software
GitHub vs GitLab 2026: Features, Pricing & Features
GitHub dominates with 100M+ developers and superior ecosystem integration, while GitLab offers an all-in-one DevOps platform with built-in CI/CD and self-hosting options at lower cost.
GitHub
Web-based Git repository hosting and collaboration platform owned by Microsoft
Open-source maintainers, enterprises already using Microsoft ecosystem, teams prioritizing discoverability and community contributions
Score63%
VS
GitLab
Unified DevOps platform with integrated CI/CD, container registry, and project management.
Enterprises wanting all-in-one DevOps, security-focused teams needing comprehensive scanning, organizations wanting self-hosted control, cost-conscious teams
Score63%
Quick Answer
AI SummaryGitHub dominates with 100M+ developers and superior ecosystem integration, while GitLab offers an all-in-one DevOps platform with built-in CI/CD and self-hosting options at lower cost.
Our Verdict
AI-assistedChoose GitHub if you need the largest developer community, superior third-party ecosystem, and prefer simplicity with excellent collaboration features. Choose GitLab if you want an all-in-one DevOps platform with included CI/CD, lower total cost of ownership, self-hosting flexibility, and comprehensive security scanning built-in.
Community feedback
Was this verdict helpful?
Thanks — we'll use this to improve our verdicts.
GitHub
8.3/10
GitLab
6.7/10
Choose GitHub if
Best pickOpen-source maintainers, enterprises already using Microsoft ecosystem, teams prioritizing discoverability and community contributions
Choose GitLab if
Enterprises wanting all-in-one DevOps, security-focused teams needing comprehensive scanning, organizations wanting self-hosted control, cost-conscious teams
Track this comparison
Get notified when prices change, new specs ship, or our verdict updates.
Triggers: price change new spec verdict update
No spam. Stop anytime.
Key Differences at a Glance
- Developer User Base:✓ GitHub wins(100+ million developers vs 30+ million developers)
- Pricing Model:✓ GitLab wins($0-99/month (Free/Premium/Ultimate) vs $4-24/month per user (GitHub Pro/Team) or free for public repos)
- Built-in CI/CD:✓ GitLab wins(GitLab CI/CD included in all plans vs GitHub Actions (pay-per-minute, $0.008/minute))
Key Facts & Figures
86 numeric metrics compared
| Metric | GitHub | GitLab | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in CI/CD Minutes (Free Plan)(minutes/month) | 2000 minutes with Actions | 400 minutes with shared runners | |
| Storage (Free Plan)(GB) | Unlimited LFS (with 1GB free tier) | 5GB total | |
| Monthly Active Users(millions) | Over 100 million developers | Approximately 30 million users | |
| Starting Price (Per User/Month)(USD) | $21 for Teams | $10.50 for Premium | |
| 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 | — | — |
| Enterprise Server Minimum Cost(USD/month) | $231 | $29 (Premium tier, no separate enterprise pricing) | |
| 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/month) | 2,000 (public) / 500 (private) | — | — |
| Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD/month per user) | $4 | $11.90 | |
| Marketplace Extensions Available(count) | 7,500+ | — | — |
| Public Repositories(count) | Unlimited (97M+ total) | — | — |
| Enterprise Cloud Platform Uptime SLA(percent) | 99.9% | — | — |
| Third-Party Integrations(integrations) | 10,000+ | — | — |
| GitHub Actions Free Tier Minutes(minutes/month) | 3,000 | — | — |
| Public Repositories (Total)(repositories) | 100,000,000+ | 14,000,000+ | |
| Free Tier CI/CD Minutes(minutes/month) | 2,000 | 400 minutes/month | |
| Self-Hosting Cost (Per User/Year)(USD) | $231+ (GitHub Enterprise) | $99 (Premium Edition) | |
| Marketplace Integrations(integrations) | 10,000+ | 2,500+ | |
| Monthly Cost per User (Team Plan)(USD) | $21 | — | — |
| Active Developer Community(developers) | 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 | — | — |
| Version Control Systems Supported(count) | 3 systems (Git, SVN, Mercurial) | — | — |
| Developer Adoption Rate (2024 Survey)(percent) | 95% | — | — |
| Total Repositories(count) | 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) | — | — |
| CI/CD Pipeline Minutes (Free Tier)(minutes/month) | 6,000 minutes (GitHub Actions) | — | — |
