Buildfarm vs NativeLink
Buildfarm
buildfarm.github.io
NativeLink
nativelink.comSide by side
| Figure | Buildfarm | NativeLink |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 3 |
| Spec score · Build Cache Software | 7.8 (#11) | 7.5 (#17) |
| Build systems | The project says it is compatible with Bazel, buck2, Pants, and other build systems that use the Remote Execution API. | The product lists Bazel, Buck2, Siso, Soong, Pants, Goma, and CMake via recc among its supported build systems. |
| Deployment | The project documents running Buildfarm server and worker processes, using containers for a minimal cluster, and installing an OCI bundled Helm chart. | The documentation describes NativeLink as a single Rust binary that can act as the cache, scheduler, and worker with different configurations. |
| Product | Buildfarm is a software stack implementing the Remote Execution API for remote content storage, action-result caching, and asynchronous action execution. | NativeLink combines remote build caching, remote execution, and observability in a Rust-native platform. |
| Security | The authentication guide describes configuring client/server authentication with self-signed TLS certificates. | The security page states SOC 2 and ISO 27001 are complete, and GDPR and CCPA/CPRA compliant. |
| Support | The project repository directs users to file bugs or feature requests as issues and ask questions in the build team Slack channel. | The free Open Source tier provides community Slack support, while Enterprise includes dedicated engineering support. |
Plans
NativeLink
- Open SourceFree
- Enterprise Tier 1Price not published
- Enterprise Tier 2Price not published
In their own words
Buildfarm
Buildfarm has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
NativeLink
NativeLink brings remote build caching, remote execution, and observability into a Rust-native platform. Its content-addressed cache deduplicates build artifacts so teams, CI systems, and agents can reuse prior results. Remote execution spreads compilation and tests across worker fleets on AWS, GCP, or bare metal, with GPU, ARM, and Apple Silicon support. Listed build systems include Bazel, Buck2, Siso, Soong, Pants, Goma, BuildStream, and CMake through recc. CI integrations include GitHub Actions, GitLab, Buildkite, and Jenkins; other listed connections include AWS, GCP, Azure, S3, GCS, and Redis. The product also lists integrations with AI coding platforms. It can run as a self-hosted Rust binary. Clients support Linux, macOS, and Windows, while servers support Linux and macOS. The free Open Source tier includes community Slack support. Most of the monorepo uses FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0, but metrics and remote persistent workers are Business Source License modules requiring Enterprise or a separate license for shared production use.