Does using a CodeBuild self-hosted runner (runs-on: codebuild-...) incur any GitHub Actions minutes cost?

[Syota622]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Actions Runner

Discussion Details

Body:

Hi all,

I'm running GitHub Actions jobs on AWS CodeBuild-hosted self-hosted runners, and I'd like to confirm how billing works on the GitHub side.

My setup:

• Runner type: Self-hosted runners hosted by AWS CodeBuild (following the AWS CodeBuild "action-runner" tutorial)
• Trigger: GitHub sends a workflow_job (queued) webhook, which starts a CodeBuild project. Jobs are assigned via runs-on: codebuild-<project-name>-${{ github.run_id }}-${{ github.run_attempt }} in the workflow YAML.
• Repository visibility: Private
• Behavior: For each job in the workflow, CodeBuild starts a build and runs an ephemeral runner. When the job completes, the runner and the build process terminate immediately.

My questions:

1. When runs-on points to a CodeBuild self-hosted runner, I understand that CodeBuild charges apply on the AWS side. On the GitHub Actions side, are no GitHub Actions minutes charged for these jobs, since they don't run on GitHub-hosted runners? Is that correct?

2. If GitHub Actions minutes are not charged in this case, could you clarify the difference between when GitHub Actions costs are incurred versus when they are not? For example, my understanding is that GitHub-hosted runner minutes are billed, but self-hosted runner job execution time is not. Are there other GitHub-side costs I should be aware of in a self-hosted setup (e.g., Actions storage for artifacts/packages, or anything specific to private repositories)?

Thanks in advance for any clarification!

[maheerCodes]

hey @Syota622 👋 .
your understanding is correct,,,self-hosted runners(including the codebuild-backed ones via theruns-on: codebuild-...pattern)are not billed as github actions minutes regardless of repo visibility.github only meters minutes for jobs running on github-hosted runners,,, the moment your job executes on infrastructure you provision (codebuild ,your own ec2 ,a local machine ,whatever),,github isnt charging for the compute time itself since its not their compute.

on your second question ,,, here's the breakdown of what github-side costs actually remain even with self-hosted runners :

• actions minutes,,,,$0 for self-hosted,,,confirmed ,this is the big one youre asking about.
• artifact /cache storage,,,this still applies regardless of runner type. if your workflow uploads artifacts(actions/upload-artifact)or uses actions cache ,,, that storage counts against your plan's storage quota (shared with packages) even though the job itself ran on codebuild.
• github packages storage ,,,same deal ,,if your workflow publishes packages ,,,that storage is billed independent of where the job ran,
• api rate limits ,,, not a cost exactly,,,but worth noting the webhook -> codebuild trigger flow still counts against your github api rate limits for things like the workflow_job webhook delivery and any api calls your runner setup makes back to github(status updates etc).

so for a private repo with self-hosted runners and no artifacts / packages being stored,,youre genuinely looking at $0 github-side cost,,,,,,the only spend is purely on the aws side for codebuild compute. worth double-checking your usage page at github.com/settings/billing just to visually confirm 0 minutes are accruing for these jobs specifically💙💙 .

[Syota622]

@maheerCodes
Thanks so much for the detailed breakdown — that's really clear and helpful! 💙
One follow-up: when I check various sources (including some AI assistants and third-party articles), I occasionally see claims that GitHub Actions costs are incurred even with self-hosted runners, which seems to contradict what you've explained. I'd like to confirm this against an authoritative source.
Is there any official GitHub documentation or announcement that explicitly states GitHub Actions minutes are not billed when jobs run on self-hosted runners (including CodeBuild-backed runners via the runs-on: codebuild-... pattern)? If you could point me to the specific docs page or billing reference, that would help me settle the conflicting information I'm seeing.
For context, the official GitHub docs I'm aware of mention that "minutes... apply only to GitHub-hosted runners" and that self-hosted runners are "free to use with GitHub Actions," but I'd appreciate confirmation that these are the correct references to rely on for my setup.
Thanks again!

[maheerCodes]

good instinct to want an authoritative source rather than just taking my word for it,,,the references you found are exactly the right ones actually
the official docs to point to specifically :

• "about billing for github actions" page(docs.github.com -> actions -> administering github actions-> about billing for github actions)explicitly states that per-minute rates and included minutes only appply to github-hosted runners,,, self-hosted runners are not metered by github at all for computee time,
• the "about self-hosted runners" page also states self-hosted runners are free to use with github actions ,,,you dont pay github anything beyond your own infrastructure costs(which in your case is the aws codebuild billing) .

the confusion you're seeing from ai assistants /third-party articles is likely one of these :

• conflating github-hosted larger runners (which have different,sometimes confusing billing)with self-hosted runners ,,, theyre genuinely diffferent concepts that get mixed up a lot.
• older articles written before self-hosted runner billing rules were clarified /stabilized.
• some articles confusing actions minutes with storage costs (artifacts / cache /packages)which DO apply regardless of runner type ,,,so "github actions costs are incurred" is technicallly true if youre counting storage, just not minutes specifically.

so to directly confirm : the docs pages above are accurate and current,,,,self-hosted runner compute time is genuinely $0 on the github side. trust those over generic ai-generated summaries, which can blend outdated or adjacent info without flagging the distinction 💙💙💙

[Syota622]

You are such a kind and highly capable person!

Thank you very much!
I learned a great deal!

[maheerCodes]

youre very welcome @Syota622💙💙💙glad it helped clear things up,,, good luck with the codebuild setup !