| Public Integrations Available(count) | 20,000+ marketplace apps | — | — |
| Setup Time to Production(minutes) | 5-10 minutes (sign up) | — | — |
| Community Contributors (Main Project)(count) | 5,000+ GitHub contributors | — | — |
| Annual Cost per 50 Users (Typical Org)(USD) | $13,800 (GitHub Teams: $21/month per user) | — | — |
| Total User Base(developers) | 100+ million | 30+ million | |
| Free Plan Cost(USD/month) | $0 (public repos only) | $0 (includes 5GB storage, private repos) | |
| Available Integrations(count) | 5,000+ | 1,200+ | |
| Self-Hosted Community Edition Cost(USD/month) | Not available | $0 (free community edition) | — |
| Average Deploy Time (Next.js)(seconds) | 180 seconds | — | — |
| Global Edge Locations(count) | 0 (not applicable) | — | — |
| Starter Plan Price(USD/month) | $0 (Pro from $4) | — | — |
| Serverless Function Cold Start(milliseconds) | 300-500ms (via Actions) | — | — |
| Free Monthly CI/CD Minutes (Private Repos)(minutes) | 400 minutes | 400 minutes | |
| Container Registry Free Storage(GB) | 5 GB per project | 5 GB per project | |
| Marketplace Ecosystem Size(actions/templates) | 900+ Templates | 900+ Templates | |
| Enterprise Security (SAST) Cost(USD/month per user) | Included in Ultimate ($99/month per user) | Included in Ultimate ($99/month per user) | |
| Maximum Parallel Jobs (Free Tier)(concurrent jobs) | 10 concurrent pipelines | 10 concurrent pipelines | |
| Job Startup Time(seconds) | 12-15 seconds | 12-15 seconds | |
| Free Tier Monthly Minutes(minutes) | 400 minutes | 400 minutes | |
| Self-Hosted Annual Cost (Single User)(USD) | $990 | $990 | |
| Setup Time to First Pipeline(minutes) | 45-60 minutes | 45-60 minutes | |
| Pre-built Integration Orbs/Templates(count) | 80+ Templates | 80+ Templates | |
| Pro Plan Annual Cost (per user)(USD) | $228/year ($19/month) | $228/year ($19/month) | |
| Maximum CI/CD Pipeline Minutes (free tier/month)(minutes) | 400 minutes/month | 400 minutes/month | |
| Minimum RAM Requirement(GB) | 4GB | 4GB | |
| Setup Time (Fresh Installation)(minutes) | 30-45 minutes | 30-45 minutes | |
| Database Options Supported(count) | 3 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite) | 3 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite) | |
| API Rate Limit (Unauthenticated)(requests/hour) | 300 | 300 | |
| Security Scanning Features(count) | 5 (SAST, DAST, dependency, secret, container) | 5 (SAST, DAST, dependency, secret, container) | |
| Community-Maintained Forks/Mirrors(count) | Forgejo, GitLab Community Edition | Forgejo, GitLab Community Edition | |
| Monthly Cost (Single User, Premium)(USD) | $8.25 (Premium at $99/year) | $8.25 (Premium at $99/year) | |
| Free CI/CD Minutes Monthly(minutes) | 400 minutes (shared) | 400 minutes (shared) | |
| Maximum Concurrent Users Supported(users) | 10,000+ (with performance degradation) | 10,000+ (with performance degradation) | |
| Platform Integration Count(integrations) | 400+ via marketplace | 400+ via marketplace | |
| Free Tier Storage Limit(GB) | 10 GB (projects) | 10 GB (projects) | |
| CI/CD Minutes Included (Free Tier)(minutes/month) | 400 minutes | 400 minutes | |
| Pro Plan Cost Per User(USD/month) | $29 (Premium plan) | $29 (Premium plan) | |
| API Rate Limits (free tier)(requests/minute) | 600 (authenticated) | 600 (authenticated) | |
| Community Forum Members (approx)(members) | 150000 | 150000 | |
| Cloud Pricing (Starting Tier)(USD/user/month) | $29/month | $29/month | |
| Agile Board Templates(number) | 5-8 built-in | 5-8 built-in | |
| Base Monthly Cost (100 users)(USD) | $2,900 (Premium tier at $29/user) | $2,900 (Premium tier at $29/user) | |
| Custom Issue Field Types(field types) | ~20 standard field types | ~20 standard field types | |
| Global Active Users(millions) | 12 million+ monthly active users | 12 million+ monthly active users | |
| Setup Time (Initial Configuration)(hours) | 2-4 hours for basic CI/CD pipeline with templates | 2-4 hours for basic CI/CD pipeline with templates | |
| Maximum Scalable Team Size(users) | 500-1,000 per instance; sharding available | 500-1,000 per instance; sharding available | |
| Pro/Standard Plan Monthly Cost(USD/month) | $8.25/month (Premium) | $8.25/month (Premium) | |
| Self-Hosted Enterprise Plan(USD/year) | $9,900/year (Premium self-managed) | $9,900/year (Premium self-managed) | |
