GitHub is a developer tools tool for Developers and Small businesses, offered as freemium ($4/mo). Founded in United States in 2008.
About GitHub
GitHub is the largest platform for hosting Git repositories and collaborating on code. It was founded in 2008 in San Francisco by Chris Wanstrath, PJ Hyett, Tom Preston-Werner and Scott Chacon, and Microsoft bought it in 2018 for $7.5 billion. GitHub's Octoverse 2025 report counts more than 180 million developers and 630 million repositories. The core job is version control with pull requests and code review.
Around repositories GitHub adds Issues and Projects for planning, Actions for CI/CD with hosted runners, Codespaces for cloud dev environments and security tooling such as Dependabot, code scanning and secret scanning. Copilot provides AI code completion, chat and a coding agent that works from issues to pull requests. The Free plan includes unlimited public and private repositories with Actions minutes and Packages storage; Team and Enterprise add more minutes, protected branches, SAML SSO, audit logs and data residency. Copilot is billed separately, and GitHub Secret Protection and Code Security are paid add-ons for private code.
GitHub fits almost every software team. Costs climb with Actions minutes, Codespaces hours, Copilot usage and security add-ons. Its planning tools are lighter than Jira or Linear, which many teams keep alongside it, and GitLab is the main rival for a single DevSecOps app with strong self-managed options.
In August 2025 CEO Thomas Dohmke stepped down and GitHub moved into Microsoft's CoreAI group; Copilot now bills in AI credits. The pricing page lists Team and Enterprise prices for the first 12 months, so check renewal terms.
Key features of GitHub
- 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
- GitHub Packages registry and GitHub Pages static hosting
- SAML SSO, audit logs and regional data residency on Enterprise
Pros and cons
Pros
- Industry standard with the largest developer community
- Generous free plan including private repos and CI minutes
- Huge marketplace of Actions and integrations
- Copilot is tightly built into the editor and pull requests
- Team plan is inexpensive at $4 per user
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
- Self-hosted GitHub Enterprise Server is expensive
- Renewal pricing after the first 12 months is not spelled out on the page
GitHub pricing
GitHub uses a freemium model. A 30-day free trial is available.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Unlimited repos; 2,000 Actions min/mo, 500MB Packages |
| Team | $4 / user/mo | 3,000 Actions min/mo, 2GB Packages, protected branches |
| Enterprise | $21 / user/mo | From; 50,000 Actions min, SAML SSO, data residency |
| Copilot Pro | $10 / mo | Individual AI coding; Pro+ $39, Max $100 per month |
Source: github.com · checked on Oct 20, 2026
How GitHub compares in Developer tools
- Rank by votes
- #2 / 36
- Starting price
- $4
- Free alternatives
- 7
0 votes from members
77% below the category median ($18/mo)
Free or open-source tools in Developer tools
GitHub ranks #2 of 36 developer tools tools by community votes and is priced below most tools in the category.
Common use cases
- 1Hosting source code and reviewing changes through pull requests
- 2Running CI/CD pipelines and deployments with Actions
- 3Maintaining open-source projects with community contributions
- 4Using Copilot to write, review and refactor code
- 5Scanning dependencies and secrets for vulnerabilities
- 6Spinning up preconfigured cloud dev environments for onboarding
Best for
Software teams of any size that want hosted Git, CI/CD, security scanning and AI coding help in one platform.
Not ideal for
Teams that need deep issue tracking or a single self-managed DevSecOps suite (Jira, GitLab).
Integrations
- Slack
- Microsoft Teams
- Jira
- Linear
- Vercel
- Sentry
- Visual Studio Code
- Azure
Our take
GitHub is the default choice for hosting code and running CI, and the Free and Team plans cover most small teams. Budget carefully for Actions, Copilot and security add-ons as usage grows, and pair it with a dedicated tracker if planning is complex.
FAQ
- What is GitHub?
- GitHub is a Developer tools tool: Code hosting, CI/CD and AI coding platform owned by Microsoft.
- How much does GitHub cost?
- GitHub uses a Freemium model; paid plans start at $4 per month.
- Does GitHub have a free trial?
- Yes, GitHub offers a 30-day free trial.
- What does GitHub integrate with?
- GitHub integrates with Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Linear, Vercel, Sentry and more.
- Which platforms does GitHub support?
- GitHub is available on web, macos, windows, ios, android.
- Who is GitHub for?
- Software teams of any size that want hosted Git, CI/CD, security scanning and AI coding help in one platform.
More Developer tools tools
173 free web, DNS, SSL, SEO & developer tools — fast, live, no sign-up
FreeFreelancersSmall businessesLovable
▲ 0AI app builder that turns prompts into full-stack web apps
Freemium · $25DevelopersSmall businesses
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to share real experience.
Sign in to write a review.