FASTBuild vs Gradle

FASTBuild is an open-source build system for compiling software across Linux, macOS and Windows. It runs compilation work across worker threads, can reuse results from local or network caches, and can distribute builds among networked machines when their settings and worker setup are compatible. The maker says caching can accelerate compile times up to 10x. Some compiler settings do not support caching or distribution; FASTBuild handles affected objects without caching or builds them locally. Supported toolchains include MSVC, GCC, SNC, Clang, GreenHills, CodeWarrior and NVCC, plus syntactically compatible command-line compilers. It can combine C++ files into Unity or Blob builds, while allowing writable files to be built individually for quicker iteration. FASTBuild can generate Visual Studio and XCode project files. The maker describes it as a self-contained executable that needs no installation or dependencies beyond compiler tools. It is free, with commercial use and redistribution allowed under license conditions; the license provides the software without warranty. The listed current release is v1.20, released 26-Apr-2026.

Gradle Build Tool is a free, open-source system for automating software builds across projects of different types and sizes. Build logic can use either Kotlin DSL or Groovy DSL. Incremental builds, caching and parallel task execution support the build process, while Gradle downloads and manages transitive dependencies from Maven- and Ivy-compatible repositories. The Gradle Wrapper can provision a build environment and specify the Gradle version used by a project. Its ecosystem covers JVM, Android, C/C++, Swift, Objective-C and assembler projects, and it runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. The Tooling API lets IDEs and other tools inspect projects, run builds, receive progress events and cancel operations. Listed support includes Android Studio and Ant, plus Checkstyle, CodeNarc, PMD and JaCoCo. Gradle includes dependency verification. The maker says open-source security fixes are limited by its end-of-life policy; its Security Subscription offers prioritized fixes under SLA and extended maintenance, but does not guarantee a clean scanner report when findings come from third-party libraries.