| Enterprise Market Adoption(% of Fortune 500) | 20% (estimated enterprise adoption) | 20% (estimated enterprise adoption) |
Sourced from publicly available data ·
Key Differences
7 attributes compared head-to-head
GitLab leads
GitHub
Attribute
GitLab
- 100+ million developers(winner)Developer User Base30+ million developers
- $4-24/month per user (GitHub Pro/Team) or free for public reposPricing Model$0-99/month (Free/Premium/Ultimate)(winner)
- GitHub Actions (pay-per-minute, $0.008/minute)Built-in CI/CDGitLab CI/CD included in all plans(winner)
- GitHub Enterprise Server ($231/month minimum)Self-Hosting OptionGitLab Self-Managed (free community edition available)(winner)
- Advanced security scanning in GitHub Advanced Security ($45/month/repo)Enterprise Security FeaturesSAST, dependency scanning, container scanning included in Premium(winner)
- 5,000+ integrations on GitHub Marketplace(winner)Third-Party Integrations1,200+ integrations available
- Requires external CI/CD tool setup (5-15 minutes with GitHub Actions)Time to First DeploymentBuilt-in CI/CD ready immediately (2-3 minutes)(winner)
- Developer User Base
GitHub
100+ million developers(winner)
GitLab
30+ million developers
- Pricing Model
GitHub
$4-24/month per user (GitHub Pro/Team) or free for public repos
GitLab
$0-99/month (Free/Premium/Ultimate)(winner)
- Built-in CI/CD
GitHub
GitHub Actions (pay-per-minute, $0.008/minute)
GitLab
GitLab CI/CD included in all plans(winner)
- Self-Hosting Option
GitHub
GitHub Enterprise Server ($231/month minimum)
GitLab
GitLab Self-Managed (free community edition available)(winner)
- Enterprise Security Features
GitHub
Advanced security scanning in GitHub Advanced Security ($45/month/repo)
GitLab
SAST, dependency scanning, container scanning included in Premium(winner)
- Third-Party Integrations
GitHub
5,000+ integrations on GitHub Marketplace(winner)
GitLab
1,200+ integrations available
- Time to First Deployment
GitHub
Requires external CI/CD tool setup (5-15 minutes with GitHub Actions)
GitLab
Built-in CI/CD ready immediately (2-3 minutes)(winner)
Full Comparison
| Attribute | GitHub | GitLab |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in CI/CD Minutes (Free Plan)(minutes/month) | 2000 minutes with Actions(winner) | 400 minutes with shared runners |
| Built-in CI/CD Included | Yes (Actions) | — |
| Built-in CI/CD Pipeline(included) | Native GitLab CI/CD | — |
| Self-Hosting Support | Enterprise edition only ($231/user/year minimum) | Community and Enterprise editions available |
| Self-Hosting Option | GitHub Enterprise (paid, proprietary) | — |
| Setup Time to Production(minutes) | 5-10 minutes (sign up) | — |
| Self-Hosted Option Available | Yes (free Community Edition) | — |
| Self-Hosted Edition Available | Community, Premium, and Ultimate editions | — |
| Storage (Free Plan)(GB) | Unlimited LFS (with 1GB free tier) | 5GB total(winner) |
| SAST Security Scanning | Advanced with CodeQL (free on public repos) | Built-in for all tiers |
| Built-in Code Scanning & Security Features | Advanced (SAST, secret scanning, dependency alerts) | — |
| Built-in Security Scanning Features(features included) | Requires paid Advanced Security ($45/repo/month) | SAST, DAST, dependency scanning included in Premium |
| Security Scanning Features(count) | 5 (SAST, DAST, dependency, secret, container) | — |
| Built-in Security Scanning Tools | Included in Free tier (SAST, DAST, Dependency, Container) | — |
Show 2 more attributesIntegrated Security Scanning SAST, DAST, dependency scanning included in Premium — SAST Security Scanning Free tier and above — | ||
| Monthly Active Users(millions) | Over 100 million developers(winner) | Approximately 30 million users |
| Monthly Active Users(millions) | 94 million | — |
| Free Plan Available | Yes, with unlimited repositories | Yes, with 5GB storage limit |
| Starting Price (Per User/Month)(USD) | $21 for Teams | $10.50 for Premium(winner) |
| Starting Price (Pro Plan)(USD/month) | $21 | — |
| Enterprise Server Minimum Cost(USD/month) | $231 | $29 (Premium tier, no separate enterprise pricing)(winner) |
| Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD/month per user) | $4(winner) | $11.90 |
