NoMac CI vs Xcode Cloud

Run CI in GitHub Actions with any tool as a step: NoMac CI gives each macOS job a fresh Mac with Xcode 27, at $0.90 an hour, billed per minute from credit that never expires.

A fresh Mac for every GitHub Actions job.

$0.90/hour per job · billed per minute · no subscription

7-day money-back guarantee on your first purchase. Prices checked 2 November 2026 from public list prices.

What Xcode Cloud is

Apple's CI/CD service, built into Xcode and App Store Connect. Workflows are set up in Xcode and run build, test, analyze and archive actions in compute hours: 25 a month come with the Apple Developer Program, plans add 100 hours for $49.99 a month up to 10,000 for $3,999.99, and unused hours don't roll over.

NoMac CI vs Xcode Cloud at a glance

Why teams choose NoMac CI

• ✓Workflows in GitHub Actions: they live in your repository, not in Xcode and App Store Connect, and any Marketplace action runs.
• ✓Any tool as a step: Fastlane, SwiftLint, CocoaPods, Tuist, XcodeGen or your own scripts. Apple warns that projects a third-party tool generates may fail Xcode Cloud's setup.
• ✓No monthly hours to use up: billed per minute from credit that never expires.
• ✓Published limits: 6 cores and 8 GB of an Apple M4 to M6, 2 jobs at once and up to 6 hours a job. Apple publishes no machine specs, concurrency or time limit for Xcode Cloud.
• ✓Mac, iOS, Swift packages or any other macOS job, from the same workflow as your Linux jobs.

The verdict

Xcode Cloud keeps CI inside Xcode, in monthly hours. NoMac CI keeps it in GitHub Actions, where any tool runs as a step, billed per minute from credit that never expires.

Move it to GitHub Actions

Add a workflow like this one to .github/workflows:

name: CI
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: nomac
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
      - run: |
          xcodebuild test -scheme App \
            -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone 17 Pro'

Add Fastlane, CocoaPods, your scripts or any action as more steps. The docs cover the machine, the limits and secrets.

Questions

What is the best alternative to Xcode Cloud for macOS jobs on GitHub Actions?
NoMac CI: change runs-on to nomac and every job runs on a fresh Apple silicon Mac with Xcode, 6 cores and 8 GB, at $0.90 an hour, billed per minute from prepaid credit. No subscription, no seats and no monthly minimum.

How much does NoMac CI cost?
$0.90 an hour, billed per minute, from the Mac's start to its stop with a one-minute minimum, from prepaid credit: $10 buys 11.1 hours and never expires. A Mac that never ran a job is credited back. 7-day money-back guarantee on your first purchase.

How do I switch?
Sign in at nomac.app, open CI and press Connect GitHub to install the NoMac CI app on your account or organization, on all repositories or the ones you pick. Then change runs-on: macos-latest to runs-on: nomac in the jobs that should run on NoMac. Steps, actions and secrets stay as they are.

What is on the Mac?
macOS 26.6.2, Xcode 27.0, iOS 27.0 Simulator, with Homebrew, CocoaPods, Node, Python and Ruby, on 6 cores and 8 GB of an Apple M4 to M6. Every job gets a fresh VM, deleted when the job ends.

How many jobs run at once?
Two per account, up to 6 hours each. More jobs wait in GitHub's queue for a free Mac, and teams that need more at once ask for it.

Does it work with GitLab, Bitbucket or Jenkins?
NoMac CI runs GitHub Actions jobs, for personal accounts and organizations, private and public repositories. From another CI system, a job can start a NoMac Mac with the NoMac CLI and run its build there.

A fresh Mac for every job, billed per minute.

Change runs-on to nomac. $0.90 an hour, billed per minute, 2 jobs at once, up to 6 hours each. $10 of credit is 11.1 hours of macOS jobs.