GitLab Alternatives 2026: 5 Options, 4 Free
GitLab alternatives: GitHub, Gitea, Codeberg, Bitbucket and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 25, 2026.
•3 min read•Code Editors, IDEs & Playgrounds
Verdict:Leave GitLab when you need a home for code and do not need its full DevOps suite. GitHub's free plan covers unlimited public and private repositories, with 2,000 Actions minutes and 500 MB of Packages storage a month, both free for public repos. Its Team plan is $4 per user a month, a price the page marks for the first 12 months. Gitea is the self-hosted pick. It is MIT-licensed, free to run on your own server with unlimited users and repositories, and it has no seat fee. Codeberg is a free, non-profit hosted service running Forgejo, funded by donations. It states no storage or bandwidth quotas, and its terms restrict some content, so read them before you move. Bitbucket is free for up to five users with 1 GB of file storage and 50 Pipelines minutes, and its Standard plan is $3.65 per user a month. SourceHut charges for hosting your own projects, from $4 a month on its Amateur plan, so it fits people who contribute more than they host. The trade-off is that moving code is the easy part. CI pipelines, runners and issue boards need rebuilding on the new host. Pick GitHub for the broadest ecosystem, Gitea for self-hosting, and Codeberg for a free hosted option.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub | Free (Free (unlimited public and private repositories; 2,000 CI/CD minutes per month; 500MB Packages storage)); paid from $4 per user/month (Team); the page marks the price as for the first 12 months | Web | Broadest ecosystem and tooling | Docs only |
| Gitea | Free (Free (open source edition, self-hosted, described as unlimited users and repositories)) | Self-hosted server | Self-hosted Git | Docs only |
| Codeberg | Free (Free (no charge for accounts; funded by donations and memberships; the page states no numeric storage or bandwidth limits)) | Web | Free hosted Git with no seat fees | Docs only |
| Bitbucket | Free (Free (free forever for up to 5 users, unlimited public and private repositories)); paid from $3.65 per user/month, billed monthly (Standard) | Web | Teams already using Atlassian tools | Docs only |
| sourcehut | Paid from $4 per month, billed monthly (Amateur hackers) | Web, Email | Contributors who host little | Docs only |
| Azure DevOps | Free (Basic plan: first 5 users free; 1 free Microsoft-hosted parallel job with 1,800 minutes a month; 2 GiB artifacts storage); paid from $6 per additional Basic user/month | Web browser | Developer Tools | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You want the broadest ecosystem and tooling (GitHub is the pick)
- You want to self-host Git with no seat fees (Gitea is the pick)
- You want a free hosted option without a company behind it (Codeberg is the pick)
- Your team already uses Atlassian tools (Bitbucket is the pick)
- You contribute to projects more than you host them (sourcehut is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on GitLab features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
GitLab today: Free (Free: up to 5 users per top-level private group, 400 compute minutes per month, 10 GiB storage per project); paid from $29 per user/month, billed annually (Premium) (GitLab pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Why people look for GitLab alternatives
GitLab.com's Free plan allows 5 users per top-level group, 400 compute minutes a month and 10 GiB of storage, and AI features need the GitLab Credits add-on at $1 per credit. Premium is $29 per user per month billed annually with 10,000 minutes and 500 GiB. Extra compute minutes are $10 per 1,000 as a one-time payment, and storage is $5 a month per 10 GiB. Security testing and compliance features need Ultimate, which is custom priced.
GitHub
Compared with GitLab: Free plan covers unlimited public and private repositories, with 2,000 Actions minutes and 500 MB of Packages storage a month, both free for public repos. Team is $4 per user a month, a price the page marks for 12 months.
Price: Free (Free (unlimited public and private repositories; 2,000 CI/CD minutes per month; 500MB Packages storage)); paid from $4 per user/month (Team); the page marks the price as for the first 12 months (GitHub pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Broadest ecosystem and tooling.
Gitea
Compared with GitLab: MIT-licensed and free to run on your own server with unlimited users and repositories. You get GitLab-style hosting without a seat bill, but you run upgrades, backups and the CI setup yourself.
Price: Free (Free (open source edition, self-hosted, described as unlimited users and repositories)) (Gitea pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Self-hosted server. MIT (open source).
Best for: Self-hosted Git.
Codeberg
Compared with GitLab: Free non-profit hosted service running Forgejo, funded by donations and membership. It states no numeric storage or bandwidth limits, and its terms restrict LLM-generated content and cryptocurrency projects.
Price: Free (Free (no charge for accounts; funded by donations and memberships; the page states no numeric storage or bandwidth limits)) (Codeberg pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Hosted non-profit service running Forgejo.
Best for: Free hosted Git with no seat fees.
Bitbucket
Compared with GitLab: Free forever for up to 5 users, with 1 GB of file storage and 50 Pipelines build minutes. Standard is $3.65 per user a month. It ties in with Jira, while GitLab keeps issues, CI and repos in one product.
Price: Free (Free (free forever for up to 5 users, unlimited public and private repositories)); paid from $3.65 per user/month, billed monthly (Standard) (Bitbucket pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Teams already using Atlassian tools.
sourcehut
Compared with GitLab: Hosting your own projects needs a paid plan, with Amateur at $4 a month, Typical at $8 and Professional at $12, excluding VAT. Contributing to others' projects is free, so it suits contributors more than hosts.
Price: Paid from $4 per month, billed monthly (Amateur hackers) (sourcehut pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web, Email. Proprietary hosted service.
Best for: Contributors who host little.
Other popular options (paid)
Azure DevOps
Compared with GitLab: First 5 users free on Basic, then $6 per user per month, against GitLab Premium at $29. One free Microsoft-hosted pipeline job gives 1,800 minutes a month; extra hosted jobs are $40 a month.
Price: Free (Basic plan: first 5 users free; 1 free Microsoft-hosted parallel job with 1,800 minutes a month; 2 GiB artifacts storage); paid from $6 per additional Basic user/month (Azure DevOps pricing, checked 2026-10-25).
Which one to pick
- You want the broadest ecosystem and tooling: GitHub
- You want to self-host Git with no seat fees: Gitea
- You want a free hosted option without a company behind it: Codeberg
- Your team already uses Atlassian tools: Bitbucket
- You contribute to projects more than you host them: sourcehut
Limits of this review
Docs-only for GitHub, Gitea, Codeberg, Bitbucket, sourcehut: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from GitLab. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-25: GitLab, GitHub, Gitea, Codeberg, Bitbucket, sourcehut, Azure DevOps. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.