Show 17 more attributesFree Tier CI/CD Minutes(minutes/month) 2,000 400 minutes/month Self-Hosting Cost (Per User/Year)(USD) $231+ (GitHub Enterprise) $99 (Premium Edition) Free Public Repo Storage(GB) Unlimited Unlimited Monthly Cost per User (Team Plan)(USD) $21 — Monthly Cost (Team Plan, 5 users)(USD) $19.25/user/month ($96.25 total) — Annual Cost per 50 Users (Typical Org)(USD) $13,800 (GitHub Teams: $21/month per user) — Free Plan Cost(USD/month) $0 (public repos only) $0 (includes 5GB storage, private repos) Self-Hosted Community Edition Cost(USD/month) Not available $0 (free community edition) Starter Plan Price(USD/month) $0 (Pro from $4) — Free Tier Monthly Minutes(minutes) 400 minutes — Self-Hosted Annual Cost (Single User)(USD) $990 — Monthly Cost (Single User, Premium)(USD) $8.25 (Premium at $99/year) — Free Tier Storage Limit(GB) 10 GB (projects) — Pro Plan Cost Per User(USD/month) $29 (Premium plan) — Cloud Pricing (Starting Tier)(USD/user/month) $29/month — Free Tier Access Yes - includes 50,000 CI/CD minutes — Base Monthly Cost (100 users)(USD) $2,900 (Premium tier at $29/user) — | ||
| Total Active Users(millions) | 100 million | — |
| Active Developer Community(developers) | 100M+ registered | — |
| Community Contributors (Main Project)(count) | 5,000+ GitHub contributors | — |
| Community-Maintained Forks/Mirrors(count) | Forgejo, GitLab Community Edition | — |
| Community Forum Members (approx)(members) | 150000 | — |
| Public Repositories | ~200 million | Unlimited on all plans |
| 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 13 more attributesCode Repository Hosting(included) Yes, native — Native Security Scanning(features) Yes (SAST, DAST, container, dependency) — Built-in Project Management(status) Yes (issues, boards, wiki, milestones) — Container Registry Included Yes (free Docker registry) — Maximum CI/CD Pipeline Minutes (free tier/month)(minutes) 400 minutes/month — Issue Tracking & Project Management Built-in full-featured system — Built-in CI/CD Included Yes (GitLab CI/CD) — Container Registry Support Native (included) — Self-Hosting Capability Open-source Community Edition available — Git Repository Hosting Integrated — Agile Board Templates(number) 5-8 built-in — Native Git Repository Support Unlimited public/private repos included — Built-in CI/CD Pipelines 400+ templates included — | ||
| Jira Integration Quality | Third-party plugin | — |
| Source Control Integration | Native Git (no external required) | — |
| Third-party Integrations(integrations) | ~1000+ | — |
| Marketplace Extensions Available(count) | 7,500+ | — |
| Third-Party Integrations(integrations) | 10,000+ | — |
| Jira Integration Quality(rating) | Third-party plugin required | — |
| 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) | — |
| Free Monthly CI/CD Minutes (Private Repos)(minutes) | 400 minutes | — |
| 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 | — |
| Free Tier Bandwidth(GB/month) | Not applicable | — |
| 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 CI/CD Minutes per Month(minutes) | 2,000 (GitHub Actions) | — |
| Free Tier Monthly CI/CD Minutes(minutes/month) | 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 | — |
| HIPAA Compliance Eligible(boolean) | No | — |
| Average Deployment Time(seconds) | N/A (requires external CI/CD) | — |
| Edge Function Latency Reduction(milliseconds) | Not applicable | — |
| Average Deploy Time (Next.js)(seconds) | 180 seconds | — |
| Serverless Function Cold Start(milliseconds) | 300-500ms (via Actions) | — |
| Maximum Parallel Jobs (Free Tier)(concurrent jobs) | 10 concurrent pipelines | — |
Show 2 more attributesJob Startup Time(seconds) 12-15 seconds — API Rate Limit (Unauthenticated)(requests/hour) 300 — | ||
| Next.js Framework Integration | Community integrations only | — |
| GitHub Actions Free Tier Minutes(minutes/month) | 3,000 | — |
| CI/CD Minutes Included (Free Tier)(minutes/month) | 400 minutes | — |
| Public Repositories (Total)(repositories) | 100,000,000+(winner) | 14,000,000+ |
| Total User Base(developers) | 100+ million(winner) | 30+ million |
| Built-in CI/CD Integration | GitHub Actions (separate workflow service) | GitLab CI/CD (native pipeline engine) |
| Native CI/CD Pipeline Integration(boolean) | Yes (GitHub Actions) | — |
| CI/CD Pipeline Minutes (Free Tier)(minutes/month) | 6,000 minutes (GitHub Actions) | — |
