Instead of GNU Automake

Best GNU Automake Alternatives in 2026

Taken from Build Automation Software, where GNU Automake is listed too, in the same order.

1
AWS CodeBuild

AWS CodeBuild is a managed continuous integration service that runs scripts to compile, test, and package code.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux · Web
8.3 Club score
Visit Facts and plans
2
fastlane

fastlane is a free, open-source platform for automating iOS and Android app development and release workflows.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux · iPhone and iPad
8.0 Club score
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3
Nx

Nx is a build system for JavaScript and TypeScript monorepos, with plugins that extend it to other languages.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux · Web
7.9 Club score
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4
Bazel

Bazel is a free, open-source tool for automating software builds and tests across languages and platforms.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux
7.9 Club score
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5
FASTBuild

FASTBuild is a free, open-source build system for compiling software on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux
7.9 Club score
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6 AM
Apache Maven

Apache Maven is a free build tool for Java projects.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux · Self-hosted
7.9 Club score
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7
SCons

SCons is a free, open source software construction tool positioned as a cross-platform alternative to Make.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux · Self-hosted
7.9 Club score
Visit Facts and plans
8 N
Ninja

Ninja is a free build system focused on evaluating incremental builds quickly.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux
7.9 Club score
Visit Facts and plans
9 S
Shake

Shake is a Haskell library for writing build systems as an alternative to tools such as make.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux
7.9 Club score
Visit Facts and plans
10 OB
Open Build Service

Open Build Service (OBS) automates building and distributing binary packages from source code in a consistent, reproducible way.
- Free plan
- Linux · Web · API · Self-hosted
7.8 Club score
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11
Xmake
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux · iPhone and iPad
7.7 Club score
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12
Gradle

Gradle is a free, open-source build system that automates software builds across projects of different types and sizes.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux · API
7.7 Club score
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13 D
distcc

distcc distributes C, C++, Objective C, and Objective C++ compilation across networked machines.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux · Self-hosted
7.6 Club score
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14
Rush

Rush is a monorepo manager for JavaScript teams that keep many packages in one Git repository.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux
7.6 Club score
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15
Waf
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux
7.6 Club score
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16
GN

GN is a free meta-build system that generates build files for Ninja.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux
7.6 Club score
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17 GC
Google Cloud Build
- Free plan
- Linux · Web · API
7.5 Club score
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18
Premake

Premake is a free command-line tool that reads a scripted software project definition and generates project files for toolsets such as Visual Studio, Xcode and GNU Make.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux
7.5 Club score
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19 Q
qmake

qmake is a build tool that expands project files into Makefiles for applications, libraries, and other components.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux · iPhone and iPad
7.4 Club score
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20
Buck2

Buck2 is a free build system from Meta for large-scale repositories that use multiple programming languages.
- Free plan
- Windows · macOS · Linux · Self-hosted
7.4 Club score
Visit Facts and plans

The whole list: Build Automation Software