GitHub vs GitLab(2026)
GitHub is better for teams that need largest developer community. GitLab is the stronger choice if all-in-one devops platform. GitHub is freemium (from $4/user/month) and GitLab is freemium (from $29/user/month).
Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.
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GitHub
GitHub is the world's most popular code hosting platform with built-in CI/CD, project management, and collaboration tools.
Starting at $4/user/month
Visit GitHubGitLab
GitLab is a complete DevSecOps platform with built-in CI/CD, security scanning, container registry, and project management.
Starting at $29/user/month
Visit GitLabHow Do GitHub and GitLab Compare on Features?
| Feature | GitHub | GitLab |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting price | $4/user/month | $29/user/month |
| Unlimited public repos | ✓ | — |
| GitHub Actions CI/CD | ✓ | — |
| Pull requests | ✓ | — |
| Code review | ✓ | — |
| GitHub Packages | ✓ | — |
| Codespaces | ✓ | — |
| Copilot | ✓ | — |
| Built-in CI/CD | — | ✓ |
| Security scanning (SAST/DAST) | — | ✓ |
| Container registry | — | ✓ |
| Issue tracking | — | ✓ |
| Self-hosted option | — | ✓ |
| Merge requests | — | ✓ |
GitHub Pros and Cons vs GitLab
GitHub
GitLab
Should You Use GitHub or GitLab?
Choose GitHub if…
- •Largest developer community
- •Best ecosystem of integrations
- •GitHub Actions built-in
Choose GitLab if…
- •All-in-one DevOps platform
- •Self-hostable for free
- •Better CI/CD than GitHub natively