GitHub vs Gitea 2026: Self-Hosted Git Comparison
GitHub is a cloud-hosted, feature-rich platform with 100+ million repositories and extensive integrations, while Gitea is a lightweight, self-hosted Git service designed for organizations wanting complete control and lower infrastructure costs. GitHub dominates for open-source collaboration; Gitea excels for private, on-premise deployments.
GitHub
Cloud-hosted collaborative Git repository platform owned by Microsoft with 100+ million repositories.
Open-source maintainers, startups, enterprises, and teams needing deep ecosystem integrations and modern DevOps workflows.
Gitea
Lightweight, self-hosted Git service written in Go with minimal resource requirements.
Organizations prioritizing data privacy, cost efficiency at scale, compliance-heavy industries, and teams running closed-source or sensitive codebases.
Quick Answer
AI SummaryGitHub is a cloud-hosted, feature-rich platform with 100+ million repositories and extensive integrations, while Gitea is a lightweight, self-hosted Git service designed for organizations wanting complete control and lower infrastructure costs. GitHub dominates for open-source collaboration; Gitea excels for private, on-premise deployments.
Our Verdict
AI-assistedChoose GitHub if you need a robust, feature-complete platform with native CI/CD, extensive integrations, and want to tap into the world's largest developer community—ideal for open-source projects, startups, and enterprise teams already in the Microsoft ecosystem. Choose Gitea if you require complete data sovereignty, minimal resource overhead, lower long-term costs at scale, and prefer a self-hosted solution for sensitive codebases or compliance-heavy organizations.
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Choose GitHub if
Best pickOpen-source maintainers, startups, enterprises, and teams needing deep ecosystem integrations and modern DevOps workflows.
Choose Gitea if
Organizations prioritizing data privacy, cost efficiency at scale, compliance-heavy industries, and teams running closed-source or sensitive codebases.
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Key Differences at a Glance
- Hosting Model:✓ GitHub wins(Cloud-hosted (SaaS) or self-hosted enterprise vs Self-hosted only)
- Repository Count:✓ GitHub wins(100+ million repositories vs Typically thousands per instance)
- Memory Footprint:✓ Gitea wins(50-100MB RAM minimum vs N/A (cloud service))
Key Facts & Figures
45 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(integrations) | 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(count) | 10,000+ GitHub Apps | — | — |
| Total Repositories(millions) | 100+ million | — | — |
| Free Repository Storage Limit(GB) | Unlimited repositories (1GB LFS limit) | — | — |
| Monthly Cost (Team Plan, 5 users)(USD) | $19.25/user/month ($96.25 total) | $0 (one-time setup) | |
| Memory Requirements(MB) | N/A (managed cloud) | 50-100 MB minimum | — |
| CI/CD Pipeline Minutes (Free Tier)(minutes/month) | 6,000 minutes (GitHub Actions) | 0 (requires external tool) | |
| Public Integrations Available(count) | 20,000+ marketplace apps | ~50 official integrations | |
| Setup Time to Production(minutes) | 5-10 minutes (sign up) | 15-30 minutes (Docker/binary) | |
| Community Contributors (Main Project)(count) | 5,000+ GitHub contributors | 300+ Gitea contributors | |
| Annual Cost per 50 Users (Typical Org)(USD) | $13,800 (GitHub Teams: $21/month per user) | $299-999 (one-time license + hosting) | |
| 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 (SaaS) or self-hosted enterprise(winner)Hosting ModelSelf-hosted only
- 100+ million repositories(winner)Repository CountTypically thousands per instance
- N/A (cloud service)Memory Footprint50-100MB RAM minimum(winner)
- GitHub Actions included(winner)Built-in CI/CDNone (third-party integration required)
- Largest developer community, 500K+ public libraries(winner)Community & EcosystemGrowing community, limited ecosystem
- Free tier + $4-21/month paid plansCost for Private ReposOne-time license ~$299 or free open-source(winner)
- Limited (GitHub owns infrastructure)Data Sovereignty ControlComplete (self-hosted on your servers)(winner)
- Hosting Model
GitHub
Cloud-hosted (SaaS) or self-hosted enterprise(winner)
Gitea
Self-hosted only
- Repository Count
GitHub
100+ million repositories(winner)
Gitea
Typically thousands per instance
- Memory Footprint
GitHub
N/A (cloud service)
Gitea
50-100MB RAM minimum(winner)
- Built-in CI/CD
GitHub
GitHub Actions included(winner)
Gitea
None (third-party integration required)
- Community & Ecosystem
GitHub
Largest developer community, 500K+ public libraries(winner)
Gitea
