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Developer Tools · head to head

Blacksmith vs Teleport

Blacksmith logo

Blacksmith

Developer Tools

2x faster GitHub Actions with 60% cost savings

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Teleport logo

Teleport

Cybersecurity

Certificate-based access to servers, Kubernetes, databases and apps, replacing shared credentials and VPNs

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Blacksmith has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Blacksmith per-minute pricing model requires estimating usage to predict costs; Teleport pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • They diverge on capability: Blacksmith covers Bare metal runners, Teleport covers Short-lived certificates.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Blacksmith and Teleport actually diverge.

Attributes where Blacksmith and Teleport differ
AttributeBlacksmithTeleport
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsGitHub Actions, Linux, Windows, macOSLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: 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 Teleport

  • Short-lived certificates
  • Protocol coverage
  • Session recording and replay
  • Access Requests
  • Device Trust
  • Identity provider integration
  • Machine identity
  • FIPS and FedRAMP builds

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

Teleport

  • Removing long-lived SSH keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity providernot Blacksmith
  • Producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for SOC 2 or FedRAMPnot Blacksmith
  • Giving contractors or on-call engineers time-boxed, approved access to production instead of standing admin rightsnot Blacksmith
  • Replacing a flat VPN with per-resource authorisation across servers, Kubernetes and internal web appsnot 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

Teleport

  • Pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • The proxy is a hard dependency on reaching production, so it needs its own high availability deployment and a tested break-glass path or an outage in Teleport becomes an outage in your ability to respond to outages.
  • The open source Community Edition omits Access Requests, Device Trust and the FIPS builds, which are exactly the controls an auditor asks about, so the free tier rarely survives a compliance review.
  • Self-hosting means running and upgrading a certificate authority and its backing store, and Teleport releases frequently enough that upgrade work becomes a standing operational commitment.
  • Coverage across protocols is uneven in depth, so teams with legacy systems, unusual databases or bespoke network appliances find gaps that still require the old VPN to remain in place alongside it.

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

Teleport

On request
  • Teleport Community Edition$undefined/year
    • Open source, self-hosted
    • SSH, Kubernetes, database and app access
    • Session recording
  • Teleport Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Cloud-hosted or self-hosted
    • Access Requests and approval workflow
    • Device Trust and hardware key enforcement

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 Teleport if

  • You need short-lived certificates.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want protocol coverage.
Teleport review

Questions people ask

Is Blacksmith or Teleport better?
Neither clearly leads. Blacksmith starts at Free and Teleport at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Blacksmith or Teleport?
Blacksmith has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Blacksmith and On request for Teleport.
Does Blacksmith or Teleport run on more platforms?
Blacksmith runs on GitHub Actions, Linux, Windows, macOS. Teleport runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Blacksmith for free?
Yes. Blacksmith has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Teleport starts at On request.
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 Teleport is typically brought in for.
What can Blacksmith do that Teleport cannot?
Blacksmith covers Bare metal runners, Multiple OS support, ARM support, Docker layer caching. Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, Protocol coverage, Session recording and replay, Access Requests.

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
Teleport: Is the open source edition usable in production?

Yes, but it lacks Access Requests, Device Trust and FIPS builds, which most compliance programmes end up requiring.

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
Teleport: How is it priced?

Not publicly. The vendor prices on active users and protected resources and provides a quote after a sales conversation.

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
Teleport: What happens if Teleport goes down?

Nobody reaches the resources behind it, so you need a highly available deployment and a documented break-glass procedure.

Teleport: Does it replace our VPN?

For anything you put behind it, yes. Legacy systems and appliances it does not support will keep the VPN alive.

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