Best Waf Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from build automation software ranked against Waf on the same published basis.
- 1Waf vs Xmake
- 2Waf vs Bazel
- 3Waf vs Nx
- 4Waf vs Buck2
- 5Waf vs Gradle
- 6Waf vs Meson
- 7Waf vs Pants
- 8Waf vs Rush
- 9Waf vs AWS CodeBuild
- 10Waf vs build2
- 11Waf vs moon
- 12Waf vs Please
- 13Waf vs Broccoli
- 14Waf vs Deb-o-Matic
- 15Waf vs Google Cloud Build
- 16Waf vs Lage
- 17Waf vs Apache Maven
- 18Waf vs Apache Ant
- 19Waf vs BitBake
- 20Waf vs Buildroot
Waf alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xmake | 7.3 | No | — | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 2 | Bazel | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 3 | Nx | 6.4 | Free plan | $29/mo | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 4 | Buck2 | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 5 | Gradle | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 6 | Meson | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | Pants | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 8 | Rush | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | AWS CodeBuild | 6.2 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Web, Windows |
| 10 | build2 | 5.8 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 11 | moon | 5.8 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 12 | Please | 5.8 | No | — | Linux, Mac |
| 13 | Broccoli | 5.6 | No | — | self-hosted |
| 14 | Deb-o-Matic | 5.6 | No | — | Linux |
| 15 | Google Cloud Build | 5.6 | No | $0.01/mo | API, Linux, Web |
| 16 | Lage | 5.6 | No | — | Linux |
| 17 | Apache Maven | 5.5 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 18 | Apache Ant | 5.3 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 19 | BitBake | 5.3 | No | — | Linux |
| 20 | Buildroot | 5.3 | No | — | Linux |
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Questions about Waf alternatives
What is the best alternative to Waf?
Xmake, number 1 in build automation software with a score of 7.3 out of 10. The others here: Bazel, Nx, Buck2 and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Waf?
Bazel is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 8 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation.