Which to choose: GitHub or self-managed GitLab
GitHub fits when your code can live in GitHub's hosted service and you want the smallest operating load, while self-managed GitLab fits when the source, CI/CD pipelines and package data must stay on infrastructure you control. The choice is rarely about features alone. It turns on where data must reside, how much of the delivery chain you want in one product, and whether your team can run a stateful platform with its own upgrades and backups. Self-hosting is also not automatically open source: GitHub Enterprise Server runs on your infrastructure under a commercial license, so a self-managed option is a choice of software and support model, not only of location.
Choose GitLab when you want repositories, merge requests, issues, CI/CD and package registries in one product on your own servers, and when your team can own the operating model. Confirm which GitLab edition you need before you price anything. The GitLab pricing page lists advanced CI/CD and priority support for Premium, and application security, software supply chain security, vulnerability management and compliance features for Ultimate, while Free covers the core forge. Also confirm who will operate the platform: GitLab's reference architectures for larger user counts recommend a high availability design with stateful components on virtual machines or managed services rather than inside Kubernetes, which is a staffing decision as much as a hosting one.
Stay with GitHub, or choose GitHub Enterprise Server, when the main drivers are existing Actions workflows, a large ecosystem of integrations, and a team that already runs GitHub well. Ask your GitHub account team which data residency options apply to your organization and what your renewal terms cover before you decide. If the requirement is an EU data location, compare GitHub's own residency option with a self-hosted GitLab in a data center you choose, since the answer depends on where your auditors expect the data to sit.
Scenarios where each option is the better fit
This table matches common situations to the platform that fits them better, GitHub or self-managed GitLab. Read each row as a condition: the advantage only matters when the stated requirement actually applies to your organization. Use it to decide which requirements are firm before you compare features or costs.
| Scenario | Better fit | Condition that makes the advantage matter |
|---|---|---|
| Data residency mandate in a specific country or region | Self-managed GitLab | Your regulator or contract requires source code and metadata to stay in a data center you choose. Confirm the regions GitHub's data residency option offers against your requirement before deciding. |
| Air-gapped or offline networks | Self-managed GitLab | The network has no route to the internet. GitLab documents offline and air-gapped installs, but confirm which scanners and AI features need separate offline setup. |
| One platform for repos, CI/CD and package registries | Self-managed GitLab | You want merge requests, pipelines, registries and issues administered in one product with one permission model and one upgrade path. |
| Team deeply invested in GitHub Actions and marketplace apps | GitHub | Many workflows depend on marketplace actions and GitHub-specific apps. Moving to GitLab means rewriting pipelines, so weigh that effort before switching. |
| Small team with no platform staff | GitHub | Nobody can own upgrades, backups, runners and monitoring. A hosted service shifts those tasks to the vendor, though you still pay per seat and for usage. |
| Regulated environment needing audit evidence | Self-managed GitLab | Assessors expect access logs, change records and backups under your control. Confirm which audit and compliance features your tier includes, since Premium and Ultimate differ. |
| Need for an on-premises edition with a vendor support contract | Self-managed GitLab | You want to run the software in your own infrastructure with a commercial support agreement. Compare the tier, support level and upgrade obligations in writing. |
| Strict upgrade calendar and limited maintenance windows | GitHub | Self-managed GitLab requires passing through published upgrade stops. If you cannot schedule those upgrades, the hosted model removes that burden. |
What GitLab Free covers versus Premium and Ultimate
GitLab is open core, so the tier you pick is a licensing decision as much as a feature decision. The gitlab-org/gitlab repository places content under its ee/ directory in the GitLab Enterprise Edition license, while content outside that directory is available under the MIT Expat license. For a self-managed deployment, the practical effect is that the tiers (Free, Premium and Ultimate) are all offered for self-managed installations, and the paid features are the ones that sit behind the commercial license. Ask your legal team to read the LICENSE file in that repository and confirm how it applies to your use, including any internal forks or modifications you plan to make.
