As GitHub and GitLab continue to iterate, we will update this post regularly.
In the latest 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for DevOps Platforms, GitLab remains the highest-ranked platform. We acknowledge GitLab's leadership, particularly in more advanced features. However, GitHub has narrowed the feature gap and offers a more intuitive interface. Based on our work with engineering teams globally, we observe a growing trend of GitHub's increasing popularity. Today, GitHub is not just a platform for hosting open-source projects; it is increasingly seen as a competitive enterprise developer platform.
Unless you are an Atlassian fanatic, your choice for source code management (SCM) will likely come down to GitHub or GitLab. At Bytebase, we’ve extensively used both to develop our database-as-code solutions. Drawing from our hands-on experience, we provide a detailed comparison of GitHub and GitLab across the following key areas.
- History
- Deployment Model
- Tech Stack
- Repository Management
- CI/CD
- Code Review
- Code Search
- Security
- Project Management
- AI
- Open Source
- Pricing
- Summary - GitHub vs GitLab
History
GitHub was launched in April 2008. GitHub quickly gained traction among developers, becoming a hub for open-source projects. In 2018, Microsoft acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion. In 2021, GitHub introduced Copilot, revolutionizing how developers write code. Today, GitHub is the world's largest code collaboration platform, empowering millions of developers and organizations globally.
GitLab was launched in October 2011 as an open-source project, aiming to provide a self-hosted alternative to existing Git repository management solutions.
During the YC 2015 pitch, GitLab positioned itself as an
open-source GitHub alternative. In 2021, GitLab goes public on the NASDAQ under the ticker GTLB. Over time,
GitLab evolved from a DevOps platform to a comprehensive DevSecOps solution, integrating security into the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
In May 2023, GitLab introduced AI-powered features
with the release of GitLab 16, followed by the beta release of GitLab Duo Chat in November 2023.
Deployment Model
GitHub began as a SaaS platform and later introduced self-hosted options through GitHub Enterprise.
GitLab started as a self-hosted solution and subsequently offered a SaaS option.
Despite both platforms offering SaaS and self-hosted options, there's a perception that GitHub is primarily SaaS-focused, while GitLab is more associated with self-hosting. GitHub has enhanced its self-hosted offerings with features like CodeQL.
You can self-host GitLab Community Edition for free, whereas self-hosting GitHub requires the Enterprise version.
Tech Stack
GitHub primarily uses Ruby on Rails for its core application, with MySQL serving as its main database.
GitLab also relies on Ruby on Rails but uses PostgreSQL as its core database. In 2018, GitLab introduced Gitaly,
a Git RPC service written in Go. For more details on GitLab’s tech stack, refer to the installation requirements.
Repository Management
The core feature sets are comparable. However, GitHub leads the way in code collaboration, pioneering lightweight forks and pull requests (PRs).
GitHub co-founder Chris Wanstrath wrote a detailed thread on the origins of pull requests.
GitLab later introduced merge requests (MRs), its equivalent to GitHub's PRs, along with fork functionality.
CI/CD
GitLab CI pioneered CI/CD space:
- It's the first product with the built-in integration with the code repository.
- It's the first product introducing Auto DevOps and integrated security (DevSecOps).
Feature-wise, GitLab excels with built-in support for advanced features like multi-project pipelines, canary deployments.
In contrast, GitHub Actions stands out with its extensive third-party ecosystem and user-friendly interface. Additionally, GitHub offers more runtime environments, supporting not only Shell and Docker images, but also JavaScript, which GitLab does not natively support.
Code Review
GitHub and GitLab both offer standard code review features. GitHub excels in third-party integration through GitHub Apps and GitHub Actions.
In GitLab, third-party tools can only post comments below merge requests. In GitHub, third-party tools can post inline comments directly within pull requests, enhancing review workflows. For instance, Bytebase's SQL Review GitHub Actions can lint SQL and post inline comments within the code:
If you're not satisfied with the built-in code review interface, you can explore Graphite (inspired by Meta's stacked diffs) and Gerrit (Google's open-source version).
Code Search
GitHub offers superior code search capabilities and has a much larger pool of source code to copysearch from.
However, neither platform provides an optimal code search experience, so it's worth exploring Sourcegraph
for a more powerful solution.
Security
GitLab pioneered the DevSecOps concept, being the first platform to fully integrate security into the development pipeline. In the latest Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Application Security Testing, it also ranks higher than GitHub.
GitHub continues to excel in usability. In 2019, it acquired Semmle, the creator of CodeQL, and Dependabot. These two features have since become the foundation of GitHub's security portfolio.
Project Management
Both GitHub and GitLab offer project management features, such as projects and issues. However, many users still prefer specialized project management tools, like Linear or the mighty Jira.
AI
GitHub has Copilot
Open Source
GitLab is fully open-source. However, while GitHub is the go-to platform for hosting and promoting open-source projects, GitHub itself is not open-source. Nevertheless, GitHub has contributed significantly to the open-source ecosystem, developing impactful projects like gh-ost, a MySQL online schema migration tool.
Bytebase has integrated gh-ost, offering a more user-friendly interface with the built-in approval workflow.
Pricing
Both GitHub and GitLab offer three tiers, starting with a free plan. GitHub provides a free tier for Copilot, while GitLab Duo is available at an additional cost.
Summary - GitHub vs GitLab
GitLab offers a free self-hosted tier and advanced features without relying on third-party integrations.
GitHub, in contrast, provides an intuitive interface, integrated AI capabilities, and a rich third-party ecosystem.
Unless your organization has a stringent requirement for a self-hosted option or lacks the budget for GitHub Enterprise, we recommend starting with GitHub. Your developers are likely already familiar with GitHub, as many use it for personal projects or exploration in their spare time.
Happy hacking!
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