GitHub vs GitLab
GitHub and GitLab are both developer tools tools. GitHub is aimed at developers and small businesses, while GitLab is aimed at developers and enterprise. GitHub costs less, from $4/mo versus $29/mo for GitLab. Both have a free plan.
Code hosting, CI/CD and AI coding platform owned by Microsoft
DevSecOps platform with Git hosting, CI/CD, security scans and AI
| Pricing | Freemium · $4 | Freemium · $29 |
| Starting price | $4/mo | $29/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 30 days | 30 days |
| Built for | Developers, Small businesses, Enterprise | Developers, Enterprise, Small businesses |
| Platforms | web, macos, windows, ios, android | web, linux |
| Country | US · 2008 | US · 2014 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose GitHub if
Software teams of any size that want hosted Git, CI/CD, security scanning and AI coding help in one platform.
- Industry standard with the largest developer community
- Generous free plan including private repos and CI minutes
- Huge marketplace of Actions and integrations
Look elsewhere if: Teams that need deep issue tracking or a single self-managed DevSecOps suite (Jira, GitLab).
Choose GitLab if
Engineering teams that want source control, CI/CD and security scanning in one platform, with a self-hosting option.
- One platform replaces separate Git, CI and security tools
- Self-hosting suits regulated and air-gapped environments
- Flexible built-in CI/CD with your own runners
Look elsewhere if: Small teams that only need simple Git hosting or a dedicated planning tool (GitHub, Linear, Jira).
GitHub vs GitLab pricing
GitHub
- Free$0Unlimited repos; 2,000 Actions min/mo, 500MB Packages
- Team$4/user/mo3,000 Actions min/mo, 2GB Packages, protected branches
- Enterprise$21/user/moFrom; 50,000 Actions min, SAML SSO, data residency
- Copilot Pro$10/moIndividual AI coding; Pro+ $39, Max $100 per month
GitLab
- Free$05 users per private group, 400 compute minutes, 10 GiB
- Premium$29/user/moBilled annually; 10,000 compute minutes, approvals, code owners
- UltimateCustomContact sales; security scans, compliance, 50,000 minutes
- GitLab Credits$1/creditUsage-based AI agent credits; volume discounts on commit
GitHub · Key features
- Unlimited public and private Git repositories with pull request reviews
- GitHub Actions CI/CD with hosted Linux, Windows and macOS runners
- Issues, Projects boards and roadmaps for planning work
- Copilot code completion, chat and an autonomous coding agent
- Codespaces cloud development environments billed per hour
- Dependabot, code scanning and secret scanning for supply chain security
Cons
- Actions, Codespaces and Copilot usage can push costs up
- Advanced security features are paid add-ons
- Project planning is lighter than Jira or Linear
GitLab · Key features
- Git repositories with merge requests, code owners and approval rules
- Built-in CI/CD pipelines with shared or self-hosted runners
- SAST, dependency, secret and container scanning in merge requests
- Container, package and Terraform module registries
- Issue boards, epics and roadmaps for planning
- Duo Agent Platform with agents for planning, security and code review
Cons
- Premium at $29 per user is costly for small teams
- Best security and compliance features need Ultimate
- Dense interface with a real learning curve
GitHub vs GitLab: FAQ
Which is cheaper, GitHub or GitLab?
GitHub starts at $4/mo and GitLab at $29/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do GitHub and GitLab have a free plan?
Yes, both GitHub and GitLab have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.