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GitLab vs GitHub
Both sit in developer tools. Here is how they differ on the things you can actually check.
On price: GitHub starts $25 a month cheaper than GitLab ($4 against $29, 86% less) on its Team tier. Both figures were read from the vendors' own pricing pages on the dates shown below.
GitLab
about.gitlab.com
Source control plus CI/CD, security scanning, package registry and project management — self-managed or SaaS.
Free planDeveloper Tools
Visit GitLabGitHub
github.com
Git hosting with pull requests, Actions CI, packages, security scanning and Copilot. Free for unlimited public and private repositories.
Free planDeveloper Tools
Visit GitHub| GitLab | GitHub | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $29/mo | $4/mo |
| Entry plan | Premium | Team |
| Paid annually | $29/mo | — |
| Price checked | 21 Sept 2026 | 6 Sept 2026 |
| Pricing model | Free plan | Free plan |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Category | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Around since | 2011 | 2008 |
Every price here was read from the vendor's own pricing page, most recently on 21 Sept 2026. Entry tier only — vendors change pricing without notice.
GitLab vs GitHub, answered
- Is GitLab cheaper than GitHub?
- No — GitHub is the cheaper entry point, at $4 a month against GitLab's $29, 86% less. GitLab's figure is its annual rate — the vendor publishes no month-to-month price we could read.
- Do GitLab or GitHub have a free plan?
- Both do. GitLab and GitHub each publish an ongoing free tier rather than a time-limited trial.
- What is the difference between GitLab and GitHub?
- GitLab: Source control plus CI/CD, security scanning, package registry and project management — self-managed or SaaS. GitHub: Git hosting with pull requests, Actions CI, packages, security scanning and Copilot. Free for unlimited public and private repositories.
