GitHub vs GitLab comparison

GitHub and GitLab are both solutions in the Application Security Tools category. GitHub is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.9, while GitLab is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.6. GitHub holds a 0.8% mindshare in AS, compared to GitLab’s 2.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of GitHub users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of GitLab users who would recommend it.

GitHub

Read 92 GitHub reviews

2,525 Views
1,124 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

GitLab

Read 82 GitLab reviews

3,885 Views
3,201 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

GitHub

GitLab

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

GitHub and GitLab both compete in the DevOps domain, focusing on code management and CI/CD processes. GitLab may hold the edge due to its robust CI/CD capabilities and integration with tools like Kubernetes.

Features: GitHub offers source code management, GitHub Actions for automation, and integration with Microsoft Azure DevOps. GitLab provides robust CI/CD features, container management integration with Kubernetes, and comprehensive DevOps tools, giving it significant out-of-the-box DevOps and security scanning capabilities.

Room for Improvement: GitHub could enhance its integration with CI/CD, security features, support for large files, and user interface for more streamlined collaboration. GitLab can improve AWS integration, documentation, integration with third-party tools, and adapt its pricing for smaller teams.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: GitHub primarily operates in public and hybrid cloud environments, boasting user-friendly operations and a supportive community. GitLab offers versatility with a strong on-premises presence but seeks to balance ease of use with technical complexity. Both need improved documentation and more responsive support.

Pricing and ROI: GitHub offers a free tier for public repositories and competitive licensing models for private use. GitLab's free version is suitable for small-scale use, although premium versions are costly and favor large teams, yet offer a robust feature set that justifies the expense. Both provide time-saving benefits contributing to a positive ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed GitHub vs. GitLab Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

GitHub vs. GitLab

January 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

GitHub

Ranking in Application Security Tools

7th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Version Control (3rd)

GitLab

Ranking in Application Security Tools

8th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Build Automation (1st), Release Automation (2nd), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (8th), Rapid Application Development Software (12th), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (5th), Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (2nd), Fuzz Testing Tools (2nd), DevSecOps (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of GitHub is 0.8%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GitLab is 2.9%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Security Tools

Featured Reviews

Pervez Roy

Solutions Architect at Small Systems LTD

Very good for collaboration on software projects

We use GitHub for code repository alongside Bitbucket GitHub is very good for collaboration on software projects. We prefer Bitbucket for commercial use, while GitHub is used for open source. You can get the differences, history of changes, and version control for various pull requests. You can…

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Gaurav Chandel

AWS DevOps/ Site Reliability Engineer at Tata Consultancy

Boosted productivity with automated pipelines and seamless collaboration

There are some challenges with repository file management as GitLab may struggle to manage larger files. Improvements could be made regarding size management and file partitioning. Also, the UI has remained the same for a couple of years and could benefit from an update with AI features and better customization.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The product's initial setup phase is easy but it is always good to connect with GitHub's team that manages APIs."

"I appreciate saving from Visual Studio Code that implements changes directly on GitHub."

"I recommend using GitHub because it is reliable and helpful for developers."

"The most valuable features of GitHub are the ease of integration into Microsoft Azure DevOps. The process that you need to deploy into Microsoft Azure becomes fairly simple and the templates are already available, a lot of the engineers find it easier to use."

"The initial setup was straightforward."

"GitHub provides enough storage for uploading the source code."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the version control field."

"It is really simple to set up."

More GitHub pros

"A user friendly solution."

"The important feature is the entire process of versioning source code maintenance and easy deployment. It is a necessity for the CI/CD pipeline."

"GitLab is kind of an image of GitHub, so it gives us the flexibility to monitor our changes in the repos."

"The solution makes the CI/CD pipelines easy to execute."

"It speeds up our development, it's faster, safer, and more convenient."

"The most valuable functionality of GitLab, for me, is the DevOps. Besides the normal source control based on Git, I find the Auto DevOps features most important in the solution."

"GitLab's best features are continuous integration and fast deployment."

"GitLab's best feature is Actions."

More GitLab pros

Cons

"There is room for improvement in terms of interface."

"The solution's cost is high and should be reduced."

"There can be conflict issues when two developers work on the same file or line of code, and it would be great to see that improved, possibly with an AI solution."

"GitHub could expand the limits of the free version."

"GitHub could improve by being more user-friendly."

"There could be more integration into Azure."

"We want to incorporate management comments within GitHub, making it more like a product management tool. We haven't done that yet. Another change we're considering is migrating from GitHub to Azure DevOps, especially now that Microsoft has introduced it."

"The storage for this solution could be improved."

More GitHub cons

"I believe there's room for improvement in the advanced features, particularly in enhancing the pipeline functionalities."

"We are having a few problems integrating with Jira at the moment, which is something that our IT department is investigating."

"The solution should be more cloud-native and have more cloud-native capabilities and features."