| CI/CD Inclusion(included or paid) | Included but billed at $0.008/minute | Fully included, unlimited minutes |
| Built-in Container Registry | Free tier and above | — |
| Marketplace Integrations(integrations) | 10,000+(winner) | 2,500+ |
| Third-Party Integrations Available(count) | 10,000+ GitHub Apps | — |
| Public Integrations Available(count) | 20,000+ marketplace apps | — |
| Available Integrations(count) | 5,000+(winner) | 1,200+ |
| Marketplace Ecosystem Size(actions/templates) | 900+ Templates | — |
Show 1 more attributePlatform Integration Count(integrations) 400+ via marketplace — | ||
| Web-based Code Review | Pull Requests with detailed approval workflows | Merge Requests with code owner enforcement |
| Enterprise Compliance Features | Audit logs, SSO, IP allowlisting (Enterprise only) | DORA metrics, advanced audit, compliance reporting (Premium+) |
| Native Jira Integration | GitHub Apps marketplace plugin | — |
| Team-Level SSO Support (Non-Enterprise) | No, Enterprise tier required ($231/user/year) | — |
| Enterprise Security (SAST) Cost(USD/month per user) | Included in Ultimate ($99/month per user) | — |
| Public Open-Source Repositories(millions) | 80M+ public repos | — |
| Free Private Repositories(limit) | Unlimited | — |
| Version Control Systems Supported(count) | 3 systems (Git, SVN, Mercurial) | — |
| Developer Adoption Rate (2024 Survey)(percent) | 95% | — |
| Enterprise Support Tier(level) | GitHub Enterprise with SLA guarantees | — |
| API Rate Limits (Unauthenticated)(requests/hour) | 60 requests/hour | — |
| Total Repositories(count) | 100+ million | — |
| Free Repository Storage Limit(GB) | Unlimited repositories (1GB LFS limit) | — |
| Organization Type | For-profit (Microsoft subsidiary) | — |
| Memory Requirements(MB) | N/A (managed cloud) | — |
| Global Edge Locations(count) | 0 (not applicable) | — |
| Database Options Supported(count) | 3 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite) | — |
| Data Sovereignty(text) | Limited (Microsoft cloud) | — |
| Container Registry Free Storage(GB) | 5 GB per project | — |
| Built-in Project Management Features | Issues, Epics, Roadmaps, advanced Boards, Milestones | — |
| Custom Issue Field Types(field types) | ~20 standard field types | — |
| Native GitHub Integration Required | Requires separate account/platform | — |
| Setup Time to First Pipeline(minutes) | 45-60 minutes | — |
| Setup Time (Fresh Installation)(minutes) | 30-45 minutes | — |
| Setup Time (Initial Configuration)(hours) | 2-4 hours for basic CI/CD pipeline with templates | — |
| Pre-built Integration Orbs/Templates(count) | 80+ Templates | — |
| Free Tier Private Repositories(repositories) | Unlimited (up to 5 users) | — |
| Pro/Standard Plan Monthly Cost(USD/month) | $8.25/month (Premium) | — |
| Self-Hosted Enterprise Plan(USD/year) | $9,900/year (Premium self-managed) | — |
| Pro Plan Annual Cost (per user)(USD) | $228/year ($19/month) | — |
| Minimum RAM Requirement(GB) | 4GB | — |
| Free CI/CD Minutes Monthly(minutes) | 400 minutes (shared) | — |
| Maximum Concurrent Users Supported(users) | 10,000+ (with performance degradation) | — |
| Maximum Team Members (Free Tier)(users) | Unlimited | — |
| API Rate Limits (free tier)(requests/minute) | 600 (authenticated) | — |
| Maximum Scalable Team Size(users) | 500-1,000 per instance; sharding available | — |
| Active Directory Integration | Via third-party plugins/SAML | — |
| Test Case Management Module | Basic; limited test case tracking | — |
| Global Active Users(millions) | 12 million+ monthly active users | — |
| Enterprise Market Adoption(% of Fortune 500) | 20% (estimated enterprise adoption) | — |
| Jira Integration Depth(text) | Manual webhook-based integration | — |
GitHubGitLabBuilt-in CI/CD Minutes (Free Plan)(minutes/month)
2000 minutes with Actions
400 minutes with shared runners
Built-in CI/CD Included
Yes (Actions)
—
Built-in CI/CD Pipeline(included)
Native GitLab CI/CD
—
Self-Hosting Support
Enterprise edition only ($231/user/year minimum)
Community and Enterprise editions available
Self-Hosting Option
GitHub Enterprise (paid, proprietary)
—
Setup Time to Production(minutes)
5-10 minutes (sign up)
—
Self-Hosted Option Available
Yes (free Community Edition)
—
Self-Hosted Edition Available
Community, Premium, and Ultimate editions
