GitHub vs Gitea 2026: Which Git Platform?
GitHub is a cloud-hosted platform with 100+ million repositories and industry-standard CI/CD integration, while Gitea is a lightweight self-hosted Git service that requires your own infrastructure but offers complete control and lower operational costs. GitHub dominates enterprise adoption; Gitea suits organizations prioritizing data sovereignty and minimal resource overhead.
GitHub
Microsoft-owned web-based Git repository hosting with 100+ million repositories and integrated CI/CD.
Teams of 5+ requiring professional collaboration, enterprises needing compliance, open-source projects, Fortune 500 companies
Gitea
Lightweight, self-hosted Git service written in Go requiring <500MB RAM with no dependencies
Small teams (<50 users), air-gapped/on-premises deployments, organizations with strict data residency requirements, cost-conscious startups
Quick Answer
AI SummaryGitHub is a cloud-hosted platform with 100+ million repositories and industry-standard CI/CD integration, while Gitea is a lightweight self-hosted Git service that requires your own infrastructure but offers complete control and lower operational costs. GitHub dominates enterprise adoption; Gitea suits organizations prioritizing data sovereignty and minimal resource overhead.
Our Verdict
AI-assistedChoose GitHub if you need enterprise-grade collaboration, native CI/CD pipelines, extensive integrations, and don't want infrastructure management overhead—it's the industry standard for teams of any size. Choose Gitea if you require complete data control, operate in air-gapped/regulated environments, run minimal operations (under 50 users), or want zero per-user licensing costs.
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Choose GitHub if
Teams of 5+ requiring professional collaboration, enterprises needing compliance, open-source projects, Fortune 500 companies
Choose Gitea if
Small teams (<50 users), air-gapped/on-premises deployments, organizations with strict data residency requirements, cost-conscious startups
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Key Differences at a Glance
- Hosting Model:✓ GitHub wins(Cloud-hosted (GitHub.com) or self-hosted (GitHub Enterprise) vs Self-hosted only)
- Repository Count:✓ GitHub wins(100+ million repositories vs Unknown (varies by deployment))
- Built-in CI/CD:✓ GitHub wins(GitHub Actions (native, free tier available) vs No native CI/CD (requires external integration))
Key Facts & Figures
38 numeric metrics compared
| Metric | GitHub | Gitea | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in CI/CD Minutes (Free Plan)(minutes/month) | 2000 minutes with Actions | — | — |
| Storage (Free Plan)(GB) | Unlimited LFS (with 1GB free tier) | — | — |
| Monthly Active Users(millions) | Over 100 million developers | — | — |
| Starting Price (Per User/Month)(USD) | $21 for Teams | — | — |
| Total Active Users(millions) | 100 million | — | — |
| Starting Price (Pro Plan)(USD/month) | $21 | — | — |
| Third-party Integrations(integrations) | ~1000+ | — | — |
| Average Time to Get Started(hours) | 1-2 hours | — | — |
| Free Tier Build Minutes per Month(minutes) | 2,000 minutes (GitHub Actions) | — | — |
| Minimum Paid Plan Cost(USD/month) | $4/user/month (GitHub Team) | — | — |
| Repository Storage Limit (Free)(GB) | Unlimited repos, 100 GB/repo max | — | — |
| Public Repositories Hosted(repositories) | 100+ million | — | — |
| Free CI/CD Minutes (Private Repos)(minutes/month) | 2,000 (GitHub Actions) | — | — |
| Pricing for Private Repositories(USD/month) | Free (unlimited) | — | — |
| Free Tier Monthly CI/CD Minutes(minutes) | 2,000 (public) / 500 (private) | — | — |
| Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD) | $4 per user/month | — | — |
| Marketplace Extensions Available(count) | 7,500+ | — | — |
| Public Repositories(count) | Unlimited (97M+ total) | — | — |
| Enterprise Cloud Platform Uptime SLA(percent) | 99.9% | — | — |
| Version Control Systems Supported(count) | 1 (Git only) | — | — |
| Third-party Integrations(count) | 10,000+ | — | — |
| GitHub Actions Free Tier Minutes(minutes/month) | 3,000 | — | — |
| Public Repositories (Total)(repositories) | 100,000,000+ | — | — |
| Self-Hosting Cost (Per User/Year)(USD) | $231+ (GitHub Enterprise) | — | — |
| Marketplace Integrations(count) | 10,000+ | — | — |
| Monthly Cost per User (Team Plan)(USD) | $21 | — | — |
| Active Developer Community(contributors) | 100M+ registered | — | — |
| Free CI/CD Minutes Per Month(minutes) | 2,000 (GitHub Actions) | — | — |
