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runnerhut vs Actions Runner Controller (ARC)
The open-source Kubernetes operator for self-hosted GitHub Actions runners. Free software, but you operate the cluster, the autoscaling, the images and the caching yourself.
What Actions Runner Controller (ARC) does well
- No per-minute vendor fee — you pay only your cloud bill
- Complete control over networking, images and data residency
- Runs inside your existing Kubernetes footprint
Where we differ
- Someone has to own scaling, image builds, cache infrastructure and upgrades
- Cold starts and queue times are yours to tune
- Cache has to be built and operated separately — usually S3 plus a proxy
- The real cost is engineering time, which rarely appears in the comparison
| Actions Runner Controller (ARC) | runnerhut | |
|---|---|---|
| EU data residency | Yours to build | Six EU regions, managed |
| Licence cost | Free | Per-minute |
| You operate it | Yes | No |
| Autoscaling | You configure | Managed |
| Cache infrastructure | You build | Included |
| Runner images | You maintain | Maintained |
| Time to first green build | Days | Minutes |
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.
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