Bazel vs Google Cloud Build
Bazel
bazel.buildGoogle Cloud Build
cloud.google.comSide by side
| Figure | Bazel | Google Cloud Build |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $0.01/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Build Automation Software | 8.8 (#3) | 7.6 (#21) |
| Spec score · Game Build Automation Software | 8.7 (#7) | 7.4 (#37) |
| Languages | Bazel supports languages including C++, Java, Kotlin, Python, Go, and Rust. | Cloud Build supports applications written in any programming language. |
| Purpose | Bazel is an open-source tool that automates software builds and tests. | Cloud Build is a serverless CI/CD platform for building, testing, and deploying software on Google Cloud infrastructure. |
| Support | The project directs users to its discussion group, GitHub issue tracker, Slack, and Stack Overflow. | Google Cloud provides support plans with different levels of service and features for customer support. |
Plans
Google Cloud Build
- Cloud Build pay-as-you-go (default pool, e2-standard-2)$0.01 a month
In their own words
Bazel
Bazel is a free, open-source tool for automating software builds and tests across languages and platforms. Projects define targets in BUILD files using Starlark, which can also be used to create custom rules and macros. Bazel caches prior work and rebuilds what needs to change, while running tasks in parallel. It supports languages including C++, Java, Kotlin, Python, Go, and Rust, with outputs for desktop, server, Android, and iOS. Bazel runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and the documentation describes builds with 100,000 or more source files across multiple repositories. Sandboxing can make builds and tests more hermetic, and failures return a non-zero exit code for basic CI integration. Teams can share outputs through a remote cache, but must select and maintain its backend and secure access because it can contain binaries. IDE options include plugins for IntelliJ, Android Studio, CLion, and Visual Studio Code, plus Xcode integration. Bazel is not well suited to uncached deployment steps that change cloud configuration.
Google Cloud Build
Google Cloud Build has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.