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6 self-hosted options

Open-source alternatives to GitLab

The best open-source alternative to GitLab is Gitea (MIT, 58,694 GitHub stars, Docker image). Gogs stands out for a permissive MIT license, and OpenProject stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (18,773).

About GitLab: A DevOps platform bundling Git hosting, issue tracking and CI/CD.

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At a glance

GitLab alternatives compared

Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.

GitLab alternatives compared, data as of 2026-10-26
AppStands out forLicenseGitHub starsCommits (12 mo)Last commitDocker image
Giteathe most GitHub starsMIT58,6941,901Oct 26, 2026Yes
Gogsa permissive MIT licenseMIT47,904225Oct 21, 2026Yes
OpenProjectthe most commits in the last 12 months (18,773)GPL-3.016,68318,773Oct 26, 2026Yes
OneDevAI features named in its own descriptionMIT15,3281,031Oct 26, 2026Yes
gitbucketa permissive Apache-2.0 licenseApache-2.09,416243Oct 25, 2026No
SCM Manager–AGPL-3.0184111Oct 13, 2026Yes

Full list

All 6 GitLab alternatives

Open any app for live stats, license details and a deploy option.

  1. 1

    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.

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Gitea has 58,694 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,901 commits in the last year.

  2. 2

    Gogs

    Painless self-hosted Git Service written in Go.

    Stands out for a permissive MIT license. Gogs has 47,904 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 225 commits in the last year.

  3. 3

    OpenProject

    Manage your projects, tasks and goals. Collaborate via work packages and link them to your pull requests on Github.

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (18,773). OpenProject has 16,683 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 18,773 commits in the last year.

  4. 4

    OneDev

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

    AI-nativeStands out for AI features named in its own description. OneDev has 15,328 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,031 commits in the last year.

  5. 5

    gitbucket

    Git platform powered with easy installation, high extensibility & GitHub API compatibility (alternative to GitHub).

    Stands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license. gitbucket has 9,416 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license and had 243 commits in the last year.

  6. 6

    SCM Manager

    The easiest way to share and manage your Git, Mercurial and Subversion repositories over http.

    SCM Manager has 184 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 111 commits in the last year.

FAQ

GitLab alternatives: FAQ

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

Is there a free alternative to GitLab?

Yes. All 6 apps on this page are open source and free to self-host, so you can replace GitLab without per-user fees. You pay only for the server.

Can I self-host an alternative to GitLab with Docker?

Yes. 5 of the 6 apps here publish a Docker image, including Gitea, Gogs and OpenProject, so you can run them on a home server or VPS with Docker Compose.

Which GitLab alternative is the most actively developed?

OpenProject (GPL-3.0), with 18,773 commits in the last 12 months. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

How is this list ranked?

Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.