Best MSBuild Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from build automation software ranked against MSBuild on the same published basis.
- 1MSBuild vs Bazel
- 2MSBuild vs Nx
- 3MSBuild vs AWS CodeBuild
- 4MSBuild vs Buck2
- 5MSBuild vs Gradle
- 6MSBuild vs Pants
- 7MSBuild vs Rush
- 8MSBuild vs Xmake
- 9MSBuild vs build2
- 10MSBuild vs moon
- 11MSBuild vs Please
- 12MSBuild vs Apache Maven
- 13MSBuild vs Google Cloud Build
- 14MSBuild vs Mill
- 15MSBuild vs SCons
- 16MSBuild vs Apache Ant
- 17MSBuild vs distcc
- 18MSBuild vs FASTBuild
- 19MSBuild vs fastlane
- 20MSBuild vs GN
MSBuild alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bazel | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 2 | Nx | 6.6 | Free plan | $29/mo | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 3 | AWS CodeBuild | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Web, Windows |
| 4 | Buck2 | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 5 | Gradle | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 6 | Pants | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | Rush | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 8 | Xmake | 5.8 | No | — | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | build2 | 5.6 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 10 | moon | 5.6 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 11 | Please | 5.5 | No | — | Linux, Mac |
| 12 | Apache Maven | 5.4 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 13 | Google Cloud Build | 5.4 | No | $0.01/mo | API, Linux, Web |
| 14 | Mill | 5.4 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 15 | SCons | 5.4 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 16 | Apache Ant | 5.3 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 17 | distcc | 5.3 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 18 | FASTBuild | 5.3 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 19 | fastlane | 5.3 | No | — | Mac, Linux, Windows |
| 20 | GN | 5.3 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
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Questions about MSBuild alternatives
What is the best alternative to MSBuild?
Bazel, number 1 in build automation software with a score of 6.6 out of 10. The others here: Nx, AWS CodeBuild, Buck2 and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to MSBuild?
Bazel is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 7 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.