GitLab offers a more comprehensive all-in-one DevOps platform with built-in CI/CD, while Bitbucket excels as a Git hosting solution tightly integrated with Jira and other Atlassian products for teams already invested in that ecosystem.
Bitbucket vs GitLab — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Atlassian's Git repository hosting platform integrated with Jira and Confluence.
DevOps platform providing Git hosting, CI/CD pipelines, and end-to-end software delivery tools.
Built-in CI/CD Pipeline. Free Tier Private Repositories. Container Registry. Jira Integration. DevOps Platform Maturity. Self-hosted Option Cost. Market Share Among DevOps Teams
Choose Bitbucket if your team uses Jira, Confluence, or other Atlassian tools and prioritizes seamless integration within that ecosystem with simpler repository management. Choose GitLab if you need a complete DevOps platform with built-in CI/CD pipelines, container registries, and don't want to manage third-party tool integrations—especially for teams seeking an open-source self-hosted option.
Bitbucket: ~2,000 integrations | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Jira integration (external) | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Basic PR approvals | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Unlimited (public & private) | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Yes (Bitbucket Pipelines) | GitLab: 400+ templates included
Bitbucket: Competitor (not partner) | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: ~15 million | GitLab: Unlimited on all plans
Bitbucket: Yes (Pipelines) | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Native & seamless | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: 2 (Git, Mercurial) | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: ~200 integrations | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Git repository hosting, code review, CI/CD | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Bitbucket Pipelines included | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Cloud-only (deprecated Server 2024) | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Limited (pull request workflow focus) | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Deep two-way integration | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Unlimited (up to 5 users) | GitLab: Unlimited (up to 5 users)
Bitbucket: Add-on required (Bitbucket Pipelines) | GitLab: Native GitLab CI/CD
Bitbucket: No (external only) | GitLab: Yes (free Docker registry)
Bitbucket: $168/year ($14/month) | GitLab: $228/year ($19/month)
Bitbucket: Native (Atlassian vendor) | GitLab: Third-party plugin required
Bitbucket: Yes (Server Edition paid license) | GitLab: Yes (free Community Edition)
Maximum CI/CD Pipeline Minutes (free tier/month)
Bitbucket: 50 build minutes/month (Bitbucket Pipelines) | GitLab: 400 minutes/month
Bitbucket: Requires separate Jira subscription | GitLab: Built-in full-featured system
Bitbucket: Unlimited | GitLab: 10 GB (projects)
Bitbucket: 50 minutes (Bitbucket Pipelines free tier) | GitLab: 400 minutes
Bitbucket: $9 | GitLab: $29 (Premium plan)
Bitbucket: Requires Premium plan | GitLab: Included in Free tier (SAST, DAST, Dependency, Container)
Bitbucket: Not publicly limited | GitLab: 600 (authenticated)
Bitbucket: Bitbucket Data Center (Enterprise only) | GitLab: Community, Premium, and Ultimate editions
Bitbucket: 50 (Bitbucket Pipelines) | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Built-in, zero setup required | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Yes, at Standard plan ($10/user) | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: ~2M public repos | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Unlimited repos | GitLab: N/A
Bitbucket: Not included (requires third-party integration) | GitLab: 400 minutes/month
Bitbucket: Premium tier only ($3/month minimum) | GitLab: Free tier and above
Bitbucket: $3/month (Premium) | GitLab: $8.25/month (Premium)
Bitbucket: $2,100/year minimum (Data Center) | GitLab: $9,900/year (Premium self-managed)
Bitbucket: Premium tier only | GitLab: Free tier and above
Bitbucket: 10% (estimated enterprise adoption) | GitLab: 20% (estimated enterprise adoption)
Bitbucket: Native two-way sync with automatic issue linking | GitLab: Manual webhook-based integration
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: 400 minutes with shared runners
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Community and Enterprise editions available
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Built-in for all tiers
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Approximately 30 million users
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Yes, with 5GB storage limit
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: $10.50 for Premium
Free Monthly CI/CD Minutes (Private Repos)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: 5 GB per project
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Included in Ultimate ($99/month per user)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Issues, Epics, Roadmaps, advanced Boards, Milestones
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Requires separate account/platform
