not describe a per-job egress policy for its hosted runners. With BYOC the runners live in your own network, and WarpBuild's AWS hardening guide shows how to tighten outbound rules with your own security groups, listing the endpoints a runner needs. That works, and it is network plumbing you maintain in your cloud account rather than a policy attached to the job.

Provenance and monitoring

• Provenance data. The API returns SBOMs, network traces and provenance. CRACI does not sign provenance and claims no SLSA level.
• Monitoring of what shipped. Monitored SBOMs are re-evaluated continuously against new vulnerabilities, and findings are aggregated across builds and repositories.

Book a demo to see the SBOM, network trace and provenance from one of your own workflows.

Which one fits

WarpBuild is the better fit when

• You need macOS or Windows runners. CRACI is Linux only today; Windows and macOS are on the roadmap.
• You want runners in your own AWS, GCP or Azure account. CRACI does not offer customer-hosted runners yet; they are on the roadmap for Enterprise.
• You run GitHub Enterprise Server, which CRACI does not support today.
• You rely on snapshot runners or remote Docker builders today.
• Lowest cost per minute on arm64 or BYOC is the main goal.

CRACI is the better fit when

• You need to show what went into a release, with a completeness state, from the build itself.
• You want an egress policy attached to every job without building it into your cloud network.
• You want monitoring of shipped SBOMs.
• You need EU data residency, available on CRACI's Enterprise plan.

What you give up with CRACI. Windows and macOS jobs, runners in your own cloud, and GitHub Enterprise Server, all of which WarpBuild offers today, plus the lower arm64 and BYOC prices. What you gain is a build record that security and compliance can use without another scanner in the pipeline.

For the Cyber Resilience Act

The Cyber Resilience Act asks manufacturers to know the components in their products, handle vulnerabilities in them, and keep evidence. WarpBuild's product is CI infrastructure. CRACI automates a significant part of the software supply chain visibility and evidence that companies need for their wider CRA compliance process: build-time SBOMs exported as CycloneDX or SPDX, vulnerability tracking, and provenance through the API. See CRA evidence.

Moving from WarpBuild

CRACI replaces the runner, not GitHub Actions. Workflows and the GitHub UI stay the same, and the job label becomes runs-on: craci. Jobs get Docker Engine, Buildx and Compose v2, a GitHub-compatible Ubuntu 24.04 image, and nested virtualization on x86-64. Read more about CI/CD integration and build-time SBOM generation.

WarpBuild vs CRACI: common questions

Pricing, BYOC, platforms and security, answered from each vendor's published information

What is WarpBuild?

WarpBuild is a GitHub Actions runner provider. It runs your jobs on its own Linux, Windows and macOS runners, or on WarpBuild-managed runners inside your AWS, GCP or Azure account (BYOC). It also sells remote Docker builders, snapshot runners and a cache for artifacts and container layers.

How much does WarpBuild cost?

As of September 2026, WarpBuild's hosted Linux runners cost $0.004 per minute for 2 vCPU on x86-64 and $0.003 on arm64, scaling to $0.064 and $0.048 at 32 vCPU. Windows starts at $0.016 per minute for 4 vCPU, macOS on M4 Pro at $0.08 for 6 vCPU. BYOC runners cost $0.002 per minute on top of your cloud bill. Cache storage is $0.20 per GB-month, and billing is per minute.

Is WarpBuild cheaper than CRACI?

On arm64, yes; on x86-64 the list price is the same. CRACI charges $0.004 per minute for 2 vCPU on x86-64 and ARM64 alike, against WarpBuild's $0.004 on x86-64 and $0.003 on arm64. At 32 vCPU both list $0.064 per minute on x86-64. WarpBuild calls BYOC its cheapest option at scale, since you pay $0.002 per minute plus your own cloud bill. CRACI meters per second instead of per minute, so short jobs are billed for the seconds they run. What CRACI adds on the runner is the build record: an SBOM for every job, an egress policy, provenance data and vulnerability monitoring.

What is WarpBuild BYOC, and can CRACI run in my own cloud?

BYOC runs WarpBuild-managed runners in your own AWS, GCP or Azure account, in any region, with static IPs, spot instances, standby disks and custom VM images. CRACI runs managed runners on European infrastructure today, with customer-hosted runners on the roadmap for Enterprise.

Does WarpBuild generate SBOMs or build provenance?

Not among its documented features. WarpBuild focuses on compute, caching and where the runner lives. CRACI records the packages every job fetches, including packages restored from caches, and produces a CycloneDX or SPDX SBOM with a completeness state. The API returns SBOMs, network traces and provenance.

Can WarpBuild restrict what a build can reach on the network?

WarpBuild's docs do not describe a per-job egress policy for its hosted runners. With BYOC the runners sit in your own network, and its AWS hardening guide shows how to tighten outbound rules with your own security groups. CRACI enforces an egress policy at the runner for every job: default deny or allow, 24 built-in software-source presets, validated before the job starts and failing closed.

Does CRACI support Windows, macOS or GitHub Enterprise Server?

Not today. CRACI runs Linux on x86-64 and ARM64, with Windows and macOS on the roadmap, and it does not support GitHub Enterprise Server. WarpBuild offers Windows and macOS runners, and GitHub Enterprise Server support on its enterprise plan.

Is WarpBuild SOC 2 compliant, and where is data kept?

WarpBuild states it is SOC 2 Type 2 certified for security, availability and confidentiality, and says it does not access your code or build secrets. Enterprise plans can keep data in a chosen region. CRACI runs builds on European bare-metal infrastructure, offers EU data residency on Enterprise, does not store your source code, and documents its security controls in its Trust Center.

Is WarpBuild faster than CRACI?

WarpBuild advertises builds twice as fast as GitHub-hosted runners on its homepage, and two to ten times faster on its pricing page. We have not benchmarked CRACI against WarpBuild, so run the same workflow on both and compare.

Do I have to rewrite my GitHub Actions workflows to switch?

No. Both products replace the runner, not GitHub Actions. Workflows, triggers and the GitHub UI stay the same; on CRACI the job label becomes runs-on: craci.