Developer Tools · head to head
Buildkite vs Very Good Security
Buildkite
Developer Tools
CI/CD pipelines that run on your own compute
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
Very Good Security
Cybersecurity
Tokenisation proxy that keeps card and personal data out of your own systems and out of PCI scope
- From
- $1000/month
- Free plan
- No
The short version
- Only Buildkite has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Buildkite free plan caps at 5 users and 10 concurrent jobs, with 2,000 Linux vCPU minutes per month and 30 day build retention; Very Good Security vGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Buildkite and Very Good Security actually diverge.
| Attribute | Buildkite | Very Good Security |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | $1000/month |
| Pricing model | subscription | Per month |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web | Web, API |
| Category | Developer Tools | Cybersecurity |
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 Buildkite
Nothing recorded that Very Good Security does not also cover.
Only in Very Good Security
- Aliasing proxy
- PCI scope reduction
- Network tokenisation
- Processor optionality
- Card issuing data
- Vault and access controls
- Data residency options
- Compliance artefacts
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Buildkite
- CI/CD pipeline automationnot Very Good Security
- Test execution at scalenot Very Good Security
- Deployment automationnot Very Good Security
Very Good Security
- A marketplace facing its first PCI DSS Level 1 assessment that wants to keep card data off its own estate rather than harden a dozen servicesnot Buildkite
- A merchant negotiating with a second acquirer that needs card credentials portable so the negotiation is real rather than theoreticalnot Buildkite
- A fintech collecting bank account and identity documents that wants sensitive fields absent from logs, backups and analytics warehouses by constructionnot Buildkite
- A card issuer that must display a full PAN in its own mobile app without the app or its backend touching cardholder datanot Buildkite
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Buildkite
- Free plan caps at 5 users and 10 concurrent jobs, with 2,000 Linux vCPU minutes per month and 30 day build retention
- Pro plan is $30 per active user per month, capped at 50 users, with only 10 of the up to 250 concurrent agents included before extra usage
- Enterprise plan enforces a 30 user minimum even though pricing itself is custom
- Hosted compute beyond included minutes is metered at $0.004 per vCPU minute on Linux and $0.02 per vCPU minute on Mac
Very Good Security
- VGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
- Token portability is the whole selling point yet leaving VGS means migrating tokens back out, a project the vendor has no incentive to streamline, so the lock-in you removed from your acquirer partly moves to VGS.
- Entry pricing at around one thousand US dollars a month is real money for a pre-revenue fintech, and it buys volume-limited throughput, so cost scales with exactly the growth that made you buy it.
- Scope reduction is not scope elimination: your QSA still assesses how you integrate, and teams regularly discover that a support tool or an internal admin screen pulled plaintext back in and dragged systems into scope again.
- Proxy-based interception constrains how you design request flows, and non-standard payloads, streaming uploads or binary formats often need custom routing rules that make debugging production issues noticeably harder.
Pricing, plan by plan
Buildkite
Free- FreeFree
- Up to 5 users
- 10 concurrent jobs
- 2000 Linux vCPU minutes monthly
- Pro$30/month
- Up to 50 users
- 250 concurrent agents (10 included)
- 4000 Linux vCPU minutes monthly
- Enterprise$null/custom
- Unlimited users (30 minimum)
- Custom usage limits
- Full platform access
Very Good Security
$1000/month- Starter$1000/month
- Aliasing proxy
- Vault storage
- PCI scope reduction
- Growth$undefined/month
- Network tokenisation
- Multiple processors
- Data residency options
- Enterprise$undefined/year
- Custom vault architecture
- Dedicated support and SLA
- Contractual compliance coverage
Which should you pick?
Choose Very Good Security if
- You need aliasing proxy.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want pci scope reduction.
Questions people ask
- Is Buildkite or Very Good Security better?
- Neither clearly leads. Buildkite starts at Free and Very Good Security at $1000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Buildkite or Very Good Security?
- Buildkite has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Buildkite and $1000/month for Very Good Security.
- Does Buildkite or Very Good Security run on more platforms?
- Buildkite runs on Web. Very Good Security runs on Web, API.
- Can I use Buildkite for free?
- Yes. Buildkite has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Very Good Security starts at $1000/month.
- What is Buildkite best used for?
- Buildkite is most often used for ci/cd pipeline automation, test execution at scale, deployment automation. Of those, ci/cd pipeline automation and test execution at scale are not what Very Good Security is typically brought in for.
- What can Buildkite do that Very Good Security cannot?
- Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy, PCI scope reduction, Network tokenisation, Processor optionality.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Buildkite: Can I use Buildkite without paying?
Yes, Buildkite offers a free plan that includes up to 5 users, 10 concurrent jobs, 2000 Linux vCPU minutes monthly, and 250k test executions per month at no cost.
SourceVery Good Security: Does VGS make me PCI compliant?
No. It removes cardholder data from your systems so your assessment covers a far smaller boundary, but you still complete an assessment and your integration is part of it.
Buildkite: What happens if I exceed my included compute minutes on Buildkite?
Hosted agent compute is charged separately at $0.004 per Linux vCPU minute and $0.02 per Mac vCPU minute, billed to the second with no minimums.
SourceVery Good Security: Can I move to another processor without re-collecting cards?
Yes, that is a core reason people buy it. The vault reveals stored credentials to whichever processor you route to.
Buildkite: Do I need an annual commitment for Buildkite's Pro plan?
No, Buildkite's Pro plan is billed monthly at $30 per active user with no long-term contract required. All tiers include a 30-day all-access trial.
SourceVery Good Security: What does it cost?
Published entry pricing is about one thousand US dollars per month; growth and enterprise tiers are quoted.
Buildkite: What user limits apply to each Buildkite plan?
Free plan supports up to 5 users, Pro plan supports up to 50 users, and Enterprise plan provides unlimited users with a 30-user minimum.
SourceVery Good Security: Is it only for card data?
No. The proxy handles any sensitive field, including bank details, national identifiers and documents, though payments is where the product is now focused.
Related pages
More on Very Good Security
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