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: 10 concurrent pipelines
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Yes (SAST, DAST, container, dependency)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Native Git (no external required)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Yes (issues, boards, wiki, milestones)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Yes (GitLab CI/CD)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: 3 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Native (included)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: 5 (SAST, DAST, dependency, secret, container)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Forgejo, GitLab Community Edition
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: $8.25 (Premium at $99/year)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: 400 minutes (shared)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: 10,000+ (with performance degradation)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Open-source Community Edition available
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Via third-party plugins/SAML
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Basic; limited test case tracking
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: 400+ via marketplace
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Yes - includes 50,000 CI/CD minutes
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: $99 (Premium Edition)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: GitLab CI/CD (native pipeline engine)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Merge Requests with code owner enforcement
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: DORA metrics, advanced audit, compliance reporting (Premium+)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: $2,900 (Premium tier at $29/user)
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: Unlimited public/private repos included
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: ~20 standard field types
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: 12 million+ monthly active users
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: SAST, DAST, dependency scanning included in Premium
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: 2-4 hours for basic CI/CD pipeline with templates
Bitbucket: N/A | GitLab: 500-1,000 per instance; sharding available
How to choose between Bitbucket and GitLab
Bitbucket vs GitLab — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Bitbucket vs GitLab. Contains 116 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Bitbucket vs GitLab — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Bitbucket vs GitLab.
Yes, Bitbucket works independently as a full Git hosting platform. However, its strongest advantages emerge when integrated with Jira for issue tracking and workflow automation. If you're not using Jira, GitLab's built-in DevOps features may provide more value out-of-the-box.
GitLab provides shared runners for free tier users (400 minutes/month), so no setup is required for basic CI/CD pipelines. However, for unlimited CI/CD minutes or custom configurations, you'll need to deploy self-hosted runners, which requires some infrastructure knowledge.
GitLab includes SAST (Static Application Security Testing), DAST, and dependency scanning on all tiers including free. Bitbucket requires Premium tier for similar security scanning features. For organizations prioritizing shift-left security, GitLab offers more comprehensive built-in tools.
Yes, both offer self-hosted options. Bitbucket requires Data Center edition ($2,100+/year minimum). GitLab offers a free Community Edition with no feature limits (only support limitations) plus paid Premium self-managed edition ($9,900/year). GitLab's open-source option makes it more accessible for self-hosting.
Which platform scales better for large teams?
GitLab is designed as a complete DevOps platform for enterprise scale with built-in scalability features. Bitbucket works well for repository management but requires additional tools for advanced DevOps workflows, making GitLab the better choice for complex, large-scale CI/CD pipelines across hundreds of developers.
How to Choose Between Bitbucket and GitLab
Built-in CI/CD Pipeline: Bitbucket has Requires integration with third-party tools, while GitLab has Native CI/CD included in all plans.
Consider: Free Tier Private Repositories
Free Tier Private Repositories: Bitbucket has Unlimited private repos (up to 5 users), while GitLab has Unlimited private repos (up to 5 users).
Container Registry: Bitbucket has Available in Premium tier only, while GitLab has Available in Free tier.
Jira Integration: Bitbucket has Native, seamless two-way sync, while GitLab has Manual integration required.
DevOps Platform Maturity: Bitbucket has Repository management focused, while GitLab has Full DevOps suite (planning to monitoring).
Self-hosted Option Cost: Bitbucket has Bitbucket Data Center: $2,100/year minimum, while GitLab has GitLab Self-managed: $0 (Community) to $9,900/year (Premium).
Consider: Market Share Among DevOps Teams
Market Share Among DevOps Teams: Bitbucket has 8-12% enterprise adoption, while GitLab has 18-22% enterprise adoption.