AI visibility report for Depot
Vertical: CI/CD & Build Systems
AI search visibility benchmark across 5 platforms in CI/CD & Build Systems.
Presence Rate
Top-3 citations across 125 prompt × platform pairs
Sentiment
Peer Ranking
Key Metrics
Platform Breakdown
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Gemini Search
Grok
Google AI ModeOverview
Depot is a build acceleration platform founded in 2022 and backed by Y Combinator, Felicis, and Pioneer Fund. It offers remote container builds, GitHub Actions runners, a new programmable CI engine (Depot CI), distributed remote caching, a container registry, and agent sandboxes—all designed to dramatically reduce CI build times and infrastructure costs. Depot's container build service replaces the standard docker build command with remote, emulation-free Intel and Arm builders featuring fully managed persistent NVMe-backed caching. Its GitHub Actions runners provide 30% faster CPUs and 10x faster cache at roughly half the cost of GitHub-hosted runners. Depot CI, launched in early 2026, is a performance-first CI engine built for the AI-accelerated software development era. Customers report build time reductions ranging from 2x to 55x and CI cost reductions of 50% or more.
Depot is a managed build acceleration platform providing remote Docker container builds, high-performance GitHub Actions runners, a new CI engine (Depot CI), distributed remote caching, a container registry, and agent compute sandboxes. It operates as a transparent layer on top of existing CI workflows, requiring minimal configuration changes while delivering step-change improvements in build speed and cost efficiency.
Key Facts
- Founded
- 2022
- HQ
- United States
- Founders
- Kyle Galbraith, Jacob Gillespie
- Employees
- 10-50
- Funding
- ~$14.1M
- Customers
- Hundreds of companies (not publicly spec
- Status
- Private
Target users
Key Capabilities10
- Remote container builds with emulation-free native Intel and Arm (Graviton4) hardware
- Fully managed persistent NVMe-backed layer caching, shared across the entire team
- GitHub Actions runner replacement with 30% faster CPUs, 10x faster networking, unrestricted concurrency
- Depot CI: programmable CI engine with parallel steps, SSH debugging, built-in caching, and per-second billing
- Distributed remote caching for Bazel, Go, Gradle, Turborepo, sccache, Pants, and Maven
- Multi-platform (linux/amd64, linux/arm64) image builds without QEMU emulation
- Depot Managed: self-hosted data plane deployed inside customer's own AWS account
- Agent sandboxes for AI coding agents (Claude Code and others)
- Container registry (Depot Registry) with integrated build acceleration
- Build API with gRPC, Connect, and HTTP/JSON support for platform-level programmatic builds
Key Use Cases7
- Accelerating slow Docker image builds in CI and local development
- Reducing GitHub Actions costs while increasing runner speed and cache throughput
- Building multi-architecture (Intel + Arm) container images without emulation overhead
- Sharing persistent build cache across distributed engineering teams
- Replacing slow legacy CI pipelines with a performance-first CI engine (Depot CI)
- Providing compute sandboxes for AI coding agents running in automated loops
- Running container builds programmatically via API on behalf of platform customers
Depot customer outcomes
55x faster Docker builds (193 min → 3 min)
PostHog reduced Docker build times from 193 minutes to 3 minutes and 26 seconds using Depot container builds and GitHub Actions runners. The team also saved approximately 44 days of build time over an average two-week period across ~118,000 GitHub Actions jobs.
55% reduction in GitHub Actions spend; 25% throughput increase
JaneApp's Delivery Engineering team cut GitHub Actions spending by 55%, achieved 2.4x faster key end-to-end test jobs, and increased engineering build throughput by 25% after migrating to Depot runners and container builds.
6x faster builds; 50% reduction in GitHub Actions spend
Bastion achieved 6x faster Rust Docker image builds and 3x faster Go Docker image builds, while halving their GitHub Actions spend and doubling PR throughput after adopting Depot container builds, runners, and cache.
Recent Trend
How AI describes Depot3
Depot --------- Best for: ultra-fast Docker builds at scale ### Why people adopt it * Remote high-performance builders * Massive build caching improvements * ARM + x86 scaling * Can dramatically reduce bottlenecks in contai...
Which CI platforms scale best to handle hundreds of concurrent pipelines during peak hours without queueing delays?
Managed runner providers such as Depot * Buildkite agent fleets with standby workers * GitLab autoscaling runners with pre-provisioned capacity The underlying idea is the same: assign wo...
Which CI platforms or techniques reduce pipeline cold-start times most effectively when using ephemeral containerized runners?
Drop-in Drop-off Command : With features like `depot ci migrate` or specific Buildkite migration utilities, teams can automatically adapt existing workflows into dynamic pipelines without a total rewrite.
Which YAML-based CI systems have the lowest learning curve for developers new to pipeline-as-code?
Most cited sources3
Alternatives in CI/CD & Build Systems6
Depot positions itself as a build acceleration layer that sits on top of or alongside existing CI providers rather than a full CI replacement (though its new Depot CI product now challenges that framing).
- Its core differentiation is raw speed and cost reduction: managed remote BuildKit for Docker images (up to 40x faster), high-performance GitHub Actions runners at half the cost of GitHub-hosted runners, and distributed remote caching—all with minimal setup.
- Unlike GitHub Actions, CircleCI, or Buildkite, Depot's founding thesis is that build infrastructure is a dedicated performance problem, not a workflow orchestration problem.
- Its per-second billing, emulation-free native Intel and Arm builders, fully managed persistent NVMe-backed cache, and Depot CI (a new programmable CI engine built performance-first for the AI-assisted coding era) collectively make it the only vendor in the vertical whose entire product surface area is organized around eliminating compute bottlenecks.
Reviews
Praised
- Dramatic build speed improvements (2x–55x reported)
- Easy, minimal-change integration (often one line in workflow file)
- Proactive, hands-on support from founders and engineers via Slack
- Platform stability — 'just works' with no ongoing maintenance
- Significant CI cost savings (up to 55% reported)
- Emulation-free native Arm and Intel multi-platform builds
- Shared persistent team cache with no tarball overhead
- Continuous platform improvements that benefit customers automatically
Criticized
- Early-stage submodule build failures (reported resolved)
- Very few third-party reviews available (low G2 review volume)
- Depot CI is newly launched and GitHub Actions compatibility is the primary supported syntax
- GPU builds and bring-your-own-AWS require highest (custom-priced) Business plan
Depot has a 5.0/5 rating on G2 from 3 reviews (limited sample size). Reviews on G2, Product Hunt, and AWS Marketplace consistently highlight dramatic build speed improvements (2x–55x), ease of integration (often a single-line change), exceptional proactive technical support from founders and engineers directly via Slack, and stability of the platform once configured. Negative feedback is rare and minor, mostly referencing early-stage edge cases (e.g., submodule build failures) that were resolved by the team. Social proof on the product website from engineers at PostHog, JaneApp, Bastion, Formbricks, Better Stack, and others reinforces the speed and cost-savings narrative.
Pricing
Depot offers three tiers. Developer ($20/month): 1 user, 500 Docker build minutes, 2,000 Depot CI minutes, 2,000 GitHub Actions minutes, 25 GB cache storage, community Discord support. Startup ($200/month): unlimited users, 5,000 Docker build minutes, 20,000 Depot CI minutes, 20,000 GitHub Actions minutes, 250 GB cache, email support, RBAC, macOS M2 runners; optional SSO add-on at $500/month. Business (custom pricing): GPU-enabled builds, dedicated AWS infrastructure, static IPs, AWS PrivateLink, SSO/SAML/SCIM, audit logging, Slack Connect, AWS Marketplace billing. Additional usage is billed at $0.00005/second/vCPU for Depot CI, $0.004/minute for GitHub Actions, $0.04/minute for Docker builds, and $0.20/GB/month for cache storage. A 7-day free trial is available with no credit card required.
Limitations
- Depot CI is a newly launched product (2026) and GitHub Actions workflow compatibility is its primary supported syntax, with GitLab CI compatibility noted in the docs but the engine is early-stage.
- The GitHub Actions runner product is GitHub-specific and does not replace runners for GitLab CI or Bitbucket.
- Custom regions, dedicated infrastructure, GPU builds, AWS PrivateLink, SSO/SAML/SCIM, audit logging, and bring-your-own-AWS-account deployment are restricted to the Business (custom-priced) plan. macOS M2 runners are only available on the Startup plan and above.
- The Developer plan is limited to a single user.
- At the time of research, G2 has only 3 published reviews, indicating limited third-party review coverage.
- One G2 reviewer noted early-stage issues with builds failing when git submodules changed, though this was reportedly resolved by the Depot team.
