GitHub Actions on ARM64: ubuntu-24.04-arm, prices, and building arm64 images natively

Updated 24 Oct 2026 · prices and specs read on 24 Oct 2026

Set runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm to run a GitHub Actions job on a GitHub-hosted ARM64 Linux runner: in a public repository it is a standard runner (4 vCPU, 16 GB, free), in a private one it has 2 vCPU and 8 GB and costs $0.005 a minute, a sixth less than the x64 runner of the same size.

The switch is one line

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm   # was: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v5
        with:
          node-version: 24
      - run: npm ci && npm test

To run the same job on both architectures, put the label in a matrix:

jobs:
  test:
    strategy:
      matrix:
        runner: [ubuntu-24.04, ubuntu-24.04-arm]
    runs-on: ${{ matrix.runner }}

What GitHub’s ARM64 runners hold and cost

What can break

• Docker container actions and images without an arm64 build. A uses: that points at an x64-only image fails to start. Most official images (node, python, postgres, redis) publish arm64.
• Downloaded binaries. A step that fetches …-linux-amd64.tar.gz by name needs the arm64 file instead; uname -m prints aarch64 on ARM.
• Snapshot tests that depend on the CPU. Floating-point output, image rendering or font hinting can differ by a pixel or a digit between architectures. Compare a run on each before you switch the gate.
• Caches. Keys that do not include the architecture restore x64 node_modules native modules on ARM. Put runner.arch in the key.

Building arm64 Docker images without emulation

QEMU lets an x64 runner build arm64 images, but Docker notes that building several platforms on one runner can significantly extend build times. Docker’s own reusable workflow builds one platform per runner, arm64 on ubuntu-24.04-arm, and assembles the multi-platform image for you:

jobs:
  build:
    permissions:
      contents: read
      id-token: write
    uses: docker/github-builder/.github/workflows/build.yml@v1
    with:
      output: image
      push: true
      platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64
      meta-images: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}
    secrets:
      registry-auths: |
        - registry: ghcr.io
          username: ${{ github.actor }}
          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

Other ARM64 runners

• Blacksmith offers ARM runners at $0.0025 a minute for 2 vCPU, with 3 GB per vCPU.
• FlameWill is ARM64 only (current Arm Neoverse cores, in the EU) and sizes memory separately from cores, up to 8 GB per vCPU:

Docker, Node.js, Bun and Playwright’s browsers are already installed on FlameWill’s machines, so a job’s setup steps download less.