GitLab vs. GitHub: Which to Choose?

GitLab and GitHub are platforms that simplify software development using Git, the open-source software for distributed version control. Although both manage code changes in a central public repository to support decentralized work and a stable update process, each takes a different approach to version control, resulting in two distinct tools. Explore the features of GitLab and GitHub to determine which one best fits your needs.

Walk through installing and running Git on your local machine and learn how to collaborate with other developers through remote repositories through Google's online course, Introduction to Git and Github. If you're learning to use these tools for your career, you might consider going on to complete the program this course is part of, the Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate.

Gitlab vs. Github

GitLab offers a complete suite of tools for DevOps and security, including continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD), Agile project management tools, issue tracking, and end-to-end security integrations. The “whole package” approach provides a seamless user experience with tools intended to work together. GitLab also provides multiple branching, which lets you create multiple versions, or "branches," of your project so you can keep the main version stable while working on new features or updates at the same time. GitLab also offers stronger permission controls, so you have more oversight over who can view or modify your code.

GitHub began as an open-source project and is now part of the Microsoft suite, which brings the advantage of extensive documentation and support. Despite this shift, GitHub still reflects its open-source origins with strong community-driven features. It makes it easy to connect with other projects and gives other developers access to your code, promoting broad collaboration across a large community. However, this openness can mean less control over who interacts with your code. GitHub also supports fast deployment by encouraging a workflow where changes are quickly merged into the main branch. If issues arise, GitHub makes it easy to revert to a previous version of your code and make fixes safely.

GitHub vs. GitLab vs. Bitbucket

Bitbucket, developed by Atlassian, is tightly integrated with Jira and other tools in the Atlassian suite. It offers built-in CI/CD through Bitbucket Pipelines, which provides a streamlined way to automate builds, tests, and deployments. While not as comprehensive as GitLab’s all-in-one DevOps approach, Bitbucket Pipelines is relatively easy to set up, especially for teams already using Jira for project management. Bitbucket tends to appeal to teams that value deep integration with Atlassian tools and want straightforward CI/CD within a familiar ecosystem.

Why use GitLab vs. GitHub?

GitLab is a strong choice if you want more control over your development workflow and prefer having built-in tools for planning, testing, deploying, and monitoring in one place. It supports a more structured and reliable process, which benefits teams working on complex or regulated projects. GitLab also offers more features for private repositories, giving you greater control over who can access your code. This makes it well suited for private projects with a dedicated team, though it may be less ideal if your goal is open-source collaboration. While GitLab can take more time to set up and learn, its focus on stability and end-to-end visibility gives teams more oversight throughout the development process.

GitHub, instead focuses on speed, simplicity, and community. It makes it easy to connect with other developers and share your code, which supports faster collaboration and broader visibility. GitHub is well suited for open-source projects or teams that want to move quickly and iterate often. Its streamlined workflow and issue tracking allows for fast changes and easy rollbacks when something goes wrong. With strong backing from Microsoft and extensive documentation, GitHub is a popular option for teams that value openness, ease of use, and quick deployment.

GitLab vs. GitHub features

GitLab

GitLab is known for its strong support of both CI/CD and DevOps practices. CI/CD, or continuous integration and continuous delivery, is a method for automating the process of building, testing, and deploying code. GitLab includes CI/CD tools by default, which can help teams catch bugs early, release updates more frequently, and reduce manual work. Because these tools are built into GitLab, there’s no need to rely on external services or spend extra time on setup and integration.

In addition to CI/CD, GitLab supports DevOps, a broader approach that combines development and operations into a single workflow. GitLab offers a single platform with DevOps tools for planning, coding, testing, deployment, and monitoring, helping teams manage the full software lifecycle in one place. This can make it easier to adopt automation, maintain consistency, and improve collaboration across teams.

GitLab offers three main subscription tiers to users. Each tier also has the option to add additional features, making each plan customizable for your specific needs:

• Free. GitLab’s free tier offers essential features for individual users, including 400 compute minutes per month and five users per top-level group. Cost: $0 per user/month [1].

• Premium. GitLab Premium includes everything from the free tier but is suited to the enterprise level, including 10,000 compute minutes per month. The additional features include code ownership and protected branches, team planning, enterprise user and incident management, and CI/CD tools. Cost: $29 per user/month [1]

• Ultimate. GitLab Ultimate includes everything from the Premium tier, allowing organizations to access more features to enhance security, compliance, and portfolio and value stream management. Plus, you get 50,000 compute minutes per month. At the Ultimate level, you also have access to free guest users. Cost: Sales consultation required [1]

Add on packages

You can also customize your GitLab subscription with add-on options to offer more flexibility. For example, you can add compute minutes or additional storage billed at $10 per 1,000 compute minutes or $5 per month per 10 GB storage [1]. Other add-ons include:

• GitLab Duo Pro: GitLab with integrated AI capabilities. Cost: $19 per user per month

• GitLab Duo Enterprise: GitLab Duo has more advanced features. Cost: $39 per user per month

• Enterprise Agile Planning: GitLab Enterprise with project management capabilities. Cost: $15 per user per month

GitHub

GitHub takes a different approach to CI/CD and DevOps support. Instead of offering these tools as built-in features, GitHub is designed to work with a wide range of third-party applications. You can integrate services like TravisCI, CircleCI, or others to handle tasks such as building, testing, and deploying code. This flexibility allows teams to choose the tools that best fit their specific needs or existing workflows.

