The Best GitHub AlternativesTop Version Control Systems & Source Code Hosting Services like GitHub

GitHub is described as 'Web-based Git hosting service facilitating collaboration, with features like issue tracking, social networking, and wikis for project management' and is a leading Version Control system in the development category. There are more than 100 alternatives to GitHub for a variety of platforms, including Web-based, Self-Hosted, Linux, Windows and Mac apps. The best GitHub alternative is GitLab, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like GitHub are Gitea, Codeberg, Bitbucket and SourceForge.

filter to find the best alternatives

GitHub alternatives are mainly Version Control Systems, but if you're looking for Source Code Hosting Services or Issue Tracking Systems you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Self-Hosted, Open Source, EU, Free + Source Code Hosting and Android. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to GitHub.
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Alternatives list

  1. GitLab icon

    GitLab

     741 likes
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    Provides a robust platform for on-premise or hosted Git repository management, integrating seamlessly with various dev tools, facilitating efficient workflow through offerings like issue tracking, code reviews, continuous integration, CI/CD pipelines, and option for unlimited private repositories.

    110 GitLab alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Online
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • Ruby
    • Cloudron
    Activity stream
     
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    20
    353
    Comments about GitLab as an Alternative to GitHub
    Comment summary: GitLab is frequently praised for its open-source core, free private repositories, and strong CI/CD features. Some users appreciate GitLab's independence from Microsoft and find its self-hosted option favorable. However, criticism arises due to GitLab's UI complexity and perceptions of being bloated compared to GitHub. GitLab's evolution into a comprehensive DevOps platform is noted, positioning it as both a functional and competitive alternative to GitHub.
    Top Positive Comment
    milkdoes
    6

    No limit on collaborators of private repositories.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Not controlled by the privacy-hostile (many times) convicted felon Microsoft.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    ub
    Positive
    3

    why is github not open source? all of your code was stolen and used to train co-pilot, thanks microsoft.

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    3 of 20 comments
    GitHub Icon
    GitLab icon

    • Almost everyone thinks GitLab is a great GitHub alternative.

    • GitLab is the most popular Web-based, Linux & Self-Hosted alternative to GitHub.

    • GitLab is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to GitHub.

    • GitLab is Freemium and Open SourceGitHub is Freemium and Proprietary
    • GitLab is Security-focusedGitHub is not according to our users
  2. Gitea icon

    Gitea

     174 likes
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    Gitea is a fork of Gogs, lightweight code hosting solution written in Go and published under the MIT license.

    45 Gitea alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • Raspberry Pi
    • Cloudron
    • Chocolatey
    Gitea screenshot 1
     
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    6
    88
    Comments about Gitea as an Alternative to GitHub
    Top Positive Comment
    6543
    7

    gitea v1.9.4 and newer has all features you want and know from github ... but selfhosted and lightweight! And if there is one feature missiong its sure on a list

    Pierre LeBaux
    Positive
    0

    Self-hosted, simple, great.

    Freeplay
    Positive
    3

    You can run your own instance, but you can use other instances like Codeberg as well!

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    3 of 6 comments
    GitHub Icon
    Gitea icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Gitea is a great GitHub alternative.

    • Gitea is the most popular Windows & Mac alternative to GitHub.

    • Gitea is Freemium and Open SourceGitHub is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Gitea is Lightweight, Privacy focused and Security-focusedGitHub is not according to our users
  4. Codeberg icon

    Codeberg

     105 likes
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    A free Git source code hosting service with the objective to give the open-source code that is running our world a safe and friendly home, and to ensure that code remains free and secure forever.

    50 Codeberg alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    Short Landing page.
     
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    5
    49
    Comments about Codeberg as an Alternative to GitHub
    Top Positive Comment
    Buster_Blue
    2

    Codeberg is FOSS and it's run by a non-profit organization. This makes it a fitting home for open source projects.

    Subscribe6225
    Positive
    2

    Free, Open Source, European.

    nezort11
    Positive
    4

    In my opinion the best alternative to "GitHub" as a repo hosting service. Because it is managed by non-profit organization (.org TLD) compared to commercial companies (.com TLD).

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    3 of 5 comments
    GitHub Icon
    Codeberg icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Codeberg is a great GitHub alternative.

    • Codeberg is Free and Open SourceGitHub is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Codeberg is Lightweight and Privacy focusedGitHub is not according to our users
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Backlog icon
    Backlog

    Backlog is a project management and collaboration tool for teams that want higher productivity, greater visibility, and simple project tracking. Development teams can work together with Design, Marketing, IT, and more to release ...

    https://backlog.com
    Learn More
  6. Bitbucket icon

    Bitbucket

     405 likes
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    Provides Git repository hosting with integrated issue tracking, wiki for documentation, pull requests, code review features, support for public and private repos, CI/CD integration, branch permissions, team collaboration, notification tools, and API access.

    79 Bitbucket alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    Bugtracker
     
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    7
    154
    Comments about Bitbucket as an Alternative to GitHub
    Top Positive Comment
    jamilsonjunior
    1

    Unlimited private repositories makes Bitbucket perfect for personal and scholar projects.

    Top Negative Comment
    Korwin
    2

    I wouldn't recommend one FOSS adversary as an alternative to another FOSS adversary.

    Ron Bowman
    Positive
    0

    Great if using other Atlassian products. Still very good if using it on its own.

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    3 of 7 comments
    GitHub Icon
    Bitbucket icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Bitbucket is a great GitHub alternative.

