Depot

Name: Depot
Brand: Depot

Fast, cache-optimized Docker builds and CI runners built for speed.

softwareDevOps & CI/CD dockerci-cdbuild-cache

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Our Verdict

Best for

Teams whose CI pipeline, not their code, is the bottleneck and who already use Docker or GitHub Actions.

Skip if

You need a permanent free tier or don't run Docker/GitHub Actions workflows.

What is Depot?

Depot is a build acceleration platform that replaces slow, uncached Docker builds and generic CI runners with infrastructure purpose-built for speed. It plugs into existing GitHub Actions workflows and Docker tooling, automatically caching build layers across every run so teams stop rebuilding the same code from scratch. Beyond container builds, Depot offers faster GitHub Actions runners and a programmable CI engine (Depot CI) that speaks the GitHub Actions syntax teams already know, plus remote caching for tools like Bazel, Go, Gradle, and Turborepo. Billing is per-second, so teams pay only for the compute they actually use instead of renting idle runners.

SpecificationsAI-estimated

deploymentCloud/SaaS

open source❌ No

api available✅ Yes

key integrationsGitHub Actions, Docker, Bazel, Gradle, Turborepo

Key Features of Depot

Caches every Docker build layer automatically so repeated builds only rebuild what changed.

Runs GitHub Actions jobs on optimized runners that Depot claims are up to 10x faster than GitHub-hosted defaults.

Depot CI provides a programmable pipeline engine that uses standard GitHub Actions YAML syntax.

Supports remote build caching for Bazel, Go, Gradle, and Turborepo to speed up non-container builds too.

Offers a gRPC and HTTP Build API so platforms can trigger container builds programmatically on behalf of their own users.

Bills per second of compute used rather than charging for reserved or idle runner capacity.

Provides SSH access into running builds for live debugging of CI failures.

Supports dedicated AWS-hosted infrastructure with static IPs and private networking for enterprise customers.

Use Cases for Depot

Speeding up Docker image builds

Teams cut CI wait times by caching Docker layers across every build instead of starting from scratch each run.

Accelerating GitHub Actions pipelines

Engineering teams swap in Depot's optimized runners to cut total workflow run time without rewriting pipelines.

Reducing CI infrastructure spend

Per-second billing and shared caching reduce the compute teams pay for versus fixed-size hosted runners.

Debugging flaky CI failures

SSH access into running builds lets engineers investigate failures live instead of guessing from logs.

Pros & Cons of Depot

Pros

Meaningful build-time reduction from automatic layer caching
Drop-in replacement for GitHub Actions runners with minimal workflow changes
Per-second billing avoids paying for idle runner time
Support for non-Docker build caches like Bazel and Turborepo

Cons

Primarily useful for teams already invested in Docker and GitHub Actions
Business-tier pricing and infrastructure options are not publicly listed
No permanent free plan, only a time-limited trial

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Depot replace GitHub Actions?

No, Depot works alongside GitHub Actions, providing faster runners and build caching, plus its own Depot CI engine that uses the same YAML syntax.

Is there a free plan?

Depot offers a 7-day free trial with no credit card required, but there is no permanent free tier; paid plans start at $20/month.

What build tools does Depot cache besides Docker?

Depot supports remote caching for Bazel, Go, Gradle, and Turborepo in addition to Docker layer caching.

Can Depot run on my own cloud infrastructure?

The Business plan supports dedicated AWS-hosted infrastructure with private networking, static IPs, and SSO.

Pricing Overview

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Paid (Subscription)

Developer

$20

Startup

$200

Business

Custom

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Buildkite

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Buildkite is a CI/CD platform for building, testing, and deploying software, distinguished by a hybrid architecture where the control plane is hosted but build agents run on infrastructure you control, whether that's your own servers, Mac hardware, GPUs, or Kubernetes. Pipelines support dynamic steps, conditional logic, and wait/block steps for approval gates. Beyond core pipelines, Buildkite offers a Test Engine for flaky test detection and analytics, package registries for supply-chain security, and a Mobile Delivery Cloud tuned for iOS and Android release workflows. It's used by large-scale engineering teams; Buildkite cites Uber running 100,000 concurrent agents and cutting monorepo build times in half.

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