According to the GitLab pricing page, Premium is listed at 29 US dollars per user per month billed annually. The page lists advanced CI/CD and priority support as Premium additions. Ultimate adds application security testing, software supply chain security, vulnerability management and compliance features, and it is custom priced, so you will need a written quote to cost it. Before you cost either tier, list every capability your teams depend on today, such as pipeline features, security scanning, approval rules and audit reporting, and map each one to a tier on the current pricing page. Confirm the mapping with GitLab, because features move between tiers over time.
Only buy the tier that covers a feature you have confirmed you need. Premium and Ultimate are priced per user, so every seat that does not need the added features is a cost you can avoid, and the count of users with access to those features drives the total. Ask for the quote to state the seat count, billing term, support level and whether the price covers self-managed installations. Your own team will still carry the cost of running the instance, applying upgrades and maintaining backups, which the license does not cover.
Hosting, data location and compliance implications
Moving from GitHub to a self-managed GitLab changes where repositories, merge requests, pipeline logs and backups physically sit, and who is responsible for them. The cards below cover the decisions that follow from that shift: data location, offline operation, identity, backups, and the division of labor between your team, DeployOpen and independent assessors.
Data location in GitHub versus your own infrastructure
On GitHub.com, your repositories, issues and Actions logs are stored in GitHub's infrastructure under GitHub's terms, and you choose a plan rather than a physical location. With GitLab, the instance runs in cloud accounts, data centers or air-gapped networks that you select, so you decide where code, pipeline artifacts and backups are kept. Ask your legal and security teams to map every data category, including CI job logs and container images, to a named location before the migration plan is approved.
GitHub Enterprise Cloud with data residency
GitHub's own regional option, Enterprise Cloud with data residency on GHE.com, offers EU, Australia, US and Japan regions. It keeps the hosted operating model, so you still rely on GitHub to run the service. Confirm which features and integrations are available in your chosen region, where support staff access is performed, and whether the regional offering covers the workloads you need. A self-managed GitLab removes that dependency but moves operational duties to your team.
Offline and air-gapped operation
GitLab documents running self-managed instances in offline, air-gapped environments, with separate guidance for its security scanners and for GitLab Duo Self-Hosted. Confirm the exact offline procedure for your release, how package and container updates reach an isolated network, and which features require outbound connections. GitHub Enterprise Server is the closest GitHub option for disconnected sites, so compare the two on update delivery and feature parity for your use cases.
Hosting models and identity integration
GitLab can be installed with the Linux package, which bundles PostgreSQL, Redis and Sidekiq, or with the Helm chart, the GitLab Operator, Docker or from source. The GitLab reference architectures state that stateful components such as PostgreSQL and Redis are not supported inside Kubernetes, so a Kubernetes deployment needs them on VMs or managed services. Map your existing identity provider, including SAML or OIDC sign-on and group sync, to GitLab's authentication options before choosing the install method.
Backup and restore responsibility
On GitHub.com the provider operates the platform, while on GitLab your team owns the backup schedule, storage, encryption, retention and restore testing for repositories, databases and uploaded files. GitLab's backup and restore guidance describes what must be captured together so that repositories and metadata stay consistent. Ask for a documented restore drill with a timed result and a plan for the CI runners and secrets that are not part of the core backup.
What DeployOpen prepares and what auditors issue
DeployOpen plans, implements, hardens, backs up and documents the self-hosted GitLab in your environment and prepares the systems, controls and evidence for a compliance assessment. DeployOpen does not issue audit reports, attestations or certifications. Independent auditors and certification bodies perform those assessments. Agree in writing which controls, evidence sets and environments are in scope before the engagement starts, so that the assessor receives a consistent package.
