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

The best free alternative to GitHub is GitLab, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to GitHub and loads of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to GitHub are Gitea, Bitbucket, Codeberg and SourceForge.

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GitHub alternatives are mainly Version Control Systems but may also be Source Code Hosting Services or Project Management Tools.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of GitHub.
GitHub iconGitHub
  1676
  • ...

Web-based Git hosting service facilitating collaboration, with features like issue tracking, social networking, and wikis for project management.

More about GitHub
GitHub alternatives page was last updated Jan 5, 2025
  1. GitLab icon
     720 likes

    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.

    109 GitLab alternatives
    Activity stream

    License model

    • FreemiumOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Online
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • Ruby
    • Cloudron

    Top GitLab Features

    1.  Unlimited private repos
    2.  Continuous Integration
    3.  Continuous Deployment
    4.  Private repositories
    5.  Continuous builds
    6.  Kanban Board
    7.  CI/CD
    8. Git icon  Git Support
    9.  Unlimited users
    10.  Not Microsoft EEE
    11.  Two-factor Authentication
    12.  Dark Mode
    GitLab iconGitHub Icon

    GitLab VS GitHub

    Is GitLab a good alternative to GitHub?
     
    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.
    milkdoes

    No limit on collaborators of private repositories.

    Top positive commentJul 29, 2019
    6
    Guest

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

    Positive commentJan 5, 2025
    0
    ub

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

    Positive commentJul 27, 2024
    3
    Show more comments
    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
  2. Gitea icon
     163 likes

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

    51 Gitea alternatives
    Gitea screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreemiumOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • Raspberry Pi
    • Cloudron
    • Chocolatey

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Private repositories
    2.  Included wiki
    3.  Importing from Git
    4.  Webhook support
    5.  Support for MarkDown
    6.  LDAP support
    7.  Rebase merging
    8.  FIDO U2F (2FA) support
    9.  Task Time Tracking
    10. Git icon  Git Support
    11.  Dark Mode
    12.  Two-factor Authentication
    Gitea iconGitHub Icon

    Gitea VS GitHub

    Is Gitea a good alternative to GitHub?
     
    Comments about Gitea as an Alternative to GitHub
     
       
    6543

    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

    Top positive commentOct 28, 2019
    7
    Pierre LeBaux

    Self-hosted, simple, great.

    Positive commentJul 11, 2022
    0
    Freeplay

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

    Positive commentJun 25, 2021
    2
    Show more comments
    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 and Privacy focusedGitHub is not according to our users
  3. Bitbucket icon
     401 likes

    Code collaboration version control. Offers hosted (freemium) for limited (5) users, and a commercial self-hosted for a subscription. Free licenses are available for qualified open source projects, nonprofits, and classrooms.

    82 Bitbucket alternatives
    Bugtracker

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted

    Bitbucket Features

    1.  Private repositories
    2. JIRA icon  Jira integration
    3. Git icon  Git Support
    4. Git icon  Git integration
    5.  Real time collaboration
    6.  Mercurial support
    7.  Hg hosting
    Bitbucket iconGitHub Icon

    Bitbucket VS GitHub

    Is Bitbucket a good alternative to GitHub?
     
    Comments about Bitbucket as an Alternative to GitHub
     
       
    jamilsonjunior

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

    Top positive commentJun 3, 2017
    1
    Korwin

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

    Top negative commentJul 6, 2022
    1
    Ron Bowman

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

    Positive commentFeb 15, 2019
    0
    Show more comments
    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
  4. Codeberg icon
     70 likes

    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.

    52 Codeberg alternatives
    Short Landing page.

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Online

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1. Git icon  Git Support
    2.  Non profit
    3.  Web-Based
    4.  Issue Tracking
    5.  No Tracking
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  Wiki
    8.  Kanban Board
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  Support for @mentions
    11.  Syntax Highlighting
    12.  Support for MarkDown
    Codeberg iconGitHub Icon

    Codeberg VS GitHub

    Is Codeberg a good alternative to GitHub?
     
    Comments about Codeberg as an Alternative to GitHub
     
    nezort11

    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).

    Positive commentApr 19, 2022
    3
    Guest

    Codeberg is an excellent alternative to GitHub, providing a home for libre software.

    Positive commentAug 12, 2021
    4
    Guest

    Easy-to-use interface and FOSS

    Positive commentAug 16, 2021
    3
    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. SourceForge icon
     333 likes

    SourceForge empowers open source developers to create powerful software and share it with the world. They also feature a business software comparison directory that lists over 50,000 software titles.

    78 SourceForge alternatives
    Homepage 2013

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Platforms

    • Online

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  App Discovery
    2.  Hg hosting
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  File Versioning
    5.  User Rating
    6. Git icon  Git Support
    SourceForge iconGitHub Icon

    SourceForge VS GitHub

    Is SourceForge a good alternative to GitHub?
     
    Comments about SourceForge as an Alternative to GitHub
     
       
    Guest

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

    Top positive commentMay 29, 2018
    5
    RemovedUser

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

    Top negative commentDec 8, 2021
    6
    Erik Estrada

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

    CommentSep 10, 2021
    4
    Show more comments
    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
  6. Gogs icon
     132 likes

    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.

    44 Gogs alternatives
    Gogs screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • Go (Programming Language)
    • Cloudron

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1. Git icon  Git Support
    2.  Web interface
    3.  Wiki
    Gogs iconGitHub Icon

    Gogs VS GitHub

    Is Gogs a good alternative to GitHub?
     
    Comments about Gogs as an Alternative to GitHub
     
    Guest

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

    Positive commentSep 11, 2020
    0
    petardudas

    It's very simple to set up.

    Positive commentFeb 14, 2017
    0
    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
  7. Forgejo icon
     32 likes

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

    56 Forgejo alternatives
    Short landing page

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Go (Programming Language)

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Community-based
    3. Git icon  Git Support
    4.  Federated
    5.  Issue Tracking
    6.  Dark Mode
    7.  Kanban Board
    8.  Support for @mentions
    9.  Two-factor Authentication
    10.  Decentralized
    11.  Support for MarkDown
    12.  No Tracking
    Forgejo iconGitHub Icon

    Forgejo VS GitHub

    Is Forgejo a good alternative to GitHub?
     
7 of 89 GitHub alternatives