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Developer Tools · head to head

Blacksmith vs Luzmo

Blacksmith logo

Blacksmith

Developer Tools

2x faster GitHub Actions with 60% cost savings

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit BlacksmithFull review
Luzmo logo

Luzmo

Business Intelligence

Embedded analytics for SaaS products, billed by monthly active dashboard users

From
€995/month
Free plan
No
Visit LuzmoFull review

The short version

  • Blacksmith is a GitHub Actions runner service.
  • Blacksmith has a free plan, then $0.004/mo; Luzmo starts at €995/mo.
  • Only Blacksmith lists bare metal runners; only Luzmo lists multi-tenant row-level security.
  • Where Blacksmith falls short: per-minute pricing model requires estimating usage to predict costs.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Blacksmith and Luzmo actually diverge.

Attributes where Blacksmith and Luzmo differ
AttributeBlacksmithLuzmo
Starting priceFree€995/month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsGitHub Actions, Linux, Windows, macOSWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsBusiness Intelligence

Not yet recorded: pricing model for Blacksmith.

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Blacksmith

  • Bare metal runners
  • Multiple OS support
  • ARM support
  • Docker layer caching
  • Sticky disks
  • GitHub Actions observability
  • Free tier
  • Static IPs

Only in Luzmo

  • Multi-tenant row-level security
  • Embeddable editor
  • Theming and white labelling
  • SDKs and APIs
  • Luzmo IQ
  • Scheduled exports

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Blacksmith

  • Replacing GitHub Actions runners with faster, cheaper infrastructurenot Luzmo
  • Accelerating CI build times for organizations with heavy CI loadnot Luzmo
  • Reducing cloud spend on GitHub Actions by 60% or morenot Luzmo
  • Supporting ARM architecture builds without GitHub runnersnot Luzmo

Luzmo

  • A B2B SaaS product that needs customer-facing dashboards without hiring a front-end data visualisation teamnot Blacksmith
  • A vertical software vendor that wants to sell an analytics module as a paid add-onnot Blacksmith
  • A product where each customer must only see their own rows and the security boundary has to be provable to an auditornot Blacksmith
  • A team that wants end customers to build their own charts rather than filing feature requests for every new reportnot Blacksmith

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Blacksmith

  • Per-minute pricing model requires estimating usage to predict costs
  • macOS M4 pricing ($0.08/min) is significantly higher than GitHub Actions
  • Docker layer caching and sticky disks are paid add-ons at $0.50/GB/mo
  • Static IP add-on costs $100/IP/mo

Luzmo

  • Billing by monthly active users means commercial success is punished: getting every one of your customers into the dashboard weekly is exactly the outcome that pushes you into the next tier
  • The entry price of EUR 995 per month billed annually rules it out for early-stage products, so the realistic buyer already has meaningful revenue
  • It is built for embedding rather than internal analysis, so most customers still pay for a second BI tool for their own staff, doubling the analytics line item
  • The semantic modelling layer is lighter than a dedicated one such as dbt or Cube, so complex metric definitions often have to be pre-computed in the warehouse before Luzmo sees them
  • As a smaller European vendor it has less connector breadth and a smaller partner ecosystem than the US incumbents, and unusual data sources frequently need an intermediate warehouse hop

Pricing, plan by plan

Blacksmith

Free
  • Ubuntu x64$0.004/minute
    • 3,000 free minutes per month
    • 2x faster hardware
    • 4x faster cache downloads
  • Ubuntu ARM$0.0025/minute
    • 3,000 free minutes per month
    • 2x faster hardware
    • 4x faster cache downloads
  • Windows x64$0.008/minute
    • 3,000 free minutes per month
    • 2x faster hardware
    • 4x faster cache downloads
  • macOS M4$0.08/minute
    • 3,000 free minutes per month
    • 2x faster hardware
    • 4x faster cache downloads

Luzmo

€995/month
  • Starter€995/mo
    • Embedded dashboards with white labelling
    • Custom charts
    • APIs and SDKs
  • Premium€2,495/mo
    • Everything in Starter
    • End-customer self-service dashboard building
    • Luzmo IQ conversational insights
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Dedicated VPC option
    • Flexible hosting region
    • OIDC single sign-on

Which should you pick?

Choose Blacksmith if

  • You need bare metal runners.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on GitHub Actions, Linux, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want multiple os support.
Blacksmith review

Choose Luzmo if

  • You need multi-tenant row-level security.
  • You also want embeddable editor.
Luzmo review

Questions people ask

Is Blacksmith or Luzmo better?
Neither clearly leads. Blacksmith starts at Free and Luzmo at €995/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Blacksmith or Luzmo?
Blacksmith has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Blacksmith and €995/month for Luzmo.
Does Blacksmith or Luzmo run on more platforms?
Blacksmith runs on GitHub Actions, Linux, Windows, macOS. Luzmo runs on Web.
Can I use Blacksmith for free?
Yes. Blacksmith has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Luzmo starts at €995/month.
What is Blacksmith best used for?
Blacksmith is most often used for replacing github actions runners with faster, cheaper infrastructure, accelerating ci build times for organizations with heavy ci load, reducing cloud spend on github actions by 60% or more, supporting arm architecture builds without github runners. Of those, replacing github actions runners with faster, cheaper infrastructure and accelerating ci build times for organizations with heavy ci load are not what Luzmo is typically brought in for.
What can Blacksmith do that Luzmo cannot?
Blacksmith covers Bare metal runners, Multiple OS support, ARM support, Docker layer caching. Luzmo covers Multi-tenant row-level security, Embeddable editor, Theming and white labelling, SDKs and APIs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Blacksmith: How much do Blacksmith runners cost compared to GitHub Actions?

Blacksmith offers 60-75% cost savings depending on OS. Ubuntu x64 costs $0.004/min vs GitHub at $0.012/min. All plans include 3,000 free minutes monthly.

Source
Luzmo: Is Luzmo the same as Cumul.io?

Yes. Cumul.io rebranded to Luzmo; it is the same company and product line.

Blacksmith: Can I use Docker layer caching with Blacksmith?

Yes, Docker layer caching is available as an add-on at $0.50/GB/mo. Managed Docker layer persistence is included with the base service.

Source
Luzmo: How is it priced?

By monthly active users of your embedded dashboards, from EUR 995 per month on Starter billed annually.

Blacksmith: What is the SLA for Enterprise plans?

Enterprise Blacksmith plans include a 99.9% SLA guarantee along with 24/7 priority support, dedicated Slack channels, white-glove onboarding, and CI optimization support.

Source
Luzmo: Is there a free tier?

No, only a trial. There is no perpetual free plan.

Luzmo: Can our customers build their own dashboards?

Yes, but the embeddable editor for end-customer self-service sits on the Premium tier.

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