GitHub Actions is a workflow automation tool integrated into GitHub repositories, while GitLab is a complete DevOps platform with built-in CI/CD, project management, and security features. GitHub Actions excels for simple CI/CD needs within GitHub, while GitLab provides an all-in-one alternative with more comprehensive features for teams seeking a unified platform.
GitHub Actions vs GitLab — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Free CI/CD automation platform natively integrated with GitHub repositories.
DevOps-first Git platform with built-in CI/CD, available as SaaS or self-hosted for complete control.
Primary Function. Free Tier Monthly CI/CD Minutes. Ease of Setup for GitHub Users. Built-in Project Management. SAST (Static Application Security Testing). Container Registry Included. Marketplace Integrations Available
Choose GitHub Actions if you're already using GitHub, need simple-to-moderate CI/CD, want the largest ecosystem of reusable workflows, and prefer generous free minutes for public repositories. Choose GitLab if you need an all-in-one platform combining DevOps, project management, and security scanning without additional costs, or if you want self-hosted control with an open-source option.
GitHub Actions: 3,000 (public repos) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 1 (GitHub only) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 256 concurrent | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 20,000+ actions | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Standard support available | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Supported with basic controls | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 15 minutes to first workflow | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 10000+ actions | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2000 minutes (GitHub-hosted runners) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: GitHub only (primary) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Low - Simple YAML syntax | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Cloud-hosted and self-hosted | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Limited by GitHub account quotas | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: $231/user/year (GitHub Enterprise) | GitLab: N/A
Free Monthly CI/CD Minutes (Private Repos)
GitHub Actions: 2,000 minutes | GitLab: 400 minutes
GitHub Actions: 0.5 GB per project | GitLab: 5 GB per project
GitHub Actions: 11,000+ Actions | GitLab: 900+ Templates
GitHub Actions: $200/month (Advanced Security tier) | GitLab: Included in Ultimate ($99/month per user)
GitHub Actions: Enterprise Server tier (paid only, $231+/month) | GitLab: Yes (free Community Edition)
GitHub Actions: Issues, basic Boards, limited automation | GitLab: Issues, Epics, Roadmaps, advanced Boards, Milestones
GitHub Actions: Integrated (GitHub-only) | GitLab: Requires separate account/platform
GitHub Actions: 20 matrix configurations | GitLab: 10 concurrent pipelines
GitHub Actions: 13,000+ actions | GitLab: N/A
Monthly Infrastructure Cost (10-developer team)
GitHub Actions: $25 (usage-based + GitHub Team) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2,000 (private) / unlimited (public) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 1 week (YAML basics) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 20 (GitHub-hosted runners) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Native (zero additional setup) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: No (GitHub cloud default, Enterprise option) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 5-15 minutes | GitLab: 45-60 minutes
GitHub Actions: 2,000-3,000 | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Not required | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: GitHub (primary), limited others | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 6 years (since 2019) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 18,000+ actions | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Microsoft, GitHub, 60% of public repos | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Self-hosted runners available | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: $0 (free tier available) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2,000 (private repos) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 360 (6 hours) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Native (built-in) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 5-10 (YAML config only) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2,000 (unlimited for public repos) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 20 concurrent jobs | GitLab: N/A
Configuration File Complexity (1-5 scale)
GitHub Actions: 4 (complex YAML, matrix builds) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: GitHub only | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 3,000 minutes | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 10,000+ verified actions | GitLab: 2,500+
GitHub Actions: 42% of CI/CD users (2024) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 5 minutes (native UI) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 3 (Linux, Windows, macOS) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2,000 (public repos only) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: $0.008/minute | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Standard caching (1x baseline) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 15,000+ actions | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Not supported | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2-3 minutes (native) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2,000 minutes/month | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: $0.008 per minute | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Requires plugins | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Free (2,000 min/month included) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2,000 (public: unlimited) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: Via third-party actions (workaround) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 6 years (2019) | GitLab: N/A
Monthly Cost (5 Private Repos, 100 builds/month)
GitHub Actions: $14.40 (2,000 free min + 1,800 excess min × $0.008) | GitLab: N/A
Default Concurrent Jobs (Free/Base Tier)
GitHub Actions: 10,000+ public actions | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 5GB (per repository) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 2-3 minutes (GitHub integration native) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: No (fully managed by GitHub) | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: 20 jobs maximum per repository | GitLab: N/A
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 400 minutes with shared runners
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Community and Enterprise editions available
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Unlimited on all plans
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Built-in for all tiers
