Figment vs Vantix Servers: Mac Hosting Compared

Direct verdict

As of 2026-11-10, Vantix Servers' M4 and M4 Pro plans are on a waitlist. The cheapest in-stock Vantix option on vantixservers.com is the M6, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD at $165.29/month or $495.87 paid quarterly. Figment's M-series starts from $95/month, with the exact chip, RAM and disk confirmed in your quote. That is a $70.29/month lower entry price, not a same-hardware comparison — Figment's $95 tier is not a verified M4/16/256 configuration, so treat it as an entry-price gap and compare the quoted spec once you have it.

If you also want CI pipeline setup, backups, monitoring and bundled support, Figment's Managed Build Mac at $249/month costs $83.71 more than Vantix's cheapest in-stock Mac. Vantix sells unmanaged hardware access; the Managed Build Mac is a CI-ops package, so compare it against whatever you pay today to run CI against a bare Mac.

See all Figment Mac plans · Request a configuration quote

Plan, term and effective cost

Prices read from vantixservers.com on 2026-11-10. Figment prices are current retail; physical Macs ship after a quote and capacity check.

Vantix advertises "pay every three months for the lowest rate, or month to month with no commitment" and states quarterly pricing saves approximately 13% versus monthly, with "rates remain fixed for the lease duration". The extracted M6 Base numbers ($165.29 × 3 = $495.87) show equal per-month cost at both cycles for that row; the 13% headline likely applies to other rows or is read against a different reference. Confirm the current discount on the exact row you want directly on the Vantix page before paying.

Quarterly cash-flow worksheet (M6 Base vs Figment M-series entry)

Three months of the Vantix M6 Base plan is $495.87 either way; the quarterly option ties up the cash on day one. Over a year, that is $1,983.48 vs an entry-priced Figment M-series at $1,140+ (quote dependent, same-chip not implied). Vantix says cancellations "continue through the period you've paid" with no cancellation fee and refunds reviewed case-by-case — confirm their answer in writing before you prepay a quarter you may not use.

Hardware, access and toolchain fit

Vantix provides dedicated physical Mac minis with full administrator access, a fixed public IPv4, private network isolation and an API for power control. In-stock hardware today is M6 only; M4 and M4 Pro are on a waitlist.

Figment's M-series is physical Apple silicon configured per quote — ask explicitly for chip generation, RAM, disk, OS and access method and get it written into the quote. Figment's $29 virtual Intel macOS runs a real macOS environment on Linux/KVM (no GPU acceleration, no audio, not Apple silicon). Access is via browser console and the desktop terminal; outbound connections to your CI service work normally. It can run supported Intel toolchains, cross-compile arm64 device apps and universal macOS binaries, and sign supported targets. Executing ARM-only binaries, Xcode 27, or visionOS work needs Apple silicon — choose an M-series host for those.

Xcode and macOS pairing, per Apple's Xcode system requirements and the porting to Apple silicon guide:

• Xcode 27.x requires Apple silicon and a recent macOS Tahoe build. Vantix M6 qualifies; so does Figment M-series.
• Xcode 26.x can run on Intel Macs per Apple's porting guide; it is the last Intel-supported major Xcode release. Pair it with the exact macOS version Apple lists for that Xcode row.
• Xcode 16.x and earlier support both Intel and Apple silicon. Figment's $29 Intel VM fits here comfortably.
• visionOS development requires Apple silicon at every Xcode version that ships the SDK.

If your release target forces Xcode 27, the $29 VM is not the right host — pick Figment M-series or a Vantix M6. If you build with Xcode 26 or earlier and do not need ARM execution or GPU, the $29 VM is a materially cheaper CI base.

Reliability signals and a build-time test you can run

Vantix publishes a "target 99.9% uptime" with UPS-backed networking and automatic Mac restart after outages, described as a target rather than a contractual guarantee. Figment does not publish an uptime number in its verified facts; ask for the current operational commitment in your quote and have it written down. Dedicated hardware reduces noisy-neighbour risk compared to shared virtualisation; it is not a substitute for a stated SLA.

Before you commit, time a real build on the candidate host. Use your own workspace and scheme — the example below is unexecuted and should not be read as a benchmark:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Timed clean build on a candidate Mac host. Replace SCHEME/WORKSPACE.
set -euo pipefail

SCHEME="YourScheme"
WORKSPACE="$HOME/projects/YourApp/YourApp.xcworkspace"

sw_vers
system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | grep -E "Chip|Memory|Processor"

rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData"

time xcodebuild \
  -workspace "$WORKSPACE" \
  -scheme "$SCHEME" \
  -destination 'generic/platform=iOS' \
  -configuration Release \
  CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO \
  clean build

Run it three times, keep the median, and discard any non-zero exit — a failed build is not a timing data point. On the Vantix side, also confirm their API power-cycle endpoint works from your CI network before you migrate production jobs.

Vantix-to-Figment migration checklist

Specific to moving off Vantix Servers. Adapt to your environment.

Before cancelling Vantix

• Request a Figment quote at /mac-hosting/start. Get chip, RAM, disk, OS, access method and monthly price in writing. Ask whether the quoted machine is M-series comparable to your current Vantix M6 or M4.
• Agree an evaluation window with Figment so you can run the build-time test against the real host before paying the Vantix next cycle.
• Inventory installed tooling:

  brew list --formula > ~/brew-formulae.txt
  brew list --cask    > ~/brew-casks.txt
  ls /Applications | grep -i Xcode > ~/xcode-apps.txt
  xcodebuild -version >> ~/xcode-apps.txt
  

• Export signing identities as encrypted .p12 files from Keychain Access (right-click → Export → Personal Information Exchange, strong password). Do not export the whole keychain. Do not dump the environment to a plaintext file; it can contain private keys and tokens.
• Copy provisioning profiles from ~/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profiles/ to your artifact store or secure external storage. They are files — nothing to export from Keychain.
• List secret names only (not values). Re-inject the values on the new host through your secret manager.
• Note the Vantix host's IPv4. Update any allowlists you control — your CI service, artifact store, internal firewall — once the new host is running. Do not invent Apple-side allowlists.
• Check your Vantix quarterly position. If you are mid-quarter, confirm Vantix's refund answer in writing before you cancel.

On the Figment host

• Install Homebrew, replay the formula and cask lists, install the Xcode version from developer.apple.com/download that matches your pipeline.
• Import the .p12 into Keychain with its password; copy provisioning profiles into place.
• Restore secrets via your secret manager; wire the CI runner.
• Re-run the timed build and compare to the Vantix baseline. Cancel Vantix only after a full green pipeline run.

Choose the Figment plan

Vantix's in-stock chip today is M6; its M4 line is on a waitlist. If M4 specifically matters, join the Vantix waitlist and request a Figment quote in parallel, then compare the quoted specs side by side.

Explore Figment Mac hosting · Start with a configuration quote

Related reading

• Figment vs VunCloud
• Figment vs YourMini
• Short-project Mac rentals: what to know