Figment vs Macdome: Mac Hosting Compared

Macdome rents a dedicated M4 Mac mini (16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD) at $150/month month-to-month, $140/month semi-annual ($840 upfront), or $130/month annual ($1,560 upfront), per macdome.com/pricing. Figment's M-series starts at $95/month with the exact chip, RAM and storage confirmed in the configuration quote — so the $95 figure is a lower entry price, not a verified M4/16/256 match.

If you want a published M4/16/256 spec with a 99.99% uptime claim today, Macdome lists one. If you want a lower M-series starting price, an Intel virtual macOS option for lightweight work, or a managed CI bundle, Figment publishes more tiers:

• Virtual Intel macOS — $29/month, 2 vCPU, 8 GiB RAM, 80 GiB disk. Intel runtime on Linux/KVM, browser‑console access. Runs compatible Intel Mac toolchains including supported Xcode 26 or earlier versions; no GPU acceleration, no audio, no Apple silicon execution.
• i3 Mac — $49/month. Physical Intel Mac; requests are queued until supply is confirmed.
• M-series Mac — from $95/month. Physical Apple silicon; exact chip, RAM and storage confirmed per quote.
• Managed Build Mac — $249/month. One M-series Mac, CI setup, backups, monitoring, 30 minutes monthly support.
• Managed Mac Team — $999/month. Two M-series Macs, two CI runners, team setup, backups, monitoring, one hour monthly support.
• Enterprise — contact Figment for fleet quoted capacity and delivery.

Plan and Price Comparison

Macdome prices are from macdome.com/pricing. Figment's listed hardware class for the $95 tier is "M-series" — not a published M4/16/256 — so treat the $95 vs $130–$150 gap as an entry-price gap, not a same-spec saving.

Macdome term cost, 12 months

The annual plan saves $240 over the year versus month-to-month, but requires paying the full $1,560 upfront. If the project ends mid-term, that money is already spent; check Macdome's cancellation terms before committing. Figment's published retail offers are monthly; request a quote for multi-month terms.

Hardware, Network, and Access

Macdome's M4 Mac mini is a 10‑core CPU / 10‑core GPU / 16‑core Neural Engine configuration. Its pricing page lists a 100 Mbps internet connection with a dynamic IPv4 address (no static IP), and ACH/wire Net 15 for accounts invoicing over $1,000/month. Taxes and fees apply as stated in the actual Macdome order.

Figment's M-series is Apple silicon; the exact chip and memory are set in the quote. Figment's $29 VM is a virtual Intel macOS environment. Commands run in the VM's own desktop terminal through the browser console, and outbound CI agents can register with your service from inside the VM. Inbound public SSH to the $29 VM is not currently available. Use M-series when the toolchain requires ARM execution, Xcode 27 or GPU acceleration.

The 100 Mbps uplink is worth planning around: a 1 GB archive upload takes about 80 seconds at 100 Mbps under ideal conditions, versus about 8 seconds at 1 Gbps. Check your own typical artifact size before committing to an annual term.

Xcode and macOS Fit

Per Apple's Xcode system requirements, Xcode 27 requires macOS Tahoe 26.6 or later, and Xcode 26's current rows require macOS Sequoia 15.6 through Tahoe 26.x. Macdome's M4 Mac mini runs the current Xcode releases. Figment's M-series runs the current Xcode releases as well — confirm the installed macOS version matches the exact Xcode version your project needs.

For Intel compatibility: Xcode 27 requires Apple silicon, so the $29 Intel VM and the i3 Intel Mac cannot run it. Supported Xcode 26 or earlier releases can run on Intel; verify the exact Xcode/macOS pair you depend on against Apple's table before choosing the Intel tier. visionOS development requires Apple silicon.

Macdome publishes a 99.99% uptime claim on its pricing page. Figment does not publish an uptime SLA on its public offer; ask for SLA language in writing if that is a purchase requirement.

A Short Build-Timing Worksheet

A published uptime number is a commitment on paper; actual build time on your repo decides fit. Rent one month on the candidate tier and time two consecutive clean builds of your real workspace:

# Replace workspace/scheme/destination with your project's real values.
# The build must succeed before its wall-clock time is a valid measurement.
set -euo pipefail

time xcodebuild \
  -workspace YourApp.xcworkspace \
  -scheme YourAppScheme \
  -destination 'generic/platform=iOS' \
  -configuration Release \
  clean build

Run it twice. Record the second run (Derived Data warm). If the build fails, discard the timing — a failed build is not a benchmark. Separately, upload a representative artifact (an .ipa or a dSYM bundle) to your artifact store to measure realistic throughput on the 100 Mbps link or on Figment.

Worked cost example for a single developer running the candidate for six months:

• Macdome monthly: 6 × $150 = $900, no prepay.
• Macdome semi-annual: $840 prepaid once (−$60 vs monthly, locked in).
• Macdome annual prorated to six months: $130 × 6 = $780, but this requires $1,560 prepaid for twelve months — unrecoverable if the project ends at month six.
• Figment M-series entry: 6 × $95 = $570, monthly, exact spec per quote.
• Figment Managed Build Mac: 6 × $249 = $1,494, includes CI setup, backups, monitoring, 30 min/month support.

Migration from Macdome to Figment

1. Export signing identities from Keychain on the Macdome Mac as an encrypted .p12. The export must include the private key; keep the export password in your team secret manager, never beside the file.
2. Download provisioning profiles as .mobileprovision files directly from the Apple Developer portal. Profiles are not exported from Keychain.
3. List the CI secret names your pipeline reads (API tokens, keystore paths, notarization credentials). Re-create them in your CI provider's secret store on the new host. Do not dump the environment to a plaintext file — it can expose keys.
4. Provision Figment: request the M-series quote (or Managed Build Mac if you want the CI pipeline configured for you), confirm chip, RAM, SSD and installed macOS, and install the exact Xcode version your project needs.
5. Update your own allowlists — artifact store, VPN, internal registry, any company firewall — with the new host address. Remove the Macdome dynamic IP rather than migrating it; it is not stable.
6. Dry-run the pipeline end to end: checkout, build, archive, sign, upload. Keep the Macdome box running until the Figment host has produced a shipped build.
7. Cancel Macdome before the next billing date. Semi-annual and annual plans are prepaid; confirm Macdome's cancellation terms before you switch to avoid a surprise charge.

Picking the Figment Plan

Macdome fits teams that want a published M4/16/256 spec with a 99.99% uptime claim and are comfortable with a 100 Mbps uplink and dynamic IP. For a lower entry price, a cheap Intel option for Intel-compatible work, or a managed CI bundle, request a Figment configuration quote.

Related reading:

• Figment vs Macly: Mac Hosting Compared
• Figment vs Macyou: Mac Hosting Compared
• VM vs Dedicated Mac: Which Should You Choose?