Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Teleport vs WarpBuild

Teleport logo

Teleport

Cybersecurity

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

From
On request
Free plan
No
WarpBuild logo

WarpBuild

Developer Tools

2x faster, 50% cheaper GitHub Actions runners

From
On request
Free plan
No

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; WarpBuild per-minute pricing requires tracking usage to estimate monthly costs
  • They diverge on capability: Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, WarpBuild covers Optimized runner infrastructure.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Teleport and WarpBuild actually diverge.

Attributes where Teleport and WarpBuild differ
AttributeTeleportWarpBuild
Pricing modelquoteUsage-based per minute, varies by runner configuration
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, CloudGitHub Actions, Linux, Windows, macOS, Cloud
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), 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 Teleport

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

Only in WarpBuild

  • Optimized runner infrastructure
  • Intelligent caching
  • Incremental builds
  • Multi-architecture support
  • Unlimited concurrency
  • Autoscaling
  • BYOC support
  • Docker builders

What people use each for

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

Teleport

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

WarpBuild

  • Accelerating CI builds for teams with high test volumesnot Teleport
  • Running tests generated by AI coding assistants efficientlynot Teleport
  • Reducing GitHub Actions costs by 50% or morenot Teleport
  • Supporting teams that need ARM64 architecture runnersnot Teleport

Where each one falls short

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

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.

WarpBuild

  • Per-minute pricing requires tracking usage to estimate monthly costs
  • Large configuration runners (32 vCPU) expensive at $0.064/min
  • macOS M4 Pro 12-core at $0.16/min is highest-cost option
  • BYOC option requires cloud setup by customer

Pricing, plan by plan

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

WarpBuild

On request
  • Linux x86-64 (2vCPU, 8GB)$0.004/minute
    • 2 vCPU
    • 8 GB RAM
    • Standard performance
  • Linux x86-64 (4vCPU, 16GB)$0.008/minute
    • 4 vCPU
    • 16 GB RAM
    • Increased performance
  • Linux x86-64 (8vCPU, 32GB)$0.016/minute
    • 8 vCPU
    • 32 GB RAM
    • High performance
  • Linux x86-64 (16vCPU, 64GB)$0.032/minute
    • 16 vCPU
    • 64 GB RAM
    • Enterprise performance

Which should you pick?

Choose Teleport if

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

Choose WarpBuild if

  • You need optimized runner infrastructure.
  • You work on GitHub Actions, Linux, Windows, macOS, Cloud.
  • You also want intelligent caching.

Questions people ask

Is Teleport or WarpBuild better?
Neither clearly leads. Teleport starts at On request and WarpBuild at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Teleport or WarpBuild?
Teleport starts at On request and WarpBuild at On request.
Does Teleport or WarpBuild run on more platforms?
Teleport runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud. WarpBuild runs on GitHub Actions, Linux, Windows, macOS, Cloud.
What is Teleport best used for?
Teleport is most often used for removing long-lived ssh keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity provider, producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for soc 2 or fedramp, giving contractors or on-call engineers time-boxed, approved access to production instead of standing admin rights, replacing a flat vpn with per-resource authorisation across servers, kubernetes and internal web apps. Of those, removing long-lived ssh keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity provider and producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for soc 2 or fedramp are not what WarpBuild is typically brought in for.
What can Teleport do that WarpBuild cannot?
Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, Protocol coverage, Session recording and replay, Access Requests. WarpBuild covers Optimized runner infrastructure, Intelligent caching, Incremental builds, Multi-architecture support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

WarpBuild: How much cheaper is WarpBuild compared to GitHub Actions?

WarpBuild offers approximately 50% cost savings compared to GitHub-hosted runners. For example, Linux x86-64 2vCPU/8GB costs $0.004/min with WarpBuild vs $0.008/min with GitHub Actions.

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.

WarpBuild: What is BYOC and how does it differ from managed runners?

BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) allows customers to run WarpBuild on their own cloud infrastructure at $0.002/min. Managed runners use WarpBuild's cloud infrastructure. BYOC provides lower costs but requires customer setup.

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.

WarpBuild: Does WarpBuild support ARM64 runners?

Yes, WarpBuild offers ARM64 runners at lower costs than x86-64. Linux ARM64 starts at $0.003/min for 2vCPU/8GB configuration.

Source
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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