GitHub announced (then postponed) a $0.002/minute fee for self-hosted runners in private repos. While currently free, this may change. GitLab has no such fees and their self-managed CE edition is truly free with unlimited CI on your own runners.
A comprehensive comparison for hobbyist developers. Free tiers, CI/CD limits, security scanning, and when to choose each platform.
Free tier features that matter most to hobbyists
| Feature | GitHub Free | GitLab Free |
|---|---|---|
|
Private Repositories
For personal projects
|
Unlimited | Unlimited (max 5 users) |
|
CI/CD Minutes
Cloud-hosted runners
|
2,000/month | 400/month |
|
Self-Hosted Runners
Use your own hardware
|
Free (pricing change postponed) | Free, no limits |
|
Public Repo CI/CD
Open source projects
|
Unlimited | Unlimited |
|
Storage (per repo)
Git + LFS
|
10 GB cache | 10 GB repo + LFS |
|
Collaborators
On private repos
|
Unlimited | 5 users max |
|
Self-Managed Option
Host on your server
|
Enterprise only ($21/user) | Free (CE edition) |
|
AI Code Assistant
Integrated AI tools
|
Copilot Free tier | Duo (Premium+ only) |
|
Code Scanning
Security analysis
|
Public repos only | Premium+ only |
|
Secret Scanning
Detect exposed credentials
|
Public repos + alerts | Ultimate only |
|
Dependency Scanning
Vulnerable packages
|
Dependabot (free) | Premium+ only |
What you get at each price point
GitHub announced (then postponed) a $0.002/minute fee for self-hosted runners in private repos. While currently free, this may change. GitLab has no such fees and their self-managed CE edition is truly free with unlimited CI on your own runners.
GitHub Copilot vs GitLab Duo - separate from repo hosting fees
| AI Feature | GitHub Copilot | GitLab Duo |
|---|---|---|
|
Free Tier
|
Yes (2,000 completions/mo) | No free tier |
|
Coding Agent
|
Pro ($10) and up | Ultimate ($99) only |
|
IDE Support
|
VS Code, JetBrains, Xcode, Neovim | Web UI, limited VS Code |
|
Works with Other Repos
|
Any git repo | GitLab only |
|
Premium Models
|
GPT-4o, Claude Opus 4, o3 (Pro+) | Anthropic Claude (Premium+) |
|
Extra Request Cost
|
$0.04 per premium request | Included in tier limits |
|
Hobbyist Best Value
For individual developers
|
Free tier or $10/mo Pro | $19/mo Duo Pro standalone |
Detailed comparison of key capabilities
Build, test, and deploy automation capabilities
Code analysis, vulnerability detection, and compliance
Integrated AI for code completion and development
Run on your own infrastructure
The right choice depends on your project type
More CI minutes, Copilot free tier, and unlimited collaborators make GitHub the better choice for most hobbyists working on personal projects.
95% of open source lives on GitHub. Better discoverability, more contributors, and unlimited Actions for public repos.
GitLab CE is truly free with no user limits. Run unlimited CI/CD on your own hardware with zero platform fees.
If you need comprehensive security scanning, GitLab Ultimate ($99) includes everything vs. GitHub's $49 add-on that still lacks DAST.
Copilot works in any IDE and has a free tier. GitLab Duo requires Premium subscription and has limited IDE support.
Self-host GitLab CE on a $5/mo VPS or home server. Unlimited repos, users, and CI with your own runners. Zero ongoing platform costs.