"The licensing model could be improved to be more accommodating in terms of user numbers and costs."

"The documentation could be improved to help newcomers better understand things like creating new branches."

"Perhaps the integration could be better."

"Merge conflicts and repository maintenance could improve. If there is someone new to the system they would not know if there is a conflict."

"GitLab doesn't have AWS integration. It would be better to have integration with other container management environments beyond Kubernetes. It has very good integration with Kubernetes, but it doesn't have good integration with, for example, AWS, ETS, etc."

More GitLab cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have an enterprise licensing agreement, and I am not part of the finance department so I can't say how much it costs."

"The basic licensing model is free, and if you need to have technical support and such things, then it does cost something. You only need to pay extra if you need technical support."

"It's cheaper than Bitbucket."

"My company purchased it. Before, we used to receive the free version, but then they purchased some of the features."

"If there are only 10 people using a particular repository, then GitHub is free. But if we increase the number of users, we need to pay the normal charge for GitHub."

"I use the free version of GitHub."

"It is open-source. There is no license for GitHub."

"I use the free version of the tool."

More GitHub pricing and cost advice

"I don't mind the price because I use the free version."

"Its price is fine. It is on the cheaper side and not expensive. You have to pay additionally for GitLab CI/CD minutes. Initially, we used the free version. When we ran out of GitLab minutes, we migrated to the paid version."

"It is very expensive. We can't bear it now, and we have to find another solution. We have a yearly subscription in which we can increase the number of licenses, but we have to pay at the end of the year."

"There are different licensing options available, including a free limited-user license."

"The open-source version is very good and the commercial version is reasonably priced."

"GitLab is comparatively expensive, but it provides value because it's feature-rich."

"The price of GitLab could be better, it is expensive."

"GitLab's pricing is good compared to others on the market."

More GitLab pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Educational Organization

29%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about GitHub?

The control is the most valuable feature as developers can work on a single code.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GitHub?

I'm not aware of the costs associated with GitHub. I simply appreciate its efficiency in managing code and collaborating with team members.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GitHub?

I would like to see some AI functionality included in GitHub, similar to the features seen in GitLab, to enhance productivity. Additionally, offering limited free access to features like Copilot co...

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What do you like most about GitLab?

I find the features and version control history to be most valuable for our development workflow. These aspects provide us with a clear view of changes and help us manage requests efficiently.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GitLab?

The pricing of GitLab is reasonable, aligning with what I consider to be average compared to competitors.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GitLab?

There are missing search features, particularly when searching repositories or applying filters. Additionally, I have encountered issues with the deployment of CI/CD pipelines, especially dealing w...

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Comparisons

Fortify on Demand vs GitHub

Compared 16% of the time

Snyk vs GitHub

Compared 15% of the time

Bitbucket vs GitHub

Compared 14% of the time

AWS CodeCommit vs GitHub

Compared 13% of the time

Apache Subversion vs GitHub

Compared 3% of the time

More GitHub Competitors

Microsoft Azure DevOps vs GitLab

Compared 35% of the time

GitHub CoPilot vs GitLab

Compared 9% of the time

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs GitLab

Compared 9% of the time

AWS CodePipeline vs GitLab

Compared 6% of the time

Tekton vs GitLab

Compared 5% of the time

More GitLab Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

GitHub

February 2025

Download GitHub product report

Buyer's Guide

GitLab

February 2025

Download GitLab product report

Also Known As

No data available

Fuzzit

Overview

GitHub is a web-based Git repository hosting service. It offers all of the distributed revision control and source code management (SCM) functionality of Git as well as adding its own features. Unlike Git, which is strictly a command-line tool, GitHub provides a Web-based graphical interface and desktop as well as mobile integration. It also provides access control and several collaboration features such as bug tracking, feature requests, task management, and wikis for every project.

GitHub

GitLab is a complete DevOps platform that enables teams to collaborate and deliver software faster.

It provides a single application for the entire DevOps lifecycle, from planning and development to testing, deployment, and monitoring.

With GitLab, teams can streamline their workflows, automate processes, and improve productivity.

GitLab

Sample Customers

Dominion Enterprises, NASA, Braintree, SAP, CyberAgent

1. NASA 2. IBM 3. Sony 4. Alibaba 5. CERN 6. Siemens 7. Volkswagen 8. ING 9. Ticketmaster 10. SpaceX 11. Adobe 12. Intuit 13. Autodesk 14. Rakuten 15. Unity Technologies 16. Pandora 17. Electronic Arts 18. Nordstrom 19. Verizon 20. Comcast 21. Philips 22. Deutsche Telekom 23. Orange 24. Fujitsu 25. Ericsson 26. Nokia 27. General Electric 28. Cisco 29. Accenture 30. Deloitte 31. PwC 32. KPMG

Buyer's Guide

GitHub vs. GitLab

January 2025

Free Report: GitHub vs. GitLab

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