The architecture and upgrade stops GitLab requires
Choosing a GitLab architecture starts with user count and API load. GitLab's reference architectures run from 1,000 users at 20 API requests per second up to 50,000 users at 1,000 API requests per second. Below the top of that range, the documentation generally recommends a high availability strategy once an instance reaches 3,000 or more users. That pattern uses Gitaly Cluster with Praefect for repository storage, PostgreSQL with Patroni, Redis Sentinel and Consul. Ask your team to size the instance against the reference architecture table, count active users rather than licensed seats, and estimate peak API load from CI runners and integrations before picking a tier.
Where the platform runs matters as much as its size. GitLab's reference architecture documentation says stateful components such as PostgreSQL and Redis are not supported inside Kubernetes. If your platform team standardizes on Kubernetes, the documented alternative is the Cloud Native Hybrid pattern, which runs stateless GitLab components on Kubernetes and places PostgreSQL, Redis and Gitaly on virtual machines or managed services. Confirm this model with your platform team before any Helm chart or Operator deployment, because it changes backup, storage and on-call ownership.
Upgrades must pass through required upgrade stops. Since GitLab 17.5, these fall at versions x.2, x.5, x.8 and x.11, for example 18.2, 18.5, 18.8, 18.11, 19.2, 19.5, 19.8 and 19.11. Plan each move so you stop at the required stop and check the GitLab upgrade paths documentation for the exact route from your current version. GitLab ships a major release yearly, a minor release on the third Thursday of each month and patch releases twice a month. Only the current stable release gets bug fixes, while security fixes also reach the previous two monthly releases. Budget staff time for a patch cycle at least twice a month, and set a rule that you never fall more than two monthly releases behind for security fixes.
Cost components on each side and what drives them
A GitHub bill and a self-managed GitLab bill are built from different parts, and they recur on different schedules. Comparing them honestly means pricing seats or subscriptions, CI capacity, storage, infrastructure, backups, upgrades and staff time on both sides, then asking vendors and partners for figures against your own user count and pipeline volume.
GitHub seats and Enterprise Server licensing
On GitHub's hosted plans, the recurring line is paid per user seat, and on GitHub Enterprise Server it is a per-user license that runs on your own infrastructure. The GitHub side therefore scales with headcount, including contractors and read-only users if your plan counts them. Ask the vendor which seat types apply, whether Enterprise Server support is bundled, and how renewals are priced. Seat count is the main recurring driver on this side.
GitLab Free, Premium and Ultimate tiers
GitLab Free has no subscription fee, and all three tiers are available for self-managed installations. Premium is listed at 29 US dollars per user per month billed annually, and Ultimate is custom priced. Map each user to the tier that holds the features you rely on, such as advanced CI/CD and priority support in Premium, or security and compliance features in Ultimate. Tier mix often moves the subscription total more than headcount alone.
Actions minutes, runners and CI capacity
On GitHub, hosted Actions minutes and storage are metered, so pipeline volume is a recurring cost. On GitLab, the platform fee does not meter CI, but you pay for runner compute, whether that is VMs, Kubernetes capacity or build hosts you operate. Estimate pipeline minutes per month from your current usage reports, then ask each side how minutes, concurrency and artifact retention are billed. Runner hardware is the cost most often missed in GitLab comparisons.
Servers, storage and repository growth
Self-managing GitLab means paying for compute, block storage and Gitaly repository storage, which grow with repository history, LFS objects and artifacts. Hosted services also cap repository size, so large monorepos may need to be split or stored differently in either setup. Check current GitHub limits in its documentation, then size storage for your largest repositories plus growth over your planned hardware life. Storage growth is a recurring cost that rises quietly with binary assets.
High availability and reference architecture
GitLab's documentation generally recommends a high availability strategy at 3,000 or more users, using Gitaly Cluster with Praefect, PostgreSQL with Patroni, Redis Sentinel and Consul. Each component adds virtual machines, licensing for supporting software where applicable, and engineering time to operate. Stateful services such as PostgreSQL and Redis are not supported inside Kubernetes, so the hybrid pattern adds separate infrastructure. HA design is a one-time build cost plus a recurring operations cost, and it should be priced against your uptime requirement.
