GitHub Actions pricing 2026
./free-tier --per-minute --platform-fee
GitHub Actions is the most-used CI/CD platform in the world and the pricing model is simple in theory: a per-user seat fee plus per-minute compute charges, with a generous free allowance. In practice the bill creeps because of macOS runners, the new platform fee, and storage. This guide covers exactly what you'll pay in 2026 at every team size.
Plans / 2026
| Plan | Seat | Linux mins included | Storage | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 2,000 / month | 500 MB | Solo / OSS |
| Team | $4 / user | 3,000 / month | 2 GB | Most teams |
| Enterprise | $21 / user | 50,000 / month | 50 GB | Compliance / scale |
Per-minute runner rates
| Runner | Compute | Platform fee | Total / min | 100K mins / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux 2-core | $0.008 | $0.002 | $0.010 | $1,000 |
| Linux 4-core | $0.016 | $0.002 | $0.018 | $1,800 |
| Linux 8-core | $0.032 | $0.002 | $0.034 | $3,400 |
| Windows 2-core | $0.016 | $0.002 | $0.018 | $1,800 |
| macOS 3-core | $0.080 | $0.002 | $0.082 | $8,200 |
Real-world monthly costs
Numbers below assume Linux 2-core runners, the Team plan, 21 working days per month, and average build duration as listed. They include the new platform fee.
Small (5 devs)
$40
5,040 build mins
30 builds/day x 8 mins. Stays inside Team allowance.
Mid (20 devs)
$252
20,160 build mins
120 builds/day x 8 mins. ~17K billable mins after free tier.
Large (50 devs)
$905
73,500 build mins
350 builds/day x 10 mins. Most teams self-host at this point.
Five ways to cut your GitHub Actions bill
- 01. Cache aggressively. Use actions/cache for npm, pip, gradle, and docker layer caches. A 6-minute install often drops to 30 seconds. Caching alone can cut billable minutes by 30 to 50 percent.
- 02. Run jobs conditionally. Use paths filters to skip frontend tests on backend-only PRs. Use github.event_name to skip slow integration tests on draft PRs.
- 03. Self-host hot paths. The biggest jobs (full integration test suite, release builds, macOS) deserve self-hosted runners. Keep PR check jobs on hosted for elasticity.
- 04. Right-size runners. A 4-core runner that finishes a build in 4 minutes can be cheaper than a 2-core runner that takes 12 minutes. Time the trade-off, don't assume the cheap runner wins.
- 05. Set a spending limit. The cheapest invoice is one that didn't happen. Org-level spending limits at github.com/organizations/{org}/billing prevent runaway loops from costing thousands.
Compare with other platforms
Frequently Asked Questions
# click any question to expand
Is GitHub Actions free?>
Yes for personal accounts and public repositories. Private repos on the Free plan get 2,000 Linux minutes per month, the Team plan ($4/user/month) gets 3,000 minutes per month, and Enterprise ($21/user/month) gets 50,000. Once you exceed the included allowance, every additional Linux minute costs $0.008 plus a new $0.002 platform fee added in March 2026.
What is the new GitHub Actions platform fee?>
In March 2026 GitHub added a $0.002 per-minute platform fee on top of the existing per-minute compute rate. Linux 2-core jobs now cost $0.010 per minute total (was $0.008). The fee applies to all hosted runners, all OS types, and all resource classes. Self-hosted runners remain free of the platform fee.
Why are macOS runners so expensive?>
Apple licensing forces all macOS hosting to use real Mac hardware, which is far more expensive than commodity Linux servers. GitHub charges $0.08 per minute for macOS 3-core runners, ten times the Linux rate. A typical iOS pipeline that builds and tests in 20 minutes costs $1.60 per run before the platform fee. Teams shipping iOS apps usually self-host a Mac mini to escape these costs.
How do I see my current GitHub Actions spend?>
Open your organization's billing page at github.com/organizations/{org}/billing/summary. The Actions section shows minutes used by OS, current month spend, and the spending limit. Set a hard spending limit to avoid surprise bills, and enable per-job billing alerts at 50%, 80%, and 100% of budget.
Are self-hosted runners really free?>
GitHub Actions doesn't charge you to register or run self-hosted runners. You pay only for the underlying compute (your AWS or GCP bill, or your Mac mini in a closet). For teams running more than 50,000 build minutes per month on Linux, self-hosted runners typically pay back the engineering setup time within three months.
Does Actions storage cost extra?>
GitHub Actions includes 500 MB of storage on the Free plan, 2 GB on Team, and 50 GB on Enterprise. Beyond the included allowance, storage costs $0.25 per GB per month. Most teams stay inside the included quota by setting short artifact retention (default is 90 days, drop to 7-14 days for transient builds).