    • Bitbucket is Freemium and ProprietaryGitHub is also Freemium and Proprietary
  7. SourceForge icon

    SourceForge

     339 likes
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    Centralized open source platform providing code hosting for 502,000+ projects, version control, analytics, project wikis, software reviews, and access to a business software directory listing over 50,000 titles, serving millions of downloads and users monthly.

    74 SourceForge alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    SourceForge screenshot 1
     
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    7
    60
    Comments about SourceForge as an Alternative to GitHub
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    5

    SourceForge has been consistent & reliable, thus a very capable alternative to GitHub.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Top Negative Comment
    RemovedUser
    7

    I would not trust SourceForge because of the past controversies involving malicious activity.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Erik Estrada
    4

    A few years ago Sourceforge hijacked projects and bundled malware in them. It's supposed to be clean now but who knows...

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    3 of 7 comments
    GitHub Icon
    SourceForge icon

    • Some users think SourceForge is a great GitHub alternative, some don't.

    • SourceForge is Free and ProprietaryGitHub is Freemium and Proprietary
    • SourceForge is LightweightGitHub is not according to our users
  8. Gogs icon

    Gogs

     135 likes
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    The easiest, fastest, and most painless way of setting up a self-hosted Git service. With Go, this can be done with an independent binary distribution across ALL platforms that Go supports, including Linux, Mac OS X, Windows and ARM.

    42 Gogs alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • Go (Programming Language)
    • Cloudron
    Gogs screenshot 1
     
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    2
    54
    Comments about Gogs as an Alternative to GitHub
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Self-hosted and really light weight. Installs on docker in just a few minutes. Super excellent!

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    petardudas
    Positive
    0

    It's very simple to set up.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    GitHub Icon
    Gogs icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Gogs is a great GitHub alternative.

    • Gogs is Free and Open SourceGitHub is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Gogs is LightweightGitHub is not according to our users
  10. Forgejo icon

    Forgejo

     51 likes
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    Beyond coding. We forge. Forgejo is a self-hosted lightweight software forge. Easy to install and low maintenance, it just does the job.

    54 Forgejo alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Go (Programming Language)
    Short landing page
     
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    1
    8
    Comments about Forgejo as an Alternative to GitHub
    Subscribe6225
    Positive
    1

    Open Source, European, Self-hosted

    GitHub Icon
    Forgejo icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Forgejo is a great GitHub alternative.

    • Forgejo is Free and Open SourceGitHub is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Forgejo is Lightweight, Privacy focused and CustomizableGitHub is not according to our users
  11. GitBucket icon

    GitBucket

     51 likes
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    GitBucket is the easily installable open-source GitHub clone written with Scala.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Scala
    User Interface
     
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    1
    24
    Comments about GitBucket as an Alternative to GitHub
    kounoike
    Positive
    3

    GitBucket has most powerful API compatibility to GitHub.com/GitHubEnterprise!

    GitHub Icon
    GitBucket icon

    • Most users think GitBucket is a great GitHub alternative.

    • GitBucket is Free and Open SourceGitHub is Freemium and Proprietary
    • GitBucket is Privacy focusedGitHub is not according to our users
  12. Launchpad icon

    Launchpad

     110 likes
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    Launchpad is a collaboration and Bazaar code hosting platform for (primarily open-source) software projects.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Python
    Launchpad screenshot 1
     
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    2
    21
    Comments about Launchpad as an Alternative to GitHub
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    Launchpad is not a git server

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    you can host code on launchpad, and publish ubuntu packages

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    GitHub Icon
    Launchpad icon

    • Most users think Launchpad is a great GitHub alternative.

    • Launchpad is Free and Open SourceGitHub is Freemium and Proprietary
  13. SourceHut icon

    SourceHut

     19 likes
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    sourcehut is a network of useful open source tools for software project maintainers and collaborators, including git repos, bug tracking, continuous integration, and mailing lists.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    Hosted git repositories
     
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    1
    11
    Comments about SourceHut as an Alternative to GitHub
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Minimal but usable, perfectly lightweight

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    GitHub Icon
    SourceHut icon

    • Almost everyone thinks SourceHut is a great GitHub alternative.

    • SourceHut is the most popular SaaS alternative to GitHub.

    • SourceHut is Freemium and Open SourceGitHub is Freemium and Proprietary
    • SourceHut is Privacy focused and LightweightGitHub is not according to our users
  14. Trac icon

    Trac

     146 likes
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    Trac is an enhanced wiki and issue tracking system for software development projects. Trac uses a minimalistic approach to web-based software project management. Our mission is to help developers write great software while staying out of the way.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    Trac screenshot 1
     
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    2
    10
    Comments about Trac as an Alternative to GitHub
    Ron Bowman
    Positive
    4

    The best issue tracker money can b... oh, wait, it's free!

    RemovedUser
    Negative
    0

    Its usability is a trip into the past I did not miss.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    GitHub Icon
    Trac icon

    • Most users think Trac is a great GitHub alternative.

    • Trac is Free and Open SourceGitHub is Freemium and Proprietary
  15. Radicle icon

    Radicle

     13 likes
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    Radicle is an open source, peer-to-peer code collaboration stack built on Git. Unlike centralized code hosting platforms, there is no single entity controlling the network. Repositories are replicated across peers in a decentralized manner, and users are in full control of their...

    74 Radicle alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
     
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    1
    Comments about Radicle as an Alternative to GitHub
    dataculi
    Positive
    0

    This is unique amongst alternatives in that it's built on p2p software. It's surprisingly mature and well made

    GitHub Icon
    Radicle icon
    • Radicle is Free and Open SourceGitHub is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Radicle is Privacy focused and LightweightGitHub is not according to our users
12 of 103 GitHub alternatives