| Public Open-Source Repositories(millions) | 80M+ public repos | — | — |
| Third-Party Integrations Available(integrations) | 10,000+ GitHub Apps | — | — |
| Total Repositories(millions) | 100+ million | — | — |
| Free Repository Storage Limit(GB) | Unlimited repositories (1GB LFS limit) | — | — |
| Minimum RAM Requirement(GB) | 0.5GB | 0.5GB | |
| Setup Time (Fresh Installation)(minutes) | 5-10 minutes | 5-10 minutes | |
| Database Options Supported(count) | 3 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite) | 3 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite) | |
| API Rate Limit (Unauthenticated)(requests/hour) | 60 | 60 | |
| Security Scanning Features(count) | 0 | 0 | |
| Community-Maintained Forks/Mirrors(count) | 1+ active forks | 1+ active forks |
Sourced from publicly available data ·
Key Differences
7 attributes compared head-to-head
- Cloud-hosted (GitHub.com) or self-hosted (GitHub Enterprise)(winner)Hosting ModelSelf-hosted only
- 100+ million repositories(winner)Repository CountUnknown (varies by deployment)
- GitHub Actions (native, free tier available)(winner)Built-in CI/CDNo native CI/CD (requires external integration)
- N/A (cloud-managed)Memory Footprint~500 MB RAM minimum(winner)
- Zero (sign up instantly)(winner)Installation ComplexityRequires Docker/binary setup and server management
- $231,000+ ($924/user/year)GitHub Enterprise Cost (annual, 250 users)$0 (self-hosted infrastructure costs only)(winner)
- 2,000+ native integrations(winner)Enterprise Marketplace Integrations<50 integrations
- Hosting Model
GitHub
Cloud-hosted (GitHub.com) or self-hosted (GitHub Enterprise)(winner)
Gitea
Self-hosted only
- Repository Count
GitHub
100+ million repositories(winner)
Gitea
Unknown (varies by deployment)
- Built-in CI/CD
GitHub
GitHub Actions (native, free tier available)(winner)
Gitea
No native CI/CD (requires external integration)
- Memory Footprint
GitHub
N/A (cloud-managed)
Gitea
~500 MB RAM minimum(winner)
- Installation Complexity
GitHub
Zero (sign up instantly)(winner)
Gitea
Requires Docker/binary setup and server management
- GitHub Enterprise Cost (annual, 250 users)
GitHub
$231,000+ ($924/user/year)
Gitea
$0 (self-hosted infrastructure costs only)(winner)
- Enterprise Marketplace Integrations
GitHub
2,000+ native integrations(winner)
Gitea
<50 integrations
Full Comparison
| Attribute | GitHub | Gitea |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in CI/CD Minutes (Free Plan)(minutes/month) | 2000 minutes with Actions | — |
| Built-in CI/CD Included | Yes (Actions) | — |
| Self-Hosting Support | Enterprise edition only ($231/user/year minimum) | — |
| Self-Hosting Option(available) | GitHub Enterprise (paid, proprietary) | — |
| Storage (Free Plan)(GB) | Unlimited LFS (with 1GB free tier) | — |
| SAST Security Scanning | Advanced with CodeQL (free on public repos) | — |
| Built-in Code Scanning & Security Features | Advanced (SAST, secret scanning, dependency alerts) | — |
| Security Scanning Features(count) | 0 | — |
| Monthly Active Users(millions) | Over 100 million developers | — |
| Free Plan Available | Yes, with unlimited repositories | — |
| Starting Price (Per User/Month)(USD) | $21 for Teams | — |
| Starting Price (Pro Plan)(USD/month) | $21 | — |
| Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD) | $4 per user/month | — |
| Self-Hosting Cost (Per User/Year)(USD) | $231+ (GitHub Enterprise) | — |
Show 2 more attributesFree Public Repo Storage(GB) Unlimited — Monthly Cost per User (Team Plan)(USD) $21 — | ||
| Total Active Users(millions) | 100 million | — |
| Community-Maintained Forks/Mirrors(count) | 1+ active forks | — |
| Public Repositories | ~200 million | — |
| Free Private Repositories | Unlimited | — |
| Serverless Functions Support | GitHub Functions (beta/limited) | — |
| Built-in Analytics Dashboard | Basic insights for Actions only | — |
| Serverless Function Support | No (code storage only) | — |
| Free Private Repository Limit | Unlimited repos | — |
Show 2 more attributesBuilt-in CI/CD Included No — Container Registry Support Not included — | ||
| Jira Integration Quality | Third-party plugin | — |
| Third-party Integrations(count) | 10,000+ | — |
| Third-party Integrations(integrations) | ~1000+ | — |
| Marketplace Extensions Available(count) | 7,500+ | — |
| Marketplace Integrations(count) | 10,000+ | — |
| Average Time to Get Started(hours) | 1-2 hours | — |
| Free Tier Build Minutes per Month(minutes) | 2,000 minutes (GitHub Actions) | — |
