Nx Cloud alternative: when a focused remote cache is a better fit

What is Nx Cloud?

Nx Cloud is the official cloud platform built by the Nx team. It is a full execution platform: distributed task execution (DTE) across multiple CI agents, managed cloud runners you can launch on demand, first-party analytics across all Nx workspace features, and a remote cache that ships as part of the same subscription.

Because it is built and maintained by the same team that builds Nx itself, it integrates deeply with the Nx CLI and gets new features whenever Nx adds new platform capabilities. If your team needs distributed execution across dozens of agents and wants a single managed product that covers the whole workflow, Nx Cloud is designed exactly for that.

When Nx Cloud is the right choice

Nx Cloud is the right call when one or more of the following apply:

• You need distributed task execution. DTE is Nx Cloud's core differentiator: it splits a single Nx run across multiple CI agents so a build that takes 20 minutes on one machine takes 3-4 minutes across five. No other product in this space does that at the same depth of integration with the Nx graph.
• You want managed cloud runners. Nx Cloud lets you spin up ephemeral agents from the platform rather than paying for always-on CI capacity. If CI runner management is a pain point, this is a compelling reason to stay on the platform.
• You want first-party Nx support. The Nx team owns the cache protocol, the DTE scheduler, and the analytics - you are never relying on a third-party implementation of a spec they wrote.
• You are already buying into the Nx Cloud platform. If you use flaky-test detection, workspace analytics, or the Nx Cloud web interface as a workflow tool, the remote cache is essentially included.

When a focused alternative is a better fit

A focused managed remote cache like Cachely is the better fit when:

• You only need the cache, not the platform. If your team does not use DTE or cloud runners, you are paying for capabilities you do not use. A focused alternative covers exactly what you need at a lower operational surface area.
• Pricing predictability matters. Nx Cloud is priced on usage and seats - the bill climbs as you add developers, bots, CI actors, and workspaces. A flat subscription priced on storage and network limits stays the same regardless of team size.
• You run Turborepo or Gradle alongside Nx. Cachely speaks the Nx remote cache protocol, the Turborepo remote cache protocol, and the Gradle HTTP Build Cache protocol. One cache, one subscription, one set of tokens, all three tools.
• You need explicit read-only enforcement for untrusted builds. Cachely enforces token scopes at the API: a read-only token cannot write even if an attacker tries. This closes the CVE-2025-36852 cache-poisoning attack with a hard API boundary, not just policy.
• You are replacing @nx/s3-cache or a DIY self-hosted cache. The deprecated Nx Powerpack cache packages (@nx/s3-cache, @nx/gcs-cache, @nx/azure-cache) are vulnerable to cache poisoning and will not be patched. Cachely is a managed implementation of the same Nx remote cache spec Nx points migrators at - two environment variables and no bucket to manage. For the bucket-specific options, see the Nx S3 cache guide.

Side-by-side comparison

The table below reflects publicly documented behaviour. For a deeper breakdown, see the full Cachely vs Nx Cloud comparison.

Pricing model differences

The most common reason teams look for an Nx Cloud pricing alternative is predictability. Nx Cloud charges on usage and seats, which means the bill grows in two directions at once: as the team grows and as CI volume grows. For a fast-moving team, this can create unwanted surprises at billing time.

Cachely takes a different approach. The subscription is priced on storage and monthly requests - the two things that actually cost money to serve. There are no per-seat fees, no per-workspace fees, and no credit meter to watch. You pay the same flat rate whether you have five developers or fifty, one workspace or ten.

The full pricing details are on the pricing page. The free tier is a real usable cache with no credit card required; the paid plan raises the storage and request limits.

Security posture for untrusted PR builds

The cache-poisoning attack (CVE-2025-36852, CREEP) happens when a pull-request or fork build can write to a cache that trusted builds later read. An attacker can plant a malicious artifact in a PR and have a developer or CI agent execute it when it pulls from cache.

The fix has two parts:

• Read-only tokens for untrusted builds. Issue PR and fork workflows a read-only token so they can fetch artifacts for speed but cannot write anything. Cachely enforces this at the API: a write attempt with a read-only token returns 403 before any storage is touched.
• Immutable artifacts. Once a cache key is written, it cannot be overwritten. A re-upload returns 409 Conflict, so a known-good build result is permanent. Even a leaked read-write token cannot silently replace an artifact that already exists.

Set this up by creating two tokens in your Cachely workspace: a read-write token stored as a protected secret used by main and release branches, and a read-only token used by pull-request workflows. Store them as separate CI secrets and never expose the read-write token to fork-triggered workflows. The setup guide has exact environment variable instructions.

Getting started with Cachely

Cachely implements the same Nx self-hosted remote cache protocol Nx already supports. For most teams, migrating from Nx Cloud or a DIY cache takes less than ten minutes:

• Create a Cachely account and workspace - the free tier requires no credit card.
• Generate a read-write token for protected branches and a read-only token for pull-request builds.
• Set two environment variables on every machine that runs Nx builds: NX_SELF_HOSTED_REMOTE_CACHE_SERVER=https://remote.cachely.dev and NX_SELF_HOSTED_REMOTE_CACHE_ACCESS_TOKEN=<your-token>. What each one does, and the trailing-path mistake to avoid, is covered in NX_SELF_HOSTED_REMOTE_CACHE_SERVER explained.
• For Turborepo builds, set TURBO_API, TURBO_TOKEN, and TURBO_TEAM to the same cache host and token.
• Run a build - the first run populates the cache and the second should show cache hits.

Full step-by-step instructions, including how to configure GitHub Actions secrets and how to validate that cache hits are working, are in the docs.

For a detailed comparison of how Cachely sits relative to the full alternatives landscape, see the comparisons hub. For a self-hosted path instead of managed, see Cachely vs a self-hosted Nx cache.