arm64
Is QEMU or native arm64 faster?
Quick answer
Native, by a factor of 5 to 40 depending on how much the build compiles.
The detail that matters
QEMU is fine for a build that only copies files. It is unusable for one that runs a compiler.
Your next build could be twice as fast, at half the price
Start free. Migrating away is the same one line, and we publish that diff too.
Related
Can GitHub Actions run arm64?Yes. GitHub offers arm64 runners on paid plans, and managed providers including runnerhut offer them on all plans.Can I build arm64 images on an x64 runner?Yes, with QEMU — but it is 5–40× slower than building natively.What changes when moving from x64 to arm64?Native modules, Python wheels, and any x86 assembly need aarch64 support. Most mainstream dependencies now have it.Can I run arm64 and x64 jobs in the same workflow?Yes. Use a matrix with a different runner label per architecture.