Key differences, specifications and fit guidance for GitHub and GitLab, compiled from official documentation and the iThub profiles.
GitHub, by GitHub, Inc., hosts Git repositories with pull requests, issues and Projects, Actions CI/CD, Codespaces, Copilot and security scanning. Plans: Free, Team at $4 and Enterprise at $21 per user per month, plus self-hosted Enterprise Server.
GitLab combines Git hosting, merge requests, built-in CI/CD, security testing, planning and Duo AI agents. It runs as GitLab.com, as GitLab Self-Managed (Community or Enterprise Edition) or as single-tenant GitLab Dedicated.
Choose GitHub if you want hosted Git with pull requests, GitHub Actions and Copilot included in Enterprise, and choose GitLab if you want an open-core DevSecOps platform you can install yourself from a free MIT-licensed edition. Both cover repositories, code review and CI/CD, and both offer a self-hosted option: GitHub Enterprise Server as a virtual appliance, GitLab Self-Managed on Linux, cloud or Kubernetes. The main deciding factors are licence model, where security testing sits in each plan, and per-user cost, since GitHub Team lists at $4 and GitLab Premium at $29 per user per month.
Choose GitHub ifShortlist GitHub when your team wants hosted Git with pull requests, GitHub Actions and Marketplace actions, low entry pricing on Team, and Copilot access in Enterprise.
Choose GitLab ifShortlist GitLab when you want to install and run the platform on your own infrastructure from an open-core codebase, or need single-tenant hosting with data residency through GitLab Dedicated.
| Aspect | GitHub | GitLab |
|---|---|---|
| Source and licence model | GitHub is a proprietary platform; the self-hosted GitHub Enterprise Server is distributed as a self-contained virtual appliance rather than as source code. | GitLab is open core: most code is MIT licensed, the Community Edition is free under the MIT Expat license, and the /ee files are proprietary but source available. |
| Self-hosted edition | GitHub Enterprise Server is a self-hosted deployment option of the Enterprise plan, run on a hypervisor in your own datacenter or on a public cloud service. | GitLab Self-Managed is installed, administered and maintained on your own infrastructure, on most GNU/Linux distributions, several cloud providers or Kubernetes clusters. |
| Managed hosting options | GitHub.com stores data in the USA by default; Enterprise Cloud with data residency lets you choose where your company's code and data are stored. | GitLab offers multi-tenant GitLab.com plus GitLab Dedicated, a single-tenant service fully managed by GitLab with data residency in the region of your choice. |
| Per-user pricing | GitHub has a free plan, Team at $4 per user per month and Enterprise at $21 per user per month, with Copilot access now included in Enterprise. | GitLab Free costs $0 with 5 users per top-level group; Premium is $29 per user per month billed annually, and Ultimate uses custom pricing. |
| CI/CD engine | GitHub Actions automates build, test and deployment; workflows run on GitHub-hosted Linux, Windows and macOS virtual machines or on your own self-hosted runners. | GitLab CI/CD is configured with a .gitlab-ci.yml file at the project root; GitLab.com provides Linux, Windows and macOS runners, and you can register your own. |
| Security testing | GitHub sells Advanced Security as an add-on that combines Code Security and Secret Protection to find and fix vulnerabilities and leaked secrets. | GitLab includes static application security testing on Free, while Ultimate adds application security testing, software supply chain security and vulnerability management. |
| Ecosystem and extensions | GitHub Actions workflows can use your own actions or reusable actions published in the GitHub Marketplace. | GitLab pipelines define stages, jobs and scripts in one configuration file, with runners you can host yourself on a Self-Managed instance. |
| Self-hosted upgrades | On GitHub Enterprise Server, the administrator is responsible for keeping the appliance up to date with upgrade packages or hotpatches. | On GitLab Self-Managed, your team installs, administers and maintains the instance, and a Self-Managed subscription cannot be moved to GitLab.com. |
From the iThub profiles. “Not recorded” means the profile does not confirm it. Confirm prices and editions with each vendor.
| Attribute | GitHub | GitLab |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free edition or plan ↗ | From $29.00 ↗ |
| API | Yes ↗ | Yes ↗ |
| Founded | 2008 | 2011 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, USA | Not recorded |
| GitHub stars | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Documentation | Official docs ↗ | Official docs ↗ |
GitHubGitHub is a software development platform operated by GitHub, Inc. The company's press page states that it was founded in February 2008 and is headquartered in San Francisco. Microsoft announced the completion of its acquisition of GitHub on October 26, 2018. The about page lists more than 225 million developers, more than 4 million organizations and more than 800 million repositories on the platform.
