Gitpod Alternatives After the Ona Cloud Shutdown (2026)
Gitpod alternatives before Ona Cloud closes on October 31, 2026: Codespaces, DevPod, Coder and Codex Cloud, compared on devcontainer support and cost.
•5 min read•Code Editors, IDEs & Playgrounds
Verdict:GitHub Codespaces is the easiest managed move if your code is on GitHub, DevPod is the free client that reuses your devcontainer.json, and Coder is the self-hosted route for teams. Codex Cloud is what Ona itself recommends, but it works as an agent environment on GitHub repos only.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Codespaces | Free quota of 120 compute hours and 15 GB-month storage on GitHub Free; $0.18 per hour for a 2-core machine beyond it | Web, VS Code | GitHub users who want a managed workspace that builds from the repository's devcontainer.json | Docs only |
| DevPod | Free and open source (MPL-2.0); you pay only for the machine you run workspaces on | Windows, macOS, Linux | Developers who want to keep devcontainer.json and run workspaces locally or on a cloud VM they control | Docs only |
| Coder | Open source (AGPL-3.0); you supply the infrastructure | Self-hosted server | Teams that want to run their own cloud development environments with Terraform templates | Docs only |
| Codex Cloud | Included with ChatGPT Plus at $20 per month; Pro from $100 per month | Web, Desktop app | Ona Cloud users who want the replacement Ona itself recommends, mainly for agent tasks on GitHub repositories | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You use Gitpod or Ona Cloud and need a new home for your workspaces before October 31, 2026
- Your repositories already have a devcontainer.json or can get one
- You want a free or pay-as-you-go option, or one you host yourself
Not ideal if
- You need a copy of Gitpod's prebuilds and UI, which none of these official pages promises
- Your repositories are on GitLab or Bitbucket and you want a managed service, since Codespaces and Codex Cloud are built around GitHub
- You need a ready-made free hosted workspace service, because Ona's own signup has closed
Ona, formerly Gitpod, shuts down Ona Cloud on October 31, 2026, so the quickest replacements are GitHub Codespaces if your code is on GitHub, DevPod if you want a free client that reuses your devcontainer.json, and Coder if your team can host its own. Codex Cloud is the replacement Ona recommends, but it is built for agent tasks on GitHub repositories rather than as a one-for-one workspace.
Before you move
According to Ona's shutdown announcement from October 13, 2026, new signups are closed and existing users can keep using Ona Cloud until October 31. The post lists these steps:
- Ask the agent to commit and push your changes to your repository.
- Save any other files separately and confirm they are backed up outside Ona.
- Create a new cloud environment on the platform you pick, because environments do not move automatically.
The same post says all October payments and unused purchased credits are refunded, including automatic top-ups at the end of the month. A Hacker News thread from October 16, 2026 titled "Ona (Gitpod) signup is closed" had one comment saying Gitpod no longer offers free virtual machines, which is why the cost of the replacement matters here.
What matters when you replace Gitpod
The most useful criterion is portability. Ona's docs say its environments use the standard devcontainer.json at .devcontainer/devcontainer.json or .devcontainer.json. Any tool that reads that file can rebuild your environment from the repository you already have.
The other criteria are cost and free allowance, where the workspace runs (managed cloud, your own cloud or your machine), which Git hosts it supports, and how much setup it needs. Replit is a browser-based option covered in our Replit alternatives guide. This page sticks to tools that run a repository-defined environment.
GitHub Codespaces
GitHub Codespaces is a managed cloud workspace that builds from a repository's dev container configuration. According to GitHub's dev container docs, devcontainer.json defines the frameworks, tools, extensions and port forwarding, and if a repository has none, GitHub uses a default Linux image with runtimes for Python, Node, Java, Go and .NET plus Git and the GitHub CLI.
GitHub's billing docs say personal accounts on GitHub Free get 120 compute hours and 15 GB-month of storage per month, and GitHub Pro gets 180 hours and 20 GB-month. Beyond that a 2-core machine costs $0.18 per hour and storage costs $0.07 per GB-month. Without a payment method on file, usage is blocked when the quota runs out, and you can still export in-progress changes to a new branch.
Who should not pick it: teams whose code lives on another Git host.
DevPod
DevPod is an open-source, client-only tool that creates development environments from devcontainer.json. Its documentation says providers create the containers on your local computer, a reachable remote machine, or a public or private cloud, and that VS Code and the JetBrains IDEs are supported, with other editors reachable over SSH. It runs on your computer and needs no server backend.
The repository shows an MPL-2.0 license and describes DevPod as "Codespaces but open-source, client-only and unopinionated." The tool costs nothing, and you pay only for whatever machine you point it at. The repository page shows no archive notice, but it lists no release date either, so check the releases yourself before you depend on it.
Who should not pick it: anyone who wants a hosted service with no cloud account of their own.
Coder
Coder is a self-hosted platform for cloud development environments. According to its repository, workspaces are defined with Terraform templates that can describe EC2 VMs, Kubernetes pods or Docker containers, and the project is licensed under AGPL-3.0.
