GitHub Enterprise Server is the self-managed edition of GitHub, licensed per user with GitHub Enterprise and run as a virtual appliance; these pages cover replacing it with self-hosted GitLab, Gitea or Forgejo.
Comparing two self-managed platforms: GitHub Enterprise Server's appliance and per-user Enterprise license against GitLab Free, Premium or Ultimate on your own servers, covering CI runners, upgrade cadence, high availability, air-gapped operation and what each costs to keep current.
For teams that want a lighter self-hosted forge than the GitHub Enterprise Server appliance: Forgejo's footprint, LTS releases and Forgejo Actions (familiar to GitHub Actions users but not compatible), against the hardware, upgrades and licensing GitHub Enterprise Server needs.
Comparing GitHub Enterprise Server with Gitea, which offers GitHub Actions compatible CI and a commercial Gitea Enterprise edition: repository and pull request features, package registries, SAML and audit logging, sizing, and support options on each side.
Cost of ownership by component: per-user Enterprise licenses, appliance hardware sized by license count plus 25% for Actions, blob storage and upgrade downtime, against GitLab or Gitea infrastructure, optional subscriptions, migration and the people who run it.
Each GitHub Enterprise Server feature release is supported for about a year, and 3.19 closes down on December 9, 2026. This page weighs another appliance upgrade, with its downtime and hardware checks, against moving to self-hosted GitLab, Gitea or Forgejo.
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