GitHub dominates with 100M+ users and superior community ecosystem, while Bitbucket excels for enterprises needing integrated Jira workflows and private repositories at lower cost. GitHub is better for open-source and startups; Bitbucket suits Atlassian-heavy organizations.
Bitbucket vs GitHub — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Atlassian's Git repository platform with native Jira integration and enterprise-focused features.
Cloud-based Git repository hosting with collaboration tools and CI/CD automation via Actions.
User Base & Community. Free Private Repositories. Jira Integration. Monthly Pricing (10 users). Open-Source Discoverability. CI/CD Pipelines Included. Enterprise SSO & Compliance
Choose GitHub if you're building open-source projects, need maximum community collaboration, or want the largest talent pool familiar with your platform. Choose Bitbucket if you're deeply invested in Atlassian's ecosystem (Jira, Confluence), require enterprise SSO at lower cost, or prioritize seamless issue-to-code workflows.
Bitbucket: ~2,000 integrations | GitHub: 10,000+ GitHub Apps
Bitbucket: Jira integration (external) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Basic PR approvals | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Unlimited (public & private) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Yes (Bitbucket Pipelines) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Competitor (not partner) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: 8 million | GitHub: 100 million
Bitbucket: ~15 million | GitHub: ~200 million
Bitbucket: Unlimited | GitHub: Unlimited
Bitbucket: Yes (Pipelines) | GitHub: Yes (Actions)
Bitbucket: Native & seamless | GitHub: Third-party plugin
Bitbucket: 2-3 hours | GitHub: 1-2 hours
Bitbucket: 2 (Git, Mercurial) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: ~200 integrations | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Git repository hosting, code review, CI/CD | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Bitbucket Pipelines included | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Cloud-only (deprecated Server 2024) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Limited (pull request workflow focus) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Deep two-way integration | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Limited (5 users max) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Add-on required (Bitbucket Pipelines) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: No (external only) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: $168/year ($14/month) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Native (Atlassian vendor) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Yes (Server Edition paid license) | GitHub: N/A
Maximum CI/CD Pipeline Minutes (free tier/month)
Bitbucket: 50 build minutes/month (Bitbucket Pipelines) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Requires separate Jira subscription | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: 50 minutes (Bitbucket Pipelines free tier) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Requires Premium plan | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Not publicly limited | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: Bitbucket Data Center (Enterprise only) | GitHub: N/A
Bitbucket: 5-10M active | GitHub: 100M+ registered
Bitbucket: 50 (Bitbucket Pipelines) | GitHub: 2,000 (GitHub Actions)
Bitbucket: Built-in, zero setup required | GitHub: GitHub Apps marketplace plugin
Bitbucket: Yes, at Standard plan ($10/user) | GitHub: No, Enterprise tier required ($231/user/year)
Bitbucket: ~2M public repos | GitHub: 80M+ public repos
Bitbucket: Unlimited repos | GitHub: Unlimited repos
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: 2000 minutes with Actions
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Enterprise edition only ($231/user/year minimum)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Unlimited LFS (with 1GB free tier)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Advanced with CodeQL (free on public repos)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Over 100 million developers
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Yes, with unlimited repositories
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: 2,000 minutes (GitHub Actions)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: $4/user/month (GitHub Team)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: GitHub Functions (beta/limited)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Via GitHub Pages or custom workflow
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Version control & code collaboration
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Unlimited repos, 100 GB/repo max
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Basic insights for Actions only
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: 2,000 (GitHub Actions)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: GDPR-compliant (multiple regions)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: User analytics enabled by default
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: GitHub Enterprise (paid, proprietary)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Free (unlimited)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: 2,000 (public) / 500 (private)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: $4 per user/month
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Unlimited (97M+ total)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Configurable required reviewers + CODEOWNERS enforcement
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: N/A (requires external CI/CD)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Unlimited (via Actions)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: No (code storage only)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Community integrations only
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Unlimited (via GitHub Actions)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: $231+ (GitHub Enterprise)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: GitHub Actions (separate workflow service)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Pull Requests with detailed approval workflows
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Audit logs, SSO, IP allowlisting (Enterprise only)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Unlimited repositories (1GB LFS limit)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: US-based servers, limited EU compliance
Built-in Code Scanning & Security Features
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: Advanced (SAST, secret scanning, dependency alerts)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitHub: For-profit (Microsoft subsidiary)
How to choose between Bitbucket and GitHub
Bitbucket vs GitHub — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Bitbucket vs GitHub. Contains 103 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Bitbucket vs GitHub — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Bitbucket vs GitHub.
Is Bitbucket really cheaper than GitHub?
Yes, for team plans: Bitbucket's Standard plan costs $10/user/month vs GitHub's Team plan at $21/user/month. For a 50-person team, that's $6,000/year vs $12,600/year—a 52% difference. However, GitHub's superior CI/CD (2,000 free minutes vs 50) may offset costs if you'd otherwise buy separate CI/CD services.
Should I use Bitbucket if I'm not using Jira?
No, unless cost is your primary factor. GitHub's 100M user base, 80M public repos, and 10,000+ integrations provide much higher value for teams not in the Atlassian ecosystem. Bitbucket's main advantage vanishes without Jira integration. Bitbucket is specifically optimized for Jira workflows.
Can I get SSO on GitHub without Enterprise?
Not at the organization level. GitHub requires the Enterprise tier ($231/user/year minimum) for SAML/SCIM SSO. Bitbucket includes SAML SSO at the Standard plan ($10/user/month), making it 23x cheaper for SSO-required teams. This is a significant compliance advantage for Bitbucket.
Which platform has better CI/CD for free?
GitHub Actions by far: 2,000 free minutes/month vs Bitbucket Pipelines' 50 minutes/month (40x difference). If you need CI/CD and don't have budget for additional services, GitHub saves significantly. Bitbucket becomes expensive when combined with separate CI/CD tools like Jenkins or CircleCI.
Which is better for open-source projects?
GitHub dominates with 80M+ public repositories, superior discoverability via trending/stars, and 100M developers. Open-source projects on Bitbucket struggle for visibility. GitHub is industry standard for open-source; Bitbucket is rarely chosen for community-driven projects.
How to Choose Between Bitbucket and GitHub
User Base & Community: Bitbucket has 5-10M active developers, while GitHub has 100M+ registered users.
Free Private Repositories: Bitbucket has Unlimited for all plans, while GitHub has Unlimited for all plans.
Jira Integration: Bitbucket has Native, zero-setup integration, while GitHub has Requires plugins/workflows.
Monthly Pricing (10 users): Bitbucket has $10/user, while GitHub has $21/user (GitHub Team).
Open-Source Discoverability: Bitbucket has Lower visibility, fewer stars system, while GitHub has Superior discovery, 80M+ open-source repos.
CI/CD Pipelines Included: Bitbucket has Bitbucket Pipelines (50 min/month free), while GitHub has GitHub Actions (2,000 min/month free).
Enterprise SSO & Compliance: Bitbucket has SAML, SCIM, IP allowlisting at all tiers, while GitHub has Requires Enterprise ($231/user/year).