FASTBuild vs Pants

FASTBuild8.9Visit Pants8.6Visit

Higher score FASTBuild #2 in Game Build Automation Software 8.9/10 Open source Visit FASTBuild

vs

Pants #5 in Game Build Automation Software 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan Visit Pants

• FASTBuild fits best

  Native game teams needing fast compilation

• Pants fits best

  Polyglot teams needing remote build execution

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Side by side

Feature	FASTBuild 8.9/10 Visit ↗	Pants 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.6
Ranking	#2 in Game Build Automation Software	#5 in Game Build Automation Software
Best for	Native game teams needing fast compilation	Polyglot teams needing remote build execution
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Open source	Free plan
Free plan	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop, Self-hosted	Desktop
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Linux, macOS, Windows
Support	Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Specs
Parallel jobs	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Runner model	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Build platforms	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Game engine support	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Artifact storage	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Source integrations	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Parallel and distributed compilation across network workers Local and network build caching for repeated builds Generates Visual Studio and Xcode projects	Infers dependencies from source-code imports Combines local and remote caching with remote execution Packages outputs as PEX files and Docker images
Cons	Configuration is defined through text-based BFF files Distributed compilation requires network workers Primarily focused on C/C++ libraries, executables, DLLs, and tests	Requires repository configuration to run Remote execution depends on available build workers Remote caching uses REAPI or other providers
Our verdict	FASTBuild is an open-source build system for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It is designed for independent developers and large studios working on desktop, mobile, console, and other software, with a particular fit for native game teams. The… Read the review →	Pants is an open-source build system for codebases of all sizes, including monorepos that use multiple languages and frameworks. It supports Python, Go, Java, Scala, Kotlin, Shell, Docker and other ecosystems. Teams can use it for local… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• FASTBuild — where it wins

  • Parallel and distributed compilation across network workers
  • Local and network build caching for repeated builds
  • Generates Visual Studio and Xcode projects

  Where it doesn't

  • Configuration is defined through text-based BFF files
  • Distributed compilation requires network workers
  • Primarily focused on C/C++ libraries, executables, DLLs, and tests

• Pants — where it wins

  • Infers dependencies from source-code imports
  • Combines local and remote caching with remote execution
  • Packages outputs as PEX files and Docker images

  Where it doesn't

  • Requires repository configuration to run
  • Remote execution depends on available build workers
  • Remote caching uses REAPI or other providers

• FASTBuild8.9/10 · Open source

  A focused open-source option for speeding up C/C++ game builds across multiple platforms.

  Visit FASTBuildFull verdict →
• Pants8.6/10 · Free plan

  Open-source build automation for polyglot teams that need remote execution.

  Visit PantsFull verdict →