—
Storage (Free Plan)(GB)
Unlimited LFS (with 1GB free tier)
5GB total
SAST Security Scanning
Advanced with CodeQL (free on public repos)
Built-in for all tiers
Built-in Code Scanning & Security Features
Advanced (SAST, secret scanning, dependency alerts)
—
Built-in Security Scanning Features(features included)
Requires paid Advanced Security ($45/repo/month)
SAST, DAST, dependency scanning included in Premium
Security Scanning Features(count)
5 (SAST, DAST, dependency, secret, container)
—
Built-in Security Scanning Tools
Included in Free tier (SAST, DAST, Dependency, Container)
—
Show 2 more attributes
Integrated Security Scanning
SAST, DAST, dependency scanning included in Premium
—
SAST Security Scanning
Free tier and above
—
Monthly Active Users(millions)
Over 100 million developers
Approximately 30 million users
Monthly Active Users(millions)
94 million
—
Free Plan Available
Yes, with unlimited repositories
Yes, with 5GB storage limit
Starting Price (Per User/Month)(USD)
$21 for Teams
$10.50 for Premium
Starting Price (Pro Plan)(USD/month)
$21
—
Enterprise Server Minimum Cost(USD/month)
$231
$29 (Premium tier, no separate enterprise pricing)
Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD/month per user)
$4
$11.90
Show 17 more attributes
Free Tier CI/CD Minutes(minutes/month)
2,000
400 minutes/month
Self-Hosting Cost (Per User/Year)(USD)
$231+ (GitHub Enterprise)
$99 (Premium Edition)
Free Public Repo Storage(GB)
Unlimited
Unlimited
Monthly Cost per User (Team Plan)(USD)
$21
—
Monthly Cost (Team Plan, 5 users)(USD)
$19.25/user/month ($96.25 total)
—
Annual Cost per 50 Users (Typical Org)(USD)
$13,800 (GitHub Teams: $21/month per user)
—
Free Plan Cost(USD/month)
$0 (public repos only)
$0 (includes 5GB storage, private repos)
Self-Hosted Community Edition Cost(USD/month)
Not available
$0 (free community edition)
Starter Plan Price(USD/month)
$0 (Pro from $4)
—
Free Tier Monthly Minutes(minutes)
400 minutes
—
Self-Hosted Annual Cost (Single User)(USD)
$990
—
Monthly Cost (Single User, Premium)(USD)
$8.25 (Premium at $99/year)
—
Free Tier Storage Limit(GB)
10 GB (projects)
—
Pro Plan Cost Per User(USD/month)
$29 (Premium plan)
—
Cloud Pricing (Starting Tier)(USD/user/month)
$29/month
—
Free Tier Access
Yes - includes 50,000 CI/CD minutes
—
Base Monthly Cost (100 users)(USD)
$2,900 (Premium tier at $29/user)
—
Total Active Users(millions)
100 million
—
Active Developer Community(developers)
100M+ registered
—
Community Contributors (Main Project)(count)
5,000+ GitHub contributors
—
Community-Maintained Forks/Mirrors(count)
Forgejo, GitLab Community Edition
—
Community Forum Members (approx)(members)
150000
—
Public Repositories
~200 million
Unlimited on all plans
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 13 more attributes
Code Repository Hosting(included)
Yes, native
—
Native Security Scanning(features)
Yes (SAST, DAST, container, dependency)
—
Built-in Project Management(status)
Yes (issues, boards, wiki, milestones)
—
Container Registry Included
Yes (free Docker registry)
—
Maximum CI/CD Pipeline Minutes (free tier/month)(minutes)
400 minutes/month
—
Issue Tracking & Project Management
Built-in full-featured system
—
Built-in CI/CD Included
Yes (GitLab CI/CD)
—
Container Registry Support
Native (included)
—
Self-Hosting Capability
Open-source Community Edition available
—
Git Repository Hosting
Integrated
—
Agile Board Templates(number)
5-8 built-in
—
Native Git Repository Support
Unlimited public/private repos included
—
Built-in CI/CD Pipelines
400+ templates included
—
Jira Integration Quality
Third-party plugin
—
Source Control Integration
Native Git (no external required)
—
Third-party Integrations(integrations)
~1000+
—
Marketplace Extensions Available(count)
7,500+
—
Third-Party Integrations(integrations)
10,000+
—
Jira Integration Quality(rating)
Third-party plugin required
—
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)
—
Free Monthly CI/CD Minutes (Private Repos)(minutes)
400 minutes
—
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
—
Free Tier Bandwidth(GB/month)
Not applicable
—
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 CI/CD Minutes per Month(minutes)
2,000 (GitHub Actions)
—
Free Tier Monthly CI/CD Minutes(minutes/month)
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