Backups, upgrades and staff time
Self-managed GitLab requires tested backup and restore, monitoring, and planned upgrades that pass through required upgrade stops, such as 18.2, 18.5, 18.8 and 18.11 in the 18 series. Each upgrade consumes engineering time and a maintenance window, and security patches reach only the previous two monthly releases. Staff time is usually the largest recurring line, so count the hours your team spends on patching and restore testing each quarter. Ask any implementation partner to price these as a fixed scope or a retainer.
Migration and what to request in a quote
Migration is largely one-time: moving repositories by mirror, importing issues and merge requests with GitLab's importers, rebuilding CI pipelines and re-creating secrets, which GitHub does not export. Request a written quote listing the user count and tier mix, CI minutes or runner hours, storage and HA design, backup and upgrade responsibilities, and the number of projects in scope. DeployOpen does not publish prices. A quote follows from a written scope, so ask for line items that separate one-time work from recurring support and retainers.
How a move from GitHub to GitLab proceeds
The sequence turns a GitHub organization into a self-managed GitLab instance with repositories, history, collaboration data, pipelines and access moved in a controlled order, with a parallel period before GitHub is retired.
Inventory repositories, users, groups and integrations
Your team lists every repository, its size, default branch, open issues and pull requests, wikis, releases and packages, along with GitHub organizations, teams, outside collaborators, GitHub Apps, OAuth apps, webhooks and deploy keys. Someone who owns each system confirms which items are live and which can be archived. The output is a written inventory with an owner and a keep, migrate or retire decision for each item. Ask your GitLab partner or vendor to confirm which GitHub objects the importer maps and which it skips before you commit to a list.
Size and install GitLab against the reference architecture
Match your expected user count and API load to GitLab's reference architectures, which range from 1,000 users at 20 API requests per second to 50,000 users at 1,000 API requests per second. Choose an installation method your platform team can operate, such as the Linux package, Helm chart or Operator, and plan high availability if you expect 3,000 or more users, since the docs recommend it at that scale. Keep stateful components such as PostgreSQL and Redis on VMs or managed services when you run stateless parts on Kubernetes. The output is an installed, patched instance that passes a basic health check and has backups configured and tested.
Import repositories and their collaboration data
Git history moves by clone or mirror, which carries branches and tags into GitLab. Issues, pull requests and wiki content need GitLab's GitHub importer, which is configured with a GitHub token that has access to the source repositories. Run a test import on one non-critical project first and compare issue counts, pull or merge request counts, comments and labels against GitHub. Note that bulk exports are shaped by GitHub's API rate limits, so large organizations should schedule imports in batches. The output is a reconciled list of imported projects with any gaps recorded.
Rebuild CI/CD pipelines and runners
GitHub Actions workflows do not run unchanged in GitLab CI/CD, so each pipeline must be rewritten as a
.gitlab-ci.ymlconfiguration and tested on a branch. Register GitLab Runners on hardware or containers in your own network, with separate runners for builds that need privileged access, and confirm that they can reach internal package sources and deployment targets. Check that artifacts, caches and environment variables match the old behavior. The output is a passing pipeline for each migrated repository, with runner capacity you have measured under realistic load.Re-create secrets and protected settings manually
Actions secrets do not export from GitHub, so every credential used by a pipeline or deployment must be retrieved from its source system or secrets manager and entered again as a GitLab CI/CD variable or protected variable with appropriate masking. Branch protection rules, required reviews, code owners and environment protections are also rebuilt by hand in GitLab's project settings. The output is a checklist, signed off by the service owner, showing each secret and rule as recreated and tested, with the old GitHub values rotated where exposure is possible.