Frequently asked questions
Topic Coverage
Prompt-Level Results
| Prompt | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Gemini Search | Grok | Google AI Mode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capability0/5 cited (0%) | |||||
Which build systems enforce consistent dependency versions and prevent supply chain issues at the build stage? | |||||
Which CI/CD platforms have the best native support for running iOS and Android mobile builds without needing self-hosted runners? | |||||
Which CI/CD platforms support multi-cloud and hybrid deployment targets without tying you to a single cloud provider? | |||||
Which enterprise build systems handle dynamic pipeline generation best — generating jobs based on which packages changed in a monorepo? | |||||
Which CI platforms support GPU-dependent ML training jobs in a build pipeline without requiring self-hosted runners? | |||||
Developer Experience0/5 cited (0%) | |||||
Which YAML-based CI systems have the lowest learning curve for developers new to pipeline-as-code? | |||||
Which CI tools let developers run the exact same pipeline definitions locally for a tight local feedback loop before pushing? | |||||
Which build systems handle incremental builds and caching best for large TypeScript monorepos to avoid rebuilding unchanged packages? | |||||
What CI platforms give engineering teams the best tools for debugging flaky tests and intermittent pipeline failures in a cloud environment? | |||||
What tools help teams manage secrets and environment variables safely across many CI/CD pipelines without duplicating configuration? | |||||
Integrations & Ecosystem0/5 cited (0%) | |||||
Which build systems integrate best with artifact registries and container image repositories for versioning and promotion across environments? | |||||
Which CI/CD platforms have the best integrations for sending build failure notifications to project management tools and chat platforms? | |||||
Which CI providers make pipeline migration easiest — are there any portable pipeline standards that reduce lock-in when switching? | |||||
What security scanning and SAST tools integrate best into an existing build pipeline without significantly increasing build times? | |||||
Which CI/CD platforms have the deepest native integrations with container orchestration clusters and serverless deployment targets? | |||||
Performance & Reliability1/5 cited (20%) | |||||
What tools or approaches let you benchmark build execution speed across different CI platforms for the same test suite? | |||||
Which managed CI/CD providers offer the strongest SLAs and uptime track record for teams evaluating reliability before committing? | |||||
Which CI platforms scale best to handle hundreds of concurrent pipelines during peak hours without queueing delays? | |||||
Which build tools offer remote caching for large polyglot monorepos — and what kind of build time reduction is realistic? | |||||
Which CI platforms or techniques reduce pipeline cold-start times most effectively when using ephemeral containerized runners? | |||||
Setup & First Run0/5 cited (0%) | |||||
I'm evaluating fully managed CI/CD services versus self-hosted build systems for a startup — what are the key trade-offs and what should I look at? | |||||
Which managed CI platforms have the smoothest onboarding experience when migrating a team of 30 engineers from a self-hosted system? | |||||
Which modern cloud-native CI platforms make it easiest to migrate from a self-hosted build setup without breaking existing workflows? | |||||
What's the fastest CI/CD platform to set up for a monorepo with 15 microservices? | |||||
Which CI platforms make it easiest to configure parallel test execution for a Node.js project from scratch? | |||||
Strengths1
Which CI platforms or techniques reduce pipeline cold-start times most effectively when using ephemeral containerized runners?
Avg # 1.0 · 1 platform
Gaps5
Which managed CI/CD providers offer the strongest SLAs and uptime track record for teams evaluating reliability before committing?
Competitors on 3 platforms
Which CI platforms support GPU-dependent ML training jobs in a build pipeline without requiring self-hosted runners?
Competitors on 3 platforms
What tools or approaches let you benchmark build execution speed across different CI platforms for the same test suite?
Competitors on 2 platforms
Which CI platforms scale best to handle hundreds of concurrent pipelines during peak hours without queueing delays?
Competitors on 2 platforms
Which CI/CD platforms support multi-cloud and hybrid deployment targets without tying you to a single cloud provider?
Competitors on 2 platforms
Vertical Ranking
| # | Brand | PresencePres. | Share of VoiceSoV | DocsDocs | BlogBlog | MentionsMent. | Avg PosPos | Sentiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GitHub | 16.0% | 14.1% | 3.2% | 1.6% | 16.0% | #15.3 | +0.12 |
| 2 | GitLab | 14.4% | 22.8% | 10.4% | 6.4% | 14.4% | #13.0 | +0.19 |
| 3 | CircleCI | 12.0% | 18.0% | 2.4% | 6.4% | 12.0% | #10.1 | +0.19 |
| 4 | Harness | 11.2% | 17.5% | 2.4% | 9.6% | 11.2% | #10.7 | +0.16 |
| 5 | Buildkite | 8.8% | 13.1% | 2.4% | 0.0% | 8.0% | #8.6 | +0.23 |
| 6 | JetBrains (TeamCity) | 7.2% | 4.4% | 0.0% | 7.2% | 7.2% | #3.4 | +0.19 |
| 7 | Microsoft (Azure Pipelines) | 3.2% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 0.0% | 3.2% | #10.2 | +0.15 |
| 8 | CloudBees | 2.4% | 2.4% | 0.0% | 2.4% | 2.4% | #9.0 | +0.17 |
| 9 | Earthly Technologies | 1.6% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1.6% | 1.6% | #14.0 | +0.25 |
| 10 | Depot | 0.8% | 1.5% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | #8.0 | +0.00 |
| 11 | Nx | 0.8% | 1.9% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.8% | #11.0 | +0.00 |
| 12 | Dagger | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.8% | #18.0 | +0.60 |
| 13 | Turborepo | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.8% | #25.0 | +0.00 |
| 14 | Jenkins | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — | — |
| 15 | Semaphore | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — | — |
| 16 | Travis CI | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — | — |
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