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Approximately 30 million users
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Yes, with 5GB storage limit
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: $10.50 for Premium
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 12-15 seconds
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 400 minutes
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Yes (SAST, DAST, container, dependency)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Native Git (no external required)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Yes (issues, boards, wiki, milestones)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 80+ Templates
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Yes (free Docker registry)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: $228/year ($19/month)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Third-party plugin required
Maximum CI/CD Pipeline Minutes (free tier/month)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 400 minutes/month
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Built-in full-featured system
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 30-45 minutes
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Yes (GitLab CI/CD)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 3 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Native (included)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 5 (SAST, DAST, dependency, secret, container)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Forgejo, GitLab Community Edition
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: $8.25 (Premium at $99/year)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 400 minutes (shared)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Yes, included in all tiers
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 10,000+ (with performance degradation)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Open-source Community Edition available
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Via third-party plugins/SAML
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Basic; limited test case tracking
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 400+ via marketplace
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 10 GB (projects)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: $29 (Premium plan)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Included in Free tier (SAST, DAST, Dependency, Container)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 600 (authenticated)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Community, Premium, and Ultimate editions
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Yes - includes 50,000 CI/CD minutes
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Native GitLab CI/CD
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Integrated
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 5-8 built-in
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: 14,000,000+
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: $99 (Premium Edition)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: GitLab CI/CD (native pipeline engine)
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: Merge Requests with code owner enforcement
GitHub Actions: N/A | GitLab: DORA metrics, advanced audit, compliance reporting (Premium+)
How to choose between GitHub Actions and GitLab
GitHub Actions vs GitLab — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for GitHub Actions vs GitLab. Contains 147 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
GitHub Actions vs GitLab — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for GitHub Actions vs GitLab.
Can I use GitHub Actions outside of GitHub repositories?
No, GitHub Actions is exclusively integrated into GitHub repositories and cannot be used for repositories hosted on GitLab, Bitbucket, or other platforms. However, GitHub Actions can be triggered by webhooks from external systems.
What's the cost difference between GitHub Actions and GitLab for a startup team of 5 people?
For a 5-person team with private repos: GitHub Actions offers 2,000 free CI/CD minutes monthly (sufficient for small teams), while GitLab's Free tier provides only 400 minutes. For advanced security scanning, GitHub requires Advanced Security at $200/month, while GitLab's Ultimate tier at $99/month includes SAST, DAST, and container scanning. For startups, GitHub Actions is typically cheaper initially, but GitLab becomes cost-effective if you need security features.
Does GitLab have a free self-hosted option?
Yes, GitLab Community Edition is completely free and open-source. You can self-host it on your own servers without licensing fees. GitHub only offers GitHub Enterprise Server as a paid self-hosted option (starting at $231/month per user), making GitLab significantly cheaper for self-hosted deployments.
Which platform has better documentation for CI/CD setup?
GitHub Actions has more extensive third-party tutorials and community content due to its larger user base and marketplace ecosystem. GitLab's official documentation is comprehensive but has fewer community examples. For beginners, GitHub Actions is easier to learn due to the abundance of real-world examples online.
Can I migrate from GitHub Actions to GitLab CI/CD easily?
Partial migration is possible but requires rewriting workflow syntax. GitHub Actions uses YAML with `jobs`, `steps`, and `actions` keywords, while GitLab CI uses different YAML structure with `stages` and `script` blocks. No automated conversion tool exists, so migration requires manual rewriting—typically 4-8 hours of work for moderately complex pipelines.
How to Choose Between GitHub Actions and GitLab
Primary Function: GitHub Actions has CI/CD automation for GitHub repos, while GitLab has Full DevOps platform with CI/CD, project management, security.
Consider: Free Tier Monthly CI/CD Minutes
Free Tier Monthly CI/CD Minutes: GitHub Actions has 2,000 minutes (public repos unlimited), while GitLab has 400 minutes for private repos.
Consider: Ease of Setup for GitHub Users
Ease of Setup for GitHub Users: GitHub Actions has Native integration, no external setup required, while GitLab has Requires separate account/platform.
Built-in Project Management: GitHub Actions has Limited (Issues, basic Boards), while GitLab has Comprehensive (Epics, Roadmaps, Boards, Milestones).
Consider: SAST (Static Application Security Testing)
SAST (Static Application Security Testing): GitHub Actions has Available via GitHub Advanced Security ($200/month per seat), while GitLab has Included in Ultimate tier ($99/month per user).
Container Registry Included: GitHub Actions has Yes (GitHub Container Registry, free up to 500MB), while GitLab has Yes (GitLab Container Registry, free up to 5GB per project).
Consider: Marketplace Integrations Available
Marketplace Integrations Available: GitHub Actions has 11,000+ GitHub Actions in marketplace, while GitLab has 900+ GitLab CI/CD templates and integrations.