Cut over identity, access and webhooks
Connect GitLab to your identity provider using the authentication options in GitLab's documentation, map GitHub teams to GitLab groups and roles, and reissue access for outside collaborators explicitly rather than copying them across. Update external systems that call GitHub webhooks, such as chat notifications, deployment tools and security scanners, so they point to GitLab. Confirm that single sign-on works for a pilot group before everyone is switched. The output is a verified login path, a role mapping approved by your security team, and a list of integrations with their new endpoints tested.
Run a parallel period with both platforms
For an agreed period, keep GitHub read-only or mirrored into GitLab so developers can compare histories and reopen work that was missed. Watch sync jobs, pipeline success rates, failed logins and webhook delivery, and record each defect and its fix. Length should follow your own risk review rather than a fixed number of days. The output is a signed exit report showing that open work, pipelines and access behave as expected on GitLab.
Decommission GitHub and keep a retained archive
Once the parallel period closes, switch remaining GitHub repositories to archived or read-only, revoke tokens and GitHub Apps that still have access, and remove deploy keys from downstream systems. Export a final archive of the GitHub organization data your retention policy requires, store it in controlled storage, and document where it lives and who can read it. The output is an approved decommissioning record and a tested restore path for the archive, kept with your GitLab backup and restore procedures.
Questions buyers ask before choosing GitLab over GitHub
How much effort does it take to self-host GitLab, and who has to run it?
Self-hosting GitLab is a continuing operations commitment, not a one-time install. Your team owns the servers or cluster, the PostgreSQL, Redis and Gitaly storage, backups, monitoring, certificates, and every upgrade. GitLab documents several installation methods, including the Linux package, the Helm chart, the GitLab Operator, Docker and source, and the Linux package is described as the most mature. Effort rises with user count: GitLab's reference architectures range from 1,000 to 50,000 users, and high availability is generally recommended from 3,000 users. Ask any partner to show the chosen reference architecture and which person owns each component after go-live. See the GitLab installation methods page for the options.
How long does a GitHub to GitLab migration take?
The duration depends on the work, not on a standard number. The main drivers are the number of repositories, how much issue, merge request and review history must move, how complex the CI/CD pipelines are and how many users need access on day one. GitLab's import tooling covers GitHub projects, so simple projects can move quickly, while pipelines, runners, secrets and integrations take longer to rebuild and test. Git history itself moves with a clone or mirror. Ask for a written plan that lists repository groups, a pilot batch and a cutover window, and confirm with your own environment how much parallel running you need before retiring GitHub.
What does our team need to provide for a GitLab project?
Your team provides the infrastructure, the identity source and the people who make decisions. Expect to supply:
- Virtual machines, Kubernetes capacity or cloud accounts, plus network and DNS access
- Single sign-on or directory integration and a list of groups that map to GitLab roles
- Access to GitHub organizations and tokens for the migration, and owners for each repository group
- Runner hosts and the secrets used by pipelines
- Named approvers for the backup, restore and upgrade procedures
Agree these items in writing before work starts so the scope and timeline are not guesses.
Can a small team run self-hosted GitLab on its own?
A small team can run a single-node GitLab instance, but it needs at least one person who can handle Linux administration, backups and upgrades, and a second person who can cover absences. The operational load is larger than the installation itself, because upgrades must follow GitLab's required upgrade stops and security fixes are backported only to recent monthly releases. If nobody on the team can commit to that routine, a fixed-scope engagement or a support retainer is the practical alternative. Compare the internal staff hours with the hours needed for backup restore tests and upgrade windows before deciding.
Do we need GitLab Premium or Ultimate, or is Free enough?
The answer depends on which features your teams use today. GitLab Free covers the core source hosting and merge request workflow, and GitLab's pricing page states that all three tiers are available for self-managed installations. Premium adds advanced CI/CD and priority support, and Ultimate adds application security testing, software supply chain security, vulnerability management and compliance features. Make a feature inventory from your current GitHub plan, GitHub Actions usage and security tooling, then map each feature to a tier. Ultimate pricing is custom, so request a written quote for the exact seat count and features. Verify current tier contents on GitLab pricing before you decide.