While this setup may require more configuration upfront, it gives developers more control over which CI/CD and DevOps tools they use and how those tools are connected to their projects. GitHub’s strength lies in its large ecosystem of integrations, which supports a wide variety of development styles and toolchains.

GitHub also offers free and paid plans for personal and enterprise use. Learn more about each type of plan below:

• Free. GitHub’s free plan includes the basics for individuals and organizations. For personal accounts, you can work with unlimited collaborators. You receive access to private and public repositories and limited deployment support. If you use GitHub Free as an organization, you also will have access to GitHub Community Support and team access controls. Cost: $0 per user/month [2]

• Team. GitHub’s Team plan includes features allowing advanced collaboration for individuals and organizations. Advanced features include protected branches, draft pull requests, code owners, and repository insights graphs. Cost: $4 per user/month [2]

• Enterprise. GitHub Enterprise allows users to choose between a cloud-hosted and a self-hosted deployment. It also has additional security features and more extensive deployment controls. Cost: $21 per user/month [2]

New to open-source software development? Consider enrolling in this free online course for a comprehensive introduction to installing, configuring, and working with industry-standard open-source operating systems that you can complete in as little as three weeks.

GitLab vs. GitHub pros and cons

In comparing the two programs, you’ll see that GitLab and GitHub offer slightly different solutions. Ultimately, you can use this information to choose the best version control system for your software project. Both programs operate on Linux servers and have command-line and web-based interfaces. Each program offers tiered levels of service, including a free plan. Evaluate the two systems in closer detail:

GitLab pros

GitLab’s features include a comprehensive, in-house software development platform to help you build reliable, private projects. Some advantages of using this platform include: 

• In-house convenience: Tools for security, DevOps, CI/CD, and other third-party integrations like Asana, Slack, and Gmail turn version control software into a software development platform. GitLab offers a seamless in-house experience that includes DevOps and CI/CD tools, saving you time and decreasing the number of decisions you have to make.

• Reliability: Regarding deploying code updates, GitLab offers a more secure workflow that requires your work to go through stable pre- and post-production branches. However, these additional steps come at the cost of a faster deployment compared to GitHub.

• Private repositories: GitLab offers more features for private repositories and controls who can access your code.

GitLab cons

While GitLab has advantages that may benefit you, you may also want to consider the potential drawbacks. Several limitations to be aware of include:

• Fewer integration options: While you can integrate with third parties such as Asana, Slack, and Gmail, GitLab offers fewer integrations to third-party applications than GitHub.

• Slower deployment: Updates can be complex, and the additional steps you must take to deploy code updates may take longer to push everything through the workflow.

GitHub pros

On the other side of the debate, GitHub offers a wide range of third-party flexibility, a faster deployment, many different options for customizing your experience, and an emphasis on open-source collaboration. If you’re looking for a software development platform to customize to your needs, GitHub’s third-party integrations give you many options. 

• Third-party integrations help customize your experience. GitHub integrations allow you to choose which software will best suit your needs. You can browse through these apps in GitHub’s marketplace. 

• Speedy deployment without extra baggage: GitHub allows you to deploy programs faster without going through all the protocols you would in GitLab, which helps you get your code out into the world faster.

• Open-source culture: GitHub makes connecting with open-source projects easier and allows code to be shared with potential collaborators. 

GitHub cons

Similar to GitLab, GitHub has its own set of disadvantages. You may want to consider the possible limitations of using GitHub, such as:

• Additional time and costs: Although GitHub provides many options for third-party integrations, you will need to invest extra time and money to determine which programs will be the best fit. GitHub itself is not open-source, meaning limited features are freely available.

• Lack of reliability: While it may be quicker to deploy programs in GitHub, it may cost quality and reliability. Since you don’t have to go through as many deployment protocols, this leaves a more considerable margin for errors or bugs.

Other considerations

To decide which version control platform is better for your needs, consider your current project. Ask yourself a few questions, such as: 

• Do you already have CI/CD tools in mind that you’d like to use, or are you open to exploring a new suite of tools in exchange for ease of use? 

• Are you planning to collaborate with other developers on open-source programming, or are you working on a private project that requires more security and privacy? 

• Do you have specific needs that only one meets? For example, although GitLab allows multiple branches, GibHub facilitates merging new branches into the main one for faster deployment. Is your priority speed (GitHub) or reliability (GitLab)?

The answers to these questions and more can help you choose the best option for your development project. 

Sharpen your Git skills with Coursera

To get hands-on practice with Git and learn how to work with remote repositories, check out Google’s online course Introduction to Git and GitHub. It guides you through installing Git on your local machine and shows you how to collaborate with others using shared repositories. If you're building these skills for professional development, you may also want to explore the full Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate, which includes this course as part of a broader program.

Or, learn more about open-source software development by enrolling in the online course series, Open Source Software Development, Linux and Git Specialization. You'll learn to manage your public or private software projects efficiently using open-source code repositories while practicing your problem-solving skills with Git and Linux.