—
HIPAA Compliance Eligible(boolean)
No
—
Average Deployment Time(seconds)
N/A (requires external CI/CD)
—
Edge Function Latency Reduction(milliseconds)
Not applicable
—
Average Deploy Time (Next.js)(seconds)
180 seconds
—
Serverless Function Cold Start(milliseconds)
300-500ms (via Actions)
—
Maximum Parallel Jobs (Free Tier)(concurrent jobs)
10 concurrent pipelines
—
Show 2 more attributes
Job Startup Time(seconds)
12-15 seconds
—
API Rate Limit (Unauthenticated)(requests/hour)
300
—
Next.js Framework Integration
Community integrations only
—
GitHub Actions Free Tier Minutes(minutes/month)
3,000
—
CI/CD Minutes Included (Free Tier)(minutes/month)
400 minutes
—
Public Repositories (Total)(repositories)
100,000,000+
14,000,000+
Total User Base(developers)
100+ million
30+ million
Built-in CI/CD Integration
GitHub Actions (separate workflow service)
GitLab CI/CD (native pipeline engine)
Native CI/CD Pipeline Integration(boolean)
Yes (GitHub Actions)
—
CI/CD Pipeline Minutes (Free Tier)(minutes/month)
6,000 minutes (GitHub Actions)
—
CI/CD Inclusion(included or paid)
Included but billed at $0.008/minute
Fully included, unlimited minutes
Built-in Container Registry
Free tier and above
—
Marketplace Integrations(integrations)
10,000+
2,500+
Third-Party Integrations Available(count)
10,000+ GitHub Apps
—
Public Integrations Available(count)
20,000+ marketplace apps
—
Available Integrations(count)
5,000+
1,200+
Marketplace Ecosystem Size(actions/templates)
900+ Templates
—
Show 1 more attribute
Platform Integration Count(integrations)
400+ via marketplace
—
Web-based Code Review
Pull Requests with detailed approval workflows
Merge Requests with code owner enforcement
Enterprise Compliance Features
Audit logs, SSO, IP allowlisting (Enterprise only)
DORA metrics, advanced audit, compliance reporting (Premium+)
Native Jira Integration
GitHub Apps marketplace plugin
—
Team-Level SSO Support (Non-Enterprise)
No, Enterprise tier required ($231/user/year)
—
Enterprise Security (SAST) Cost(USD/month per user)
Included in Ultimate ($99/month per user)
—
Public Open-Source Repositories(millions)
80M+ public repos
—
Free Private Repositories(limit)
Unlimited
—
Version Control Systems Supported(count)
3 systems (Git, SVN, Mercurial)
—
Developer Adoption Rate (2024 Survey)(percent)
95%
—
Enterprise Support Tier(level)
GitHub Enterprise with SLA guarantees
—
API Rate Limits (Unauthenticated)(requests/hour)
60 requests/hour
—
Total Repositories(count)
100+ million
—
Free Repository Storage Limit(GB)
Unlimited repositories (1GB LFS limit)
—
Organization Type
For-profit (Microsoft subsidiary)
—
Memory Requirements(MB)
N/A (managed cloud)
—
Global Edge Locations(count)
0 (not applicable)
—
Database Options Supported(count)
3 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite)
—
Data Sovereignty(text)
Limited (Microsoft cloud)
—
Container Registry Free Storage(GB)
5 GB per project
—
Built-in Project Management Features
Issues, Epics, Roadmaps, advanced Boards, Milestones
—
Custom Issue Field Types(field types)
~20 standard field types
—
Native GitHub Integration Required
Requires separate account/platform
—
Setup Time to First Pipeline(minutes)
45-60 minutes
—
Setup Time (Fresh Installation)(minutes)
30-45 minutes
—
Setup Time (Initial Configuration)(hours)
2-4 hours for basic CI/CD pipeline with templates
—
Pre-built Integration Orbs/Templates(count)
80+ Templates
—
Free Tier Private Repositories(repositories)
Unlimited (up to 5 users)
—
Pro/Standard Plan Monthly Cost(USD/month)
$8.25/month (Premium)
—
Self-Hosted Enterprise Plan(USD/year)
$9,900/year (Premium self-managed)
—
Pro Plan Annual Cost (per user)(USD)
$228/year ($19/month)
—
Minimum RAM Requirement(GB)
4GB
—
Free CI/CD Minutes Monthly(minutes)
400 minutes (shared)
—
Maximum Concurrent Users Supported(users)
10,000+ (with performance degradation)
—
Maximum Team Members (Free Tier)(users)
Unlimited
—
API Rate Limits (free tier)(requests/minute)
600 (authenticated)
—
Maximum Scalable Team Size(users)
500-1,000 per instance; sharding available
—
Active Directory Integration
Via third-party plugins/SAML
—
Test Case Management Module
Basic; limited test case tracking
—
Global Active Users(millions)
12 million+ monthly active users
—
Enterprise Market Adoption(% of Fortune 500)
20% (estimated enterprise adoption)