| Minimum Paid Plan Cost(USD/month) | $4/user/month (GitHub Team) | — |
| Free Tier Deployments Per Day(deployments/day) | Unlimited (via Actions) | — |
| Deploy Preview Generation | Via GitHub Pages or custom workflow | — |
| Primary Use Case | Version control & code collaboration | — |
| Repository Storage Limit (Free)(GB) | Unlimited repos, 100 GB/repo max | — |
| Public Repositories Hosted(repositories) | 100+ million | — |
| Free CI/CD Minutes (Private Repos)(minutes/month) | 2,000 (GitHub Actions) | — |
| Data Privacy Compliance(null) | GDPR-compliant (multiple regions) | — |
| Data Tracking & Analytics(null) | User analytics enabled by default | — |
| Data Residency Compliance | US-based servers, limited EU compliance | — |
| Pricing for Private Repositories(USD/month) | Free (unlimited) | — |
| Free Tier Monthly CI/CD Minutes(minutes) | 2,000 (public) / 500 (private) | — |
| Public Repositories(count) | Unlimited (97M+ total) | — |
| Version Control Systems Supported(count) | 1 (Git only) | — |
| Enterprise Cloud Platform Uptime SLA(percent) | 99.9% | — |
| Code Review Required Approvers(feature depth) | Configurable required reviewers + CODEOWNERS enforcement | — |
| HIPAA Compliance Eligible(boolean) | No | — |
| Average Deployment Time(minutes) | N/A (requires external CI/CD) | — |
| Next.js Framework Integration | Community integrations only | — |
| GitHub Actions Free Tier Minutes(minutes/month) | 3,000 | — |
| Edge Function Latency Reduction(milliseconds) | Not applicable | — |
| Minimum RAM Requirement(GB) | 0.5GB | — |
| API Rate Limit (Unauthenticated)(requests/hour) | 60 | — |
| Public Repositories (Total)(repositories) | 100,000,000+ | — |
| Free Tier CI/CD Minutes(minutes/month) | Unlimited (via GitHub Actions) | — |
| Built-in CI/CD Integration | GitHub Actions (separate workflow service) | — |
| Web-based Code Review | Pull Requests with detailed approval workflows | — |
| Enterprise Compliance Features | Audit logs, SSO, IP allowlisting (Enterprise only) | — |
| Active Developer Community(contributors) | 100M+ registered | — |
| Free CI/CD Minutes Per Month(minutes) | 2,000 (GitHub Actions) | — |
| Free Repository Storage Limit(GB) | Unlimited repositories (1GB LFS limit) | — |
| Native Jira Integration | GitHub Apps marketplace plugin | — |
| Team-Level SSO Support (Non-Enterprise) | No, Enterprise tier required ($231/user/year) | — |
| Public Open-Source Repositories(millions) | 80M+ public repos | — |
| Third-Party Integrations Available(integrations) | 10,000+ GitHub Apps | — |
| Total Repositories(millions) | 100+ million | — |
| Monthly Active Users(millions) | 70+ million | — |
| Organization Type | For-profit (Microsoft subsidiary) | — |
| Setup Time (Fresh Installation)(minutes) | 5-10 minutes | — |
| Database Options Supported(count) | 3 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite) | — |
GitHubGiteaShow 2 more attributes
Show 2 more attributes
Pros & Cons
10 pros·4 cons across both
GitHub
Pros
- GitHub Actions provides unlimited free CI/CD for public repos
- 100+ million repositories with established network effects
- 2,000+ native marketplace integrations (Slack, Jira, AWS, Azure)
- Advanced code search and discovery across all public repos
- Enterprise SSO, SAML, and compliance features (SOC 2, HIPAA)
Cons
- GitHub.com requires internet connectivity; Enterprise costs $924/user/year
- Vendor lock-in with Microsoft ecosystem; data stored on US servers by default
Gitea
Pros
- Self-hosted on your infrastructure—complete data control and sovereignty
- Minimal system requirements: 500MB RAM, 100MB disk for binary installation
- Zero per-user licensing costs after initial server setup
- Runs on any platform (Linux, Windows, macOS, ARM)
- GDPR-compliant by default; no data sharing with third parties
Cons
- No native CI/CD—requires external runners (Drone, Jenkins, GitHub Actions runners)
- Limited integration ecosystem (<50 integrations vs GitHub's 2,000+); small community support
Frequently Asked Questions
5 questions
Gitea can replace GitHub's core Git functionality (repositories, branches, pull requests) for teams <50 people with budget constraints. However, you'll lose GitHub Actions (CI/CD), 2,000+ integrations, and ecosystem tooling. Gitea suits air-gapped environments, regulated industries, or cost-first decisions; GitHub suits teams needing professional DevOps tooling out-of-box.
Resources & Learn More
Curated sources to dive deeper
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