Setup is heavier than the other picks. Coder's install docs list prerequisites: DNS with a wildcard record for workspace apps, TLS certificates, a PostgreSQL database, a Coder license, and an identity provider application using OIDC or SAML. That is a reasonable load for a platform team and too much for one developer.
Who should not pick it: individuals and small teams without someone to run the infrastructure.
Codex Cloud
Codex Cloud is OpenAI's cloud environment for Codex tasks, and it is the destination Ona's post points to. The environments docs say you select GitHub repositories, Codex sets up the dependencies, and each task runs in its own VM. GitLab and GitHub Enterprise Server are not currently supported, internet access is configurable per environment, and the docs describe an install script and start skill rather than devcontainer files.
OpenAI's pricing page lists Codex cloud on Plus at $20 per month, Pro from $100 per month and Business at $20 per user per month billed annually. Free and Go are not listed for it. Plus environments get 2 vCPUs, 8 GiB of memory and 8 GiB of disk, and Pro, Business and Enterprise get 4 vCPUs, 16 GiB and 32 GiB.
Who should not pick it: anyone who wants a long-lived interactive workspace on GitLab.
When a paid tool is the better answer
Paying makes sense when you do not want to run anything yourself. Codespaces is pay as you go past its free quota, so a light user may never pay, while a full-time user will pay for the compute hours. Codex Cloud needs a paid ChatGPT plan, which is worth it only if you also want its agent. Stay on the free tools, DevPod with a cheap VM or Codespaces within its quota, if you are a solo developer who just needs the environment.
Comparison
| Codespaces | DevPod | Coder | Codex Cloud | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs on | GitHub's cloud | Your machine, a VM or a cloud | Your own infrastructure | OpenAI's cloud |
| Reads devcontainer.json | Yes | Yes | Terraform templates | Not mentioned |
| Cost | Free quota, then $0.18 per hour (2-core) | Free software | Open source, you host | ChatGPT Plus $20 per month and up |
| Git hosts | GitHub | Not stated | Not stated | GitHub only |
| Open source | No | MPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 | No |
| Setup effort | Low | Medium | High | Low |
How to choose
- Solo developer on GitHub. Use Codespaces inside the free quota, and keep DevPod as the fallback if you run out of hours.
- You want to leave hosted services. DevPod on your own machine or a VM you rent, since the software is free.
- A team that must keep workspaces on its own infrastructure. Coder, if someone can own the setup.
- You already pay for ChatGPT and use Codex. Codex Cloud, as Ona suggests, mainly for agent tasks.
If you are moving more of your stack, see our guides to GitHub alternatives, Visual Studio Code alternatives and Docker Desktop alternatives.
Limits of this review
No tool was tested, so start-up time, prebuild speed and reliability are not compared. Coder's paid editions and DevPod's release cadence are not covered. Ona's own export tooling is not documented on the shutdown page beyond committing and pushing code. Prices change, so confirm them on each vendor's page.
FAQ
When does Ona Cloud (Gitpod) shut down?
Ona's announcement says Ona Cloud shuts down on October 31, 2026. New signups are already closed, but existing users can keep working until then. The post asks users to save code and data they want to keep before that date. It was published on October 13, 2026.
How do I get my code out of Ona Cloud?
Ona's post says to ask the agent to commit and push your changes to your repository. Files outside the repository need to be saved separately and backed up elsewhere before October 31. Environments do not move automatically, so you create a new one on the platform you choose.
Will I get a refund?
Ona's announcement says all October payments and unused purchased credits at shutdown are refunded, including automatic top-ups at the end of the month. The post does not describe how refunds are delivered, so check your account or Ona's support if you have a balance.
What is a free alternative to Gitpod?
DevPod is a free, open-source client under MPL-2.0 and reads devcontainer.json, but you pay for any cloud machine it uses. GitHub Codespaces gives GitHub Free accounts 120 compute hours and 15 GB-month of storage each month, per GitHub's billing docs, and blocks usage when that runs out unless a payment method is on file.
Can I reuse my Gitpod setup in another tool?
If it uses a devcontainer.json, largely yes. Ona's docs say its environments use the standard file at .devcontainer/devcontainer.json or .devcontainer.json. GitHub Codespaces and DevPod both build from that file. Codex Cloud's environment docs describe an install script and start skill instead and do not mention devcontainer files.
Is Codex Cloud a drop-in replacement for Gitpod?
Not exactly. Ona recommends it, and it needs a ChatGPT plan that lists Codex cloud, such as Plus at $20 per month. OpenAI's docs describe it as environments for Codex tasks, with each task in its own VM, and it supports GitHub repositories but not GitLab or GitHub Enterprise Server.
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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
Ona's shutdown announcement was read on 2026-10-27 together with its devcontainer documentation. The official pages for GitHub Codespaces (billing and dev container docs), Coder (repository and install docs), DevPod (documentation and repository) and Codex Cloud (environments and pricing docs) were read the same day. Three competing roundups were opened, one Hacker News thread from October 2026 was read for user language, and the search of GitHub issues returned nothing useful. Reddit was not used. No tool was installed or tested.