How are GitLab upgrades and required upgrade stops handled?
GitLab requires upgrades to pass through defined upgrade stops, so you cannot jump directly across them. Since GitLab 17.5 these fall at versions x.2, x.5, x.8 and x.11, for example 18.2, 18.5, 18.8, 18.11, 19.2, 19.5, 19.8 and 19.11. GitLab ships a minor release on the third Thursday of each month and patch releases twice a month, and it maintains the three most recent minor lines. Plan a staging environment, take a backup before each step and follow the GitLab upgrade paths documentation for each hop. Budget recurring time for these upgrades in your operating model.
Can DeployOpen implement, harden, back up and support GitLab under a fixed scope?
Yes. DeployOpen plans, implements, customizes, integrates, hardens, backs up, upgrades, documents and supports self-hosted open-source platforms inside your own cloud accounts, data centers or air-gapped networks. Most engagements are fixed-scope, with scope, deliverables and timelines agreed in writing before work starts, and ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as retainers. DeployOpen does not publish a price list, so a quote follows from the written scope. DeployOpen prepares systems and evidence for compliance assessments but does not issue audit reports or certifications. Ask for the written scope to name the migration waves, backup and restore tests, hardening baseline and support hours.
How DeployOpen helps evaluate, implement and migrate GitLab
A GitLab move touches source, pipelines, identity, backups and upgrade planning at once, so the work is best scoped as one fixed engagement. The cards below follow that sequence, from the initial evaluation through to ongoing upgrades. Each engagement is agreed in writing before work starts, and DeployOpen does not issue audit reports or attestations.
Evaluation and architecture scoping
Before choosing an install method, we map your user count, API load, air-gap needs and data location against GitLab's reference architectures. The architecture decision is the one most often under-scoped: a single Linux package server, a Cloud Native Hybrid layout, or a high availability design with Gitaly Cluster and Praefect. We record the Free, Premium or Ultimate features each team needs so licensing is settled before build starts.
Self-hosted installation in your infrastructure
We plan and install GitLab in your own cloud accounts, data centers or air-gapped networks, using the install method your operations team can run. Where stateful services such as PostgreSQL and Redis are involved, we place them on virtual machines or managed services, since running them inside Kubernetes is not supported in the reference architectures. Scope, deliverables and timelines are fixed in writing before work starts.
Identity and access integration
We connect GitLab to your existing identity provider for single sign-on, group mapping and role assignment, so access to repositories follows your joiner and leaver process rather than local accounts. We document which authentication methods stay enabled and which are disabled, and test sign-in and access revocation before handover. This is often the item that decides whether developers accept the move.
Repository and pipeline migration
We move repository history with clones or mirrors and bring issues, merge requests and wikis across with GitLab's import tooling, after checking which GitHub metadata the importer carries. GitHub Actions workflows are rewritten as GitLab CI/CD pipelines, and runners are set up separately. Secrets never export from GitHub, so we agree a process with your security team for re-creating each one.
Hardening, backup and restore testing
We apply the hardening guidance for the instance, configure backups, and run a restore test into a separate environment so you know the recovery path works before you rely on it. Backup scope covers repositories, the database and object storage. Ask any provider which restore time they have demonstrated for your data volume, since timing depends on your environment.
Security testing and compliance evidence
We run application, infrastructure and CI/CD pipeline security testing against the new platform, and we prepare the configuration records, access reviews and change logs that an independent auditor will ask for. DeployOpen prepares systems, controls and evidence only. Audit reports, attestations and certifications come from independent auditors and certification bodies, so confirm that scope in the written agreement.
Upgrade and support retainers
GitLab ships on a fixed monthly and yearly cadence and requires passage through upgrade stops, so an instance left unattended falls behind quickly. We offer retainers for planned upgrades, patching, monitoring and continuous testing after go-live. Ask for the response expectations, upgrade windows and who is on call in the written retainer before you sign.