The core of GitHub is hosting for Git repositories, with pull requests for proposing and reviewing changes and issues for planning and tracking work. Around that core, the platform includes GitHub Actions for CI/CD and automation, GitHub Packages, GitHub Pages and wikis, Projects for planning, Codespaces for cloud development environments, GitHub Copilot as an AI coding assistant and agent, and security features such as Dependabot, secret scanning and CodeQL code scanning.
GitLabGitLab is a DevSecOps platform from GitLab Inc. that covers source code management, merge request review, CI/CD pipelines, artifact management, application security testing, planning with issues and epics, and AI features under the GitLab Duo Agent Platform. According to the company page, GitLab started in 2011 as an open source project with a single commit, GitLab CI followed in 2012, the company was incorporated in 2014, joined Y Combinator in 2015 and became a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq Global Market (GTLB) in 2021. The company describes itself as all-remote.
There are three deployment offerings. GitLab.com is the multi-tenant SaaS hosted by GitLab. GitLab Self-Managed is an instance the customer installs and operates, using the Linux package, Docker, the Helm chart, the GitLab Operator, the GitLab Environment Toolkit or reference architectures for large installations, as listed on the installation page. GitLab Dedicated is a single-tenant SaaS managed by GitLab with data residency in a chosen region, and GitLab Dedicated for Government runs on FedRAMP-compliant infrastructure on AWS GovCloud.
GitHub and GitLab both host Git repositories with code review and built-in CI/CD, but they differ in source model and how you run them. GitHub is a proprietary platform with GitHub Actions, Copilot in Enterprise and a self-hosted Enterprise Server appliance. GitLab is open core with a free MIT-licensed edition and three offerings: GitLab.com, Self-Managed and single-tenant Dedicated.
Decide first who will operate the platform and where code must live, then map the security scans, CI/CD minutes and AI features you need to a specific plan on each side. Count the users who need paid seats and confirm migration effort for existing pipelines, issues and permissions.
Import one active repository into each platform with its branches and history. Rebuild its pipeline as a GitHub Actions workflow and a .gitlab-ci.yml file, run both on hosted and self-hosted runners, open a merge request with a seeded vulnerability, and record setup time, scan results, review flow and admin effort.
GitLab is open core. According to its README, most of the code is MIT licensed, and the GitLab Community Edition is available freely under the MIT Expat license. The files in the /ee directory, which power Enterprise Edition features, are proprietary but source available and open for contributions. GitHub, by contrast, is a proprietary platform.
Yes. GitHub Enterprise Server is a self-hosted version of the GitHub platform and a deployment option of the GitHub Enterprise plan. It ships as a self-contained virtual appliance that runs on a hypervisor in your datacenter or on a public cloud service. GitLab Self-Managed is installed on most GNU/Linux distributions, several cloud providers or Kubernetes clusters.
Both charge per user. GitHub has a free plan, Team at $4 per user per month and Enterprise at $21 per user per month. GitLab Free costs $0 and is limited to 5 users per top-level group with 400 compute minutes per month, Premium is $29 per user per month billed annually, and Ultimate is quoted on request.
The main difference is the source and deployment model. GitHub is a proprietary platform used mostly as a hosted service, with Enterprise Server as a virtual appliance for self-hosting. GitLab is open core with a free MIT-licensed Community Edition, and it is offered as GitLab.com, Self-Managed on your own infrastructure, or single-tenant GitLab Dedicated.
Yes. GitHub Actions is a CI/CD platform that automates build, test and deployment, running on GitHub-hosted Linux, Windows and macOS virtual machines or self-hosted runners. GitLab CI/CD is defined in a .gitlab-ci.yml file at the project root, and GitLab.com provides Linux, Windows and macOS runners, with the option to register your own.
Both do on enterprise offerings. GitHub stores GitHub.com data in the USA by default, while GitHub Enterprise Cloud with data residency lets you choose where your company's code and data are stored. GitLab Dedicated is a single-tenant service fully managed by GitLab with data residency in the region of your choice. Self-hosting either product keeps data on your own infrastructure.
Facts on this page come from these official pages, checked on , and from the iThub profiles. Vendors change plans and features: confirm with them before buying.