—
Jira Integration Depth(text)
Manual webhook-based integration
—
Pros & Cons
10 pros·6 cons across both
GitHub
+5-3
Pros
- 100M+ developer user base with largest open-source ecosystem
- 5,000+ native integrations and extensive marketplace
- Superior code discovery and community contributions via GitHub Stars
- Seamless integration with Microsoft services (Azure, VS Code, Teams)
- Industry standard for open-source projects with 94M+ public repositories
Cons
- CI/CD (GitHub Actions) requires per-minute billing at $0.008/minute, adding unexpected costs
- No self-hosted free option; Enterprise Server starts at $231/month minimum
- Lacks comprehensive built-in security scanning without paid Advanced Security add-on ($45/month per repo)
GitLab
+5-3
Pros
- Built-in CI/CD pipeline included in all tiers (no per-minute billing)
- Free self-hosted Community Edition available for unlimited private repositories
- Comprehensive security features (SAST, DAST, dependency scanning) included in Premium tier ($29/month)
- Complete DevOps lifecycle platform reducing tool sprawl from 10+ separate tools to 1
- Faster time-to-deployment with integrated workflows (30% faster CI/CD setup vs competitors)
Cons
- Smaller developer community (30M vs GitHub's 100M+) limiting discoverability and contribution opportunities
- Only 1,200 integrations vs GitHub's 5,000+, requiring custom API work for some workflows
- Steeper learning curve due to feature density; UI can feel overwhelming for new users
Frequently Asked Questions
5 questions
GitHub is significantly better for open-source with 100M+ developers, 94M+ public repositories, and the GitHub Trending page driving discovery. GitLab is suitable for open-source but has lower visibility due to smaller community (30M developers). Most major open-source projects (Linux kernel, Kubernetes, React) host on GitHub.
Resources & Learn More
Curated sources to dive deeper
Where to Buy
As an affiliate, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Learn more about our affiliate disclosure
Wikipedia
Related Comparisons
12 more to explore
GitHub vs GitLab
softwareGitLab vs Azure DevOps
softwareGitHub Actions vs GitLab
softwareGitLab vs Bitbucket
softwareGitLab vs Gitea
softwareBitbucket vs GitLab
softwareVercel vs GitHub
softwareCircleCI vs GitLab
softwareGitLab vs Azure DevOps
softwareGitHub vs Gitea
softwareNetlify vs GitHub
softwareGitHub vs Azure DevOps
software
Related Articles
5 articles
- technology
Best Streaming Services in 2026: Top Picks for Every Budget & Interest
Navigating the crowded streaming landscape in 2026 can be overwhelming. We've tested and ranked the best streaming services that offer the most value, from Netflix's massive library to budget-friendly options like Tubi, helping you cut cable and find your perfect entertainment solution.
Read article - technology
Best Live TV Streaming Services & Plans for Spring 2026: Complete Buyer's Guide
Tired of overpaying for cable? Discover the best live TV streaming services and plans for Spring 2026, including YouTube TV's new genre-based packages starting at $55/month. Our comprehensive guide breaks down pricing, channels, and features to help you cut the cord.
Read article - technology
Philo in 2026: Streaming TV Service Review, Pricing & Reddit Community Insights
Explore Philo's evolution heading into 2026, including pricing tiers, channel lineup, and how it compares to competitors like Sling TV. Discover what the r/PhiloTV Reddit community thinks about the service's current offerings and future prospects.
Read article - technology
Best US Fighter Jets 2026: Top American Combat Aircraft Ranked
Discover the most advanced US fighter jets dominating the skies in 2026. From the legendary F-22 Raptor to the versatile F-35 Lightning II, we rank America's best combat aircraft based on performance, stealth, and air superiority capabilities.
Read article - technology
Philo in 2026: Pricing, Lineup & How It Compares to Sling TV
As we head into 2026, Philo continues to position itself as an affordable streaming alternative for cable TV lovers. Discover what Philo offers, how its pricing stacks up against competitors like Sling TV, and what the Reddit community thinks about its future.
Read article
Explore More
Related comparisons and categories
AI generated