Free, open-source alternatives to GitLab.com

Hosted GitLab for code and CI. 5 apps you can run yourself instead of GitLab.com, sorted by how well they replace it. Each one is open source, so your data stays with you.

  1. GitLabBest match

    Self Hosted Git repository management, code reviews, issue tracking, activity feeds and wikis.

    7.2k starsMITUpdated 13 October 2026
  2. Forgejo

    A lightweight software forge focused on scaling, federation, and privacy (fork of Gitea).

    MIT
  3. Gitea

    Git with a cup of tea! Painless self-hosted all-in-one software development service, including Git hosting, code review, team collaboration, package registry and CI/CD.

    58.5k starsMITUpdated 13 October 2026
  4. OneDev

    All-In-One DevOps Platform. With Git Management, Issue Tracking, and CI/CD. Simple yet Powerful.

    15.3k starsMITUpdated 13 October 2026
  5. Gogs

    Painless self-hosted Git Service written in Go.

    47.9k starsMITUpdated 12 September 2026

Side by side

AppStarsLicenseActivityRuns on
GitLab7,172MITRuby, Debian packages, Docker
Forgejo-MITDocker, Go
Gitea58,458MITGo, Docker, Kubernetes
OneDev15,301MITJava, Docker, Kubernetes
Gogs47,864MITGo

Why replace GitLab.com?

GitLab.com works, but your data lives in someone else's account, the price can change at any time, and features can disappear. An open-source app you run yourself is yours: you choose where it runs, who can see the data, and when to update.

Questions

What is the best free alternative to GitLab.com?

GitLab is the closest open-source replacement for GitLab.com in our list. Forgejo and Gitea are worth a look too, depending on what you need.

Can I self-host an alternative to GitLab.com?

Yes. All 5 apps on this page are open source and can run on your own server, usually with Docker, or on a managed host that installs them for you.