Figment vs Server Gigabit: Mac Hosting Compared

Server Gigabit publishes a single M4 Mac mini plan at $149 per month, or $99 per month with a $1,188 annual prepayment, hosted in Malaysia. Figment's physical M-series entry is $95 per month with the exact chip, RAM and storage confirmed in the quote, and Figment also sells a $29 virtual Intel macOS plan plus managed CI tiers. If you need a specified M4 / 16 GB / 256 GB Mac today and are comfortable with a Malaysian data centre and a 12-month commitment, Server Gigabit is the cheaper headline. If you need managed CI work, a cheap Intel macOS environment for Xcode 26 toolchains, or a configuration conversation before you commit, price Figment first.

Server Gigabit's Published Plan

Server Gigabit lists four billing terms for one Mac mini configuration on its rental page. The hardware is identical across terms:

Hardware: Apple M4 (10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine), 16 GB unified memory, 256 GB SSD, 100 Mbps bandwidth, 1 IP address, Malaysia data centre. Remote access is advertised via DeskIn with full administrator rights.

No setup fee is shown on the page reviewed. No SLA number, refund policy or tax statement appears on the public rental page; ask Server Gigabit to confirm those in writing before committing to the annual prepayment. The page states deployment for in-stock models is 1-3 working days.

Annual Prepayment Break-Even

The monthly gap between $149 and $99 looks like $50, but the annual plan takes $1,188 up front on day one. Divide the upfront amount by the monthly rate: $1,188 ÷ $149 = 7.97. So a month-to-month customer's cumulative spend passes $1,188 during month 8, not month 2.

If you cancel before month 8, month-to-month costs less cash out. Run the machine the full year and the annual term saves $600 ($1,788 − $1,188). The annual rate is only cheaper if you are confident you will keep the machine past month 8 and you can absorb a $1,188 outlay in month 1.

Figment's Options Priced Beside the M4

The $29 virtual Intel macOS runs real macOS; developers use it through its desktop browser console and can drive outbound CI agents from it. It can cross-compile and sign supported Intel-compatible targets, but it cannot run arm64-only binaries or Xcode 27. Choose the physical M-series tier for ARM execution, GPU work, visionOS, or Xcode 27. Physical plans are quoted and provisioned on request; stock, delivery and taxes are confirmed in that quote.

Where the Price Comparison Actually Lands

Treat the $95 Figment entry as a lower starting price, not an equivalent configuration to Server Gigabit's published M4/16/256. The chip generation, RAM and disk at $95 are confirmed when Figment scopes the order.

Server Gigabit is the cheaper published M4 if your project needs exactly that spec and a 12-month commitment is acceptable. Figment is cheaper at the headline M-series entry and has a $29 Intel macOS tier that Server Gigabit does not list, with hardware details settled in the quote rather than on a spec sheet.

Toolchain and Xcode Fit

Per Apple's porting guide, run Xcode 26 or earlier on Intel; Xcode 27 is intended for Apple silicon hosts, with x86_64 added through the Architectures build setting for cross-compiled targets. Apple's Xcode system requirements list the exact macOS version paired with each Xcode release — check the specific row for your project. visionOS development requires a Mac with Apple silicon.

Both Server Gigabit's M4 and Figment's M-series host the current Xcode. Figment's $29 virtual Intel macOS is a good fit for projects maintaining Xcode 26 or earlier, Intel-targeting macOS binaries, or CI jobs that do not need ARM execution, GPU acceleration or audio. Confirm the exact Xcode and macOS pair your project needs before choosing.

Latency Test From Your Location

Server Gigabit's machines sit in Malaysia. For interactive desktop and shell sessions from North America or Europe, round-trip time will be noticeable. For non-interactive CI (push, build, pull artifact), latency rarely dominates the schedule.

# Run from the workstation or CI runner that will actually use the host.
ping -c 20 YOUR_HOST_IP
# Read the avg round-trip time (ms) from the summary line.

Replace YOUR_HOST_IP with the address the provider assigns after provisioning, or ask sales for a pre-sales test IP. Compare numbers against any Figment host you evaluate so your team's physical location is part of the decision.

Build Timing Worksheet

This is an unexecuted example to run against your own project. A failed build is not a benchmark — the set -euo pipefail line halts the script on error so you do not record a crash time as a "fast" run.

set -euo pipefail
# Fill in from your project: xcodebuild -list will show schemes.
SCHEME="YOUR_SCHEME"
PROJECT="YOUR_PROJECT.xcodeproj"

xcodebuild -project "$PROJECT" -scheme "$SCHEME" clean >/dev/null
START=$(date +%s)
xcodebuild \
  -project "$PROJECT" \
  -scheme "$SCHEME" \
  -configuration Release \
  -destination 'platform=macOS' \
  build
END=$(date +%s)
echo "Clean build seconds: $((END - START))"

Run three times on each candidate host and keep runs two and three (the first run warms caches). Xcode already parallelises independent targets within a scheme, so measure your actual scheme rather than summing target times. Neither provider publishes third-party-verified build benchmarks, so your own numbers are the usable evidence.

Migrating From Server Gigabit

On the current Server Gigabit machine, before you cancel:

1. Write down the names of the secrets your pipeline uses. Do not dump the environment to a file — it can contain tokens and signing passphrases. Pull values from your secret manager at build time.
2. Export each signing identity from Keychain Access as an encrypted .p12 file, protected by a passphrase stored in your password manager. Developer ID Application and Developer ID Installer are distinct certificates; export whichever the pipeline actually uses.
3. Copy .mobileprovision files from ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profiles/ to secure storage. These are plain files; they are not Keychain items.
4. Commit CI configuration, Fastlane files and helper scripts to version control.
5. Record every allowlist the pipeline relies on that references the old Server Gigabit IP — your artifact store, notification webhooks, self-hosted runner registration. Update only allowlists you control.
6. If you are on the annual plan, line up the migration window with the renewal date so you do not pay two providers at once.

On the new Figment host, after Figment confirms the quote and provisions the machine:

7. Restore secret values through your CI secret manager (GitHub Actions secrets, Vault, 1Password CLI). Do not paste secret literals into shell history.
8. Import each .p12 into a dedicated signing keychain (or let fastlane match manage certificates); copy the provisioning profiles back into ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profiles/.
9. Run a dry-run build end to end — signing, archive, upload step — before you decommission anything.
10. Swap runner labels, SSH hosts or build-machine addresses in the pipeline.
11. Cancel Server Gigabit and keep the confirmation email with the billing end date.

For TestFlight uploads, use the documented paths: xcodebuild -exportArchive, Transporter, or fastlane pilot. Notarytool is for macOS notarisation of .zip, .dmg or .pkg outputs, not for iOS IPAs.

Choosing Between Figment and Server Gigabit

Pick Server Gigabit if a specified M4 / 16 GB / 256 GB Mac in Malaysia at $99 effective monthly with $1,188 upfront matches your plan and you can commit for 12 months. Pick Figment if you want a $29 Intel macOS environment for Xcode 26 work, managed CI inclusions at $249 or $999, or an M-series host where the final spec is settled in a quote rather than a fixed listing.

Request a Figment configuration quote with your Xcode version, target platforms, concurrency and storage, and compare the returned spec against Server Gigabit's published M4 line by line.

Related pages:

• Figment vs Shared Colo: Mac Hosting Compared
• Figment vs Simcentric: Mac Hosting Compared
• Managed or Self-Managed Mac: Which Is Right for Your Team?