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Cloud · head to head

Buildah vs Koyeb

Buildah logo

Buildah

Cloud

Build OCI container images without a daemon or a Dockerfile

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Koyeb logo

Koyeb

Cloud

High-performance serverless infrastructure for APIs, inference, and databases

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Buildah has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Buildah linux only, with no native macOS or Windows support; Koyeb pricing starts at $29/month with additional compute costs
  • They diverge on capability: Buildah covers Daemonless builds, Koyeb covers Serverless containers.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Buildah and Koyeb actually diverge.

Attributes where Buildah and Koyeb differ
AttributeBuildahKoyeb
Starting priceFree$29/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinuxWeb, CLI, API

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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 Buildah

  • Daemonless builds
  • Rootless
  • Dockerfile compatible
  • Scriptable builds

Only in Koyeb

  • Serverless containers
  • GPU support
  • Global distribution
  • Multi-protocol support
  • Serverless Postgres
  • Zero-downtime deployments

What people use each for

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

Buildah

  • Building images in CI without a privileged Docker daemonnot Koyeb
  • Producing minimal images with tighter layer control than a Dockerfile givesnot Koyeb
  • Scripted image assembly where a Dockerfile is the wrong abstractionnot Koyeb

Koyeb

  • Deploying AI inference models globally with GPU accelerationnot Buildah
  • Building SaaS platforms with automatic scalingnot Buildah
  • Running distributed AI agents and background workersnot Buildah

Where each one falls short

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

Buildah

  • Linux only, with no native macOS or Windows support
  • Scriptable builds are powerful but less portable and less familiar than a Dockerfile
  • Narrow by design: it builds images and does not run them, so it needs Podman or another runtime alongside

Koyeb

  • Pricing starts at $29/month with additional compute costs
  • GPU compute is expensive at $0.75-$2.50 per hour
  • Limited customization for infrastructure configuration

Pricing, plan by plan

Buildah

Free
  • BuildahFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Koyeb

$29/month
  • Pro$29/month
    • $10 included compute
    • 10 users
    • 100 services
  • Scale$299/month
    • $100 included compute
    • 50 users
    • 1,000 services
  • Enterprise$1000/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom resources
    • SSO/RBAC

Which should you pick?

Choose Buildah if

  • You need daemonless builds.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want rootless.
Buildah review

Choose Koyeb if

  • You need serverless containers.
  • You work on Web, CLI, API.
  • You also want gpu support.
Koyeb review

Questions people ask

Is Buildah or Koyeb better?
Neither clearly leads. Buildah starts at Free and Koyeb at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Buildah or Koyeb?
Buildah has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Buildah and $29/month for Koyeb.
Does Buildah or Koyeb run on more platforms?
Buildah runs on Linux. Koyeb runs on Web, CLI, API.
Can I use Buildah for free?
Yes. Buildah has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Koyeb starts at $29/month.
What is Buildah best used for?
Buildah is most often used for building images in ci without a privileged docker daemon, producing minimal images with tighter layer control than a dockerfile gives, scripted image assembly where a dockerfile is the wrong abstraction. Of those, building images in ci without a privileged docker daemon and producing minimal images with tighter layer control than a dockerfile gives are not what Koyeb is typically brought in for.
What can Buildah do that Koyeb cannot?
Buildah covers Daemonless builds, Rootless, Dockerfile compatible, Scriptable builds. Koyeb covers Serverless containers, GPU support, Global distribution, Multi-protocol support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Buildah: Is Buildah free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

Koyeb: What are Koyeb's subscription plans?

Pro plan is $29/month with $10 included compute, Scale plan is $299/month with $100 included compute and 99.9% SLA, and Enterprise starts at $1,000/month with unlimited users and 99.99% SLA.

Source
Buildah: Do I still need a Dockerfile?

No. Buildah reads Dockerfiles if you have them, but images can be built entirely from shell commands instead.

Koyeb: How much does GPU compute cost?

GPU pricing is per-second: RTX-A6000 costs $0.75/hour, A100 costs $1.60/hour, H100 costs $2.50/hour, and 8x H100 costs $20.00/hour.

Source
Buildah: How is Buildah different from Podman?

Buildah builds images; Podman runs them. Podman actually embeds Buildah for its build command, and the two are designed to be used together.

Koyeb: What database options are available?

Koyeb offers serverless Postgres starting at free (0.25 vCPU, 1GB RAM) up to 3XL at $1.28/hour with 8 vCPU and 32GB RAM. Storage costs $0.50/month per GB.

Source
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