Celesto vs Latchkey
Spend 73% less per Linux runtime minute at matching CPU and RAM, without a monthly CI plan. Latchkey combines GitHub Actions runners with self-healing, included minutes, and larger machine options.
List rates before allowances and credits; checked November 1, 2026. Sources and assumptions
- Same 2 vCPU · 8 GB runner
- 3.8×more CI per dollar
- 73% less per minute · $0.00067 vs $0.0025
- Matched runtime list rate
- 73% less
- At 2 vCPU and 8 GB before allowances. The same ratio holds at 4 and 8 vCPU.
- Monthly CI subscription
- $0
- Latchkey's published plans start at $5/month with 2,000 included small-equivalent minutes.
Compare list runtime costs.
Pick a monthly runtime and a runner size.
List runtime costs before allowances, credits, plan fees, or add-ons, assuming equal runtime. Latchkey plans cost $5, $19, or $49/month and include 2,000, 4,000, or 6,000 small-equivalent runner minutes respectively. Larger runners consume allowances proportionally. Additional seats past plan allowances cost $5/month where available. Runtime charts exclude plan fees and included usage. Latchkey rounds up per job; a 90-second job bills two minutes. Its managed GitHub Actions product requires a GitHub organization. Celesto preparation and cleanup also consume runtime. Equal CPU and RAM do not establish equal hardware performance. These are not predicted bills or measured job performance. Sources and checked date.
Lower is better
Celesto Memory2 vCPU · 8 GB$13.33
Latchkey2 vCPU · 8 GB$50.00
List-price difference before allowances: $36.67 per month.
Prices by runner size.
Published Latchkey Linux x64 sizes with an exact CPU and memory match in the Celesto catalog.
| Hardware | Celesto | Latchkey | CI per dollar |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 vCPU · 8 GB | $0.00067/min | $0.0025/min | 3.8×73% less |
| 4 vCPU · 16 GB | $0.0013/min | $0.005/min | 3.8×73% less |
| 8 vCPU · 32 GB | $0.0027/min | $0.01/min | 3.8×73% less |
Lower Linux runtime rates, with no recurring CI plan fee.
A check marks whoever has the edge on that line.
| Feature | Celesto | Latchkey |
|---|---|---|
| Price and allowances | ||
| 2 vCPU · 8 GB, per minute | $0.000667(Celesto has the edge) | $0.0025 after included minutes |
| Monthly plan | No CI subscription(Celesto has the edge) | $5 Developer / $19 Launch / $49 Scale |
| Included usage | $5 one-time trial credit | 2,000 / 4,000 / 6,000 small-equivalent minutes per month by plan(Latchkey has the edge) |
| Workflow capabilities | ||
| Platform | Ubuntu 24.04 Linux x64 | Ubuntu 24.04 Linux x64 |
| Largest preset | 8 vCPU · 32 GB | 16 vCPU · 64 GB(Latchkey has the edge) |
| Disk at 2 vCPU | 40 GiB | 100 GB(Latchkey has the edge) |
| GitHub Actions results | In GitHub Actions | In GitHub Actions |
| Automatic failure repair | Workflow-defined retries | Built-in self-healing agent; repair runtime is billed(Latchkey has the edge) |
Price and allowances
- 2 vCPU · 8 GB, per minute
- Celesto$0.000667 Has the edge
- Latchkey$0.0025 after included minutes
- Monthly plan
- CelestoNo CI subscription Has the edge
- Latchkey$5 Developer / $19 Launch / $49 Scale
- Included usage
- Celesto$5 one-time trial credit
- Latchkey2,000 / 4,000 / 6,000 small-equivalent minutes per month by plan Has the edge
Workflow capabilities
- Platform
- CelestoUbuntu 24.04 Linux x64
- LatchkeyUbuntu 24.04 Linux x64
- Largest preset
- Celesto8 vCPU · 32 GB
- Latchkey16 vCPU · 64 GB Has the edge
- Disk at 2 vCPU
- Celesto40 GiB
- Latchkey100 GB Has the edge
- GitHub Actions results
- CelestoIn GitHub Actions
- LatchkeyIn GitHub Actions
- Automatic failure repair
- CelestoWorkflow-defined retries
- LatchkeyBuilt-in self-healing agent; repair runtime is billed Has the edge
Choose Celesto if
- You want 73% lower Linux runtime list rates before allowances
- You want usage-based compute without a monthly CI plan
- Your jobs fit within 8 vCPU and 32 GB
Stay on Latchkey if
- You use included plan minutes and Latchkey's broader CI tools together
- You need 16 vCPU, 64 GB memory, or larger local disks
- Latchkey's self-healing behavior fits your failure-recovery policy
Switch in one line.
Install the GitHub App, then swap the runner label. Keep compatible workflow steps and cache configuration; logs stay in GitHub Actions. Celesto stores caches separately, so expect an initial cache miss.
Runner label
1# Before
2runs-on: latchkey-small
3
4# After
5runs-on: [self-hosted, celesto-memory]Questions.
Linux x64 jobs include actions/cache and setup-node/setup-python caching without changes to compatible cache steps. Cache storage has no separate charge. Default per-repository limits are 5 GiB on trial and promotional credit and 25 GiB on paid credit; caches expire after 7 idle days. CI runtime consumes workspace credit.
Docker Engine, Buildx, and Compose are preinstalled. Docker builds, Compose workflows, and GitHub service containers are verified. Validate Docker actions and whole-job containers before migrating. Docker’s explicit --cpus flag failed the documented preflight.
No. Each job starts fresh. Use registry caches or portable archives through actions/cache to reuse layers. Direct BuildKit type=gha,version=2 cache export failed the documented preflight.
At 2 vCPU and 8 GB, Celesto costs $0.000667/min versus Latchkey's $0.0025/min additional usage rate, about 73% less. Latchkey's plans also include monthly minutes and have a plan fee, so the runtime chart is not a full subscription comparison. Actual bill savings depend on job durations, included usage and per-job rounding.
Celesto runs your GitHub Actions workflow; retries follow your workflow configuration. Latchkey documents an agent that repairs transient failures during a job, with the extra repair time billed as runtime. Evaluate its effects on reproducibility and your own failure cases before relying on it.
We have not published a matched benchmark against Latchkey. This page compares published prices at equal CPU and memory allocations. Latchkey documents AWS m6a-class machines and 100 GB disks on its small through large presets; run representative jobs to compare actual performance.
Sources and assumptions
Latchkey pricing and capabilities checked November 1, 2026. Sources, including current Celesto CI documentation: Celesto CI dependency caching · Celesto CI Docker and services · Latchkey plans and runner pricing · Latchkey runner sizes and hardware · Latchkey billing and rounding. Celesto prices come from the current runner catalog. Rates compare list prices, not measured job speed. Latchkey is a trademark of its owner; Celesto is not affiliated with it.