Buildfarm vs Cachix
Buildfarm
buildfarm.github.ioCachix
cachix.orgSide by side
| Figure | Buildfarm | Cachix |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 3 |
| Spec score · Build Cache Software | 7.8 (#11) | 7.9 (#9) |
| Deployment | The project documents running Buildfarm server and worker processes, using containers for a minimal cluster, and installing an OCI bundled Helm chart. | Cachix Deploy continuously deploys to Nix profiles such as NixOS, nix-darwin, and Home Manager using a pull model. |
| Product | Buildfarm is a software stack implementing the Remote Execution API for remote content storage, action-result caching, and asynchronous action execution. | Cachix is a service for hosting Nix binary caches. |
| Purpose | Buildfarm implements the Remote Execution API for remote caching and execution. | Cachix shares binaries between CI, development, and deployment environments. |
| Support | The project repository directs users to file bugs or feature requests as issues and ask questions in the build team Slack channel. | Cachix lists live chat, email, GitHub issues, and a service status page as support or feedback channels. |
Plans
In their own words
Buildfarm
Buildfarm has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Cachix
Cachix hosts Nix binary caches so teams can share binaries across CI, development, and deployment environments. Its CLI can push binaries, watch a Nix store, and configure Nix to use a cache. The service says its optimizations speed up cache roundtrips, while Cloudflare CDN provides performance and unlimited bandwidth on all plans. When a cache reaches its storage limit, least-recently-used entries are removed; Cachix says it sends a warning email at 85% of that limit. Documentation includes CI guides for GitHub Actions, Buildkite, CircleCI, GitLab CI, Hercules CI, Hydra, and Travis CI. Cachix Deploy uses a pull model to deploy continuously to Nix profiles such as NixOS, nix-darwin, and Home Manager. Teams can assign read or write access, revoke tokens, and require a token for private cache reads and writes; cache entries are signed. Enterprise options include on-premise or self-hosted deployment, SSO, SLA, dedicated premium support, custom deployment, and audit logs. Cachix offers a free plan and a 14-day trial. Listed Starter, Standard, and Pro plans have prices available by contacting Cachix.