Growing community, limited ecosystem
- Cost for Private Repos
GitHub
Free tier + $4-21/month paid plans
Gitea
One-time license ~$299 or free open-source(winner)
- Data Sovereignty Control
GitHub
Limited (GitHub owns infrastructure)
Gitea
Complete (self-hosted on your servers)(winner)
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(yes/no) | GitHub Enterprise (paid, proprietary) | — |
| Setup Time to Production(minutes) | 5-10 minutes (sign up)(winner) | 15-30 minutes (Docker/binary) |
| 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 4 more attributesFree Public Repo Storage(GB) Unlimited — Monthly Cost per User (Team Plan)(USD) $21 — Monthly Cost (Team Plan, 5 users)(USD) $19.25/user/month ($96.25 total) $0 (one-time setup) Annual Cost per 50 Users (Typical Org)(USD) $13,800 (GitHub Teams: $21/month per user) $299-999 (one-time license + hosting) | ||
| Total Active Users(millions) | 100 million | — |
| Community Contributors (Main Project)(count) | 5,000+ GitHub contributors(winner) | 300+ Gitea contributors |
| 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(integrations) | ~1000+ | — |
| Marketplace Extensions Available(count) | 7,500+ | — |
| Third-Party Integrations(count) | 10,000+ | — |
| Third-Party Integrations Available(count) | 10,000+ GitHub Apps | — |
| 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) | — |
| Enterprise Cloud Platform Uptime SLA(percent) | 99.9% | — |
| Code Review Required Approvers(feature depth) | Configurable required reviewers + CODEOWNERS enforcement | — |
| Version Control Systems Supported(count) | 1 (Git only) | — |
| 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 | — |
| 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) | — |
| CI/CD Pipeline Minutes (Free Tier)(minutes/month) | 6,000 minutes (GitHub Actions)(winner) | 0 (requires external tool) |
| Marketplace Integrations(integrations) | 10,000+ | — |
| Public Integrations Available(count) | 20,000+ marketplace apps(winner) | ~50 official integrations |
| 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) | — |
| Data Sovereignty | Limited (Microsoft cloud) | Complete (self-hosted) |
| Public Open-Source Repositories(millions) | 80M+ public repos | — |
| Total Repositories(millions) | 100+ million | — |
| Monthly Active Users(millions) | 70+ million | — |
| Organization Type | For-profit (Microsoft subsidiary) | — |
| Memory Requirements(MB) | N/A (managed cloud) | 50-100 MB minimum |
| Minimum RAM Requirement(GB) | 0.5GB | — |
| Database Options Supported(count) | 3 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite) | — |
| Setup Time (Fresh Installation)(minutes) | 5-10 minutes | — |
GitHubGiteaShow 4 more attributes
Show 2 more attributes
Pros & Cons
10 pros·5 cons across both
GitHub
Pros
- Native GitHub Actions CI/CD with 500+ pre-built workflows and 6,000 minutes/month free tier
- Integrated pull request review system with code owners, required reviewers, and branch protection rules
- GitHub Copilot AI assistant integrated directly into editor and web interface
- Marketplace with 20,000+ third-party apps and integrations (Jira, Slack, Azure DevOps, etc.)
- Built-in security scanning with Dependabot, secret scanning, and SAST at no extra cost
Cons
- Pricing escalates quickly for teams; $231/year minimum for Teams plan vs. free for single users
- Data stored on Microsoft infrastructure—no option for true on-premise control unless using Enterprise Server (deprecated)
Gitea
Pros
- Extremely lightweight—runs on 50-100MB RAM, deployable on Raspberry Pi or minimal VPS
- One-time cost or free (open-source); no recurring subscription fees after initial setup
- Complete data sovereignty—all code, users, and metadata stay on your infrastructure
- Quick installation—single binary deployment via Docker, Kubernetes, or bare metal in minutes
- LDAP/OAuth/SAML authentication built-in for enterprise directory integration
Cons
- No native CI/CD—requires external tools like Drone, Jenkins, or GitLab Runner integration
- Minimal ecosystem—fewer than 50 official integrations vs. GitHub's 20,000+ marketplace apps
- Smaller community—~40K GitHub stars vs. GitHub's 370M+ followers; limited third-party extensions
Frequently Asked Questions
5 questions
Yes, Gitea is specifically designed for self-hosting on your own infrastructure, whether on-premise or private cloud. It supports Docker, Kubernetes, and bare-metal deployments. GitHub offers GitHub Enterprise Server (self-hosted) but it's expensive ($231/year minimum per seat) and has been deprecated in favor of cloud-only GitHub Enterprise Cloud.
Resources & Learn More
Curated sources to dive deeper
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