Figment vs Unihost: Mac Hosting Compared

Verdict: pick by job, not by chip name

If you need a Mac with EU data residency and a single-tenant Apple silicon box today, Unihost's Netherlands range is a natural fit: it publishes exact chip and RAM specifications, €0 setup on NL plans, 1 Gbps unlimited bandwidth and a 99.9% uptime guarantee with 24/7 support. If you want managed CI work on the host, a cheap environment for Intel-targeted toolchains, or a US-billed invoice in dollars, Figment is the direct alternative.

Entry prices sit in similar territory. Unihost's MAC-N1 (M1, 8 GB, 256 GB) is €99.90/month ex-VAT. At the ECB reference rate 1 EUR = 1.1214 USD on 2026-11-10 (ECB), that is approximately US$112.03 before VAT and bank card margins. Figment's M-series starts at US$95/month; the specific chip, RAM and disk at that entry are confirmed in the quote and are not an advertised M4/16 GB match.

Published plans and effective cost

Unihost prices below are as listed on unihost.com/dedicated/mac-mini/ on 2026-11-10 (ex-VAT; EU buyers add regional VAT at checkout). USD conversions use the ECB rate noted above and are approximate.

Unihost does not publish a discounted annual lump sum for its NL Mac mini listings; the headline figure is monthly ex-VAT with €0 setup. USA rows are pro-rata, and stock is finite. Figment's physical plans currently take requests until the specific unit is confirmed, so treat US$95 as an entry floor rather than instant availability. The $29 and $49 tiers are flat monthly prices; a two-week project on the $29 VM still pays the one-month charge.

Entry-price takeaway: Figment at US$95 is lower than Unihost's cheapest EU entry at ≈US$112, but the Unihost MAC-N1 is a specified M1/8 GB/256 GB machine and Figment's quoted M-series at the entry price is not advertised as an M4 or a fixed RAM/disk. For an equal-spec M4/16 GB comparison, Unihost MAC-N9 at ≈US$180 is the fair row.

Hardware, access and toolchain fit

Unihost's listed range runs M1 through M5 Max, with an M6 option in Netherlands. All are Apple silicon, so they execute arm64 binaries natively and can run current Xcode 27, which Apple pairs with macOS Tahoe 26.6 or later. Unihost advertises dedicated hardware, root access, and remote control via SSH, VNC, Apple Remote Desktop and browser noVNC.

Figment's $29 tier is a virtual Intel macOS environment on a Linux/KVM host with 2 vCPU, 8 GiB RAM and 80 GB disk. It is a real macOS runtime: Intel-compatible Xcode versions (Xcode 26 and earlier on supported macOS releases) run on it and can cross-compile and sign supported Intel and universal targets. What it is not: an Apple silicon Mac. It does not execute arm64-only binaries, has no GPU acceleration and no audio, and cannot run Xcode 27. Access is through Figment's browser console. Choose the i3 ($49) for a physical Intel host, or M-series ($95+) for arm64 execution, Xcode 27, visionOS or Metal/Neural Engine work. Exact chip, RAM, disk and access level on the physical plans are confirmed in the configuration quote.

A worked worksheet for an EU team

Use this before signing a multi-month contract. Fill the blanks with the exact plan you are pricing.

Base monthly (EUR, ex-VAT):            A = ______
Your VAT rate (e.g. 0.21 NL):          v = ______
Effective monthly with VAT (EUR):      B = A * (1 + v)
ECB EUR/USD on invoice date:           r = 1.1214  (2026-11-10)
Monthly in USD (approx., pre-fees):    C = B * r
Card FX+fee uplift (e.g. 0.02):        f = ______
Billed USD monthly (approx.):          D = C * (1 + f)
12-month projected billed USD:         E = 12 * D

Worked example, MAC-N9 at €160.90, Dutch VAT 21%, 2% card uplift: B = 160.90 × 1.21 = €194.69; C = 194.69 × 1.1214 ≈ US$218.31; D ≈ US$222.68; E ≈ US$2,672.14. Compared with twelve months of Figment M-series at the US$95 entry (US$1,140), the raw entry gap is roughly US$1,532 per year — but the Figment number is not a guaranteed M4/16 GB match. Re-price E with the Figment quote in hand before deciding.

Migration plan from Unihost to Figment

On the Unihost machine, inventory and export cleanly:

• Record installed packages: brew list --versions > tools-inventory.txt.
• In Keychain Access, export each code-signing identity as an encrypted .p12 under My Certificates → Export → Personal Information Exchange; store the passphrase in your password manager.
• Copy provisioning profiles from ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profiles/ to secure storage. They are files, not Keychain items.
• Write down the names of CI secrets only. Never export environment variables to a plaintext file; restore the values through your CI secret manager on the new host.
• Commit CI YAML, Fastlane and signing scripts to version control.

On the Figment side:

• Start the configuration request at /mac-hosting/start with your required chip, RAM, disk and macOS.
• Reinstall tools from the inventory and re-import the .p12 files via Keychain Access.
• Update IP allowlists you actually control — your firewall, artifact store and self-hosted CI service. App Store Connect and TestFlight do not publish a fixed allowlist to add.
• Run one full release cycle in parallel before cancelling the Unihost contract and reconfirm the Unihost cancellation window.

Which Figment plan to request

• Intel-only toolchain, tightest budget: $29 virtual Intel macOS.
• Physical Intel host: $49 i3 (request list).
• Apple silicon CI, self-managed: M-series from $95 (request list).
• You want CI setup, backups, monitoring and some monthly support hours on one M-series Mac: Managed Build Mac at $249.
• Two machines with two CI runners and team setup: Managed Mac Team at $999.
• EU data residency is a hard requirement today: Unihost is designed for that; keep them on your shortlist.

See /mac-hosting for the full lineup or start a quote at /mac-hosting/start.

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