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Developer Tools · head to head

Blacksmith vs Osano

Blacksmith logo

Blacksmith

Developer Tools

2x faster GitHub Actions with 60% cost savings

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Osano logo

Osano

Cybersecurity

Consent management and data privacy platform with a published self-serve tier

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Blacksmith per-minute pricing model requires estimating usage to predict costs; Osano the published visitor ceilings are low, with the paid self-serve tier stopping around 30,000 monthly visitors, so any consumer facing site with real traffic leaves published pricing immediately and negotiates a quote with no public anchor.
  • They diverge on capability: Blacksmith covers Bare metal runners, Osano covers Consent banner.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Blacksmith and Osano actually diverge.

Attributes where Blacksmith and Osano differ
AttributeBlacksmithOsano
Pricing modelUnknownPer month by monthly website visitors
PlatformsGitHub Actions, Linux, Windows, macOSWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Osano

  • Consent banner
  • Pre-consent tag blocking
  • Consent record
  • No fines guarantee
  • Subject rights requests
  • Data mapping
  • Vendor privacy monitoring
  • Cookie scanning

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 Osano
  • Accelerating CI build times for organizations with heavy CI loadnot Osano
  • Reducing cloud spend on GitHub Actions by 60% or morenot Osano
  • Supporting ARM architecture builds without GitHub runnersnot Osano

Osano

  • A mid market company selling into the EU and California that needs one banner honouring different consent rules by visitor regionnot Blacksmith
  • A privacy counsel who wants a vendor that will contractually stand behind its consent product rather than disclaim all liabilitynot Blacksmith
  • A marketing team that needs Google Consent Mode signals wired correctly so analytics and ads degrade rather than break when consent is refusednot Blacksmith
  • A company with a handful of brand domains wanting one consent record and one scanning schedule across all of themnot 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

Osano

  • The published visitor ceilings are low, with the paid self-serve tier stopping around 30,000 monthly visitors, so any consumer facing site with real traffic leaves published pricing immediately and negotiates a quote with no public anchor.
  • The no fines guarantee is bounded and conditional on configuring the product as instructed, so it is a marketing differentiator with an indemnity cap rather than the insurance policy the name suggests, and the limits should be read before it influences a decision.
  • Everything beyond consent, including subject rights automation, data mapping and vendor monitoring, is enterprise quoted, so the transparent pricing that attracts buyers covers only the cheapest part of the platform.
  • Tag blocking depends on tags being loaded through the mechanisms Osano can intercept, and marketing teams that inject scripts directly into templates or through server side tagging routinely leak trackers past the banner without anyone noticing.
  • It is a privacy platform rather than a security compliance one, so organisations that also need SOC 2 or ISO 27001 evidence collection run it alongside a separate tool and duplicate parts of the vendor and asset inventory.

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

Osano

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 user
    • 1 domain
    • 5,000 monthly visitors
  • Plus$199/month
    • 2 users
    • 3 domains
    • 30,000 monthly visitors
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Unlimited domains and higher visitor volumes
    • Subject rights request automation
    • Data mapping and assessments

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 Osano if

  • You need consent banner.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want pre-consent tag blocking.
Osano review

Questions people ask

Is Blacksmith or Osano better?
Neither clearly leads. Blacksmith starts at Free and Osano at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Blacksmith or Osano?
Blacksmith starts at Free and Osano at Free.
Does Blacksmith or Osano run on more platforms?
Blacksmith runs on GitHub Actions, Linux, Windows, macOS. Osano runs on Web.
Can I use Blacksmith for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Osano is typically brought in for.
What can Blacksmith do that Osano cannot?
Blacksmith covers Bare metal runners, Multiple OS support, ARM support, Docker layer caching. Osano covers Consent banner, Pre-consent tag blocking, Consent record, No fines guarantee.

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
Osano: Does the free tier include the no fines guarantee?

No. The guarantee attaches to paid use of the consent product, and the free tier is capped at one domain and 5,000 monthly visitors.

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
Osano: How is Osano priced?

By monthly website visitors, number of domains and tier. The self-serve path stops at a low visitor ceiling and everything above is quoted.

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
Osano: Can it handle US state privacy laws as well as GDPR?

Yes, with region aware rule sets covering GDPR, ePrivacy and the US state regimes, so an EU visitor sees an opt-in banner and a US visitor sees the applicable opt-out.

Osano: Does Osano do subject access requests?

Yes, but in the enterprise tier rather than the published plans, and it is quoted separately from consent.

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