GitHub vs GitLab: Which is Best for You?

An important aspect of the software development lifecycle is repository management. A Git repository is where you can collaborate, test, share, store web projects, and code. Since Git is distributed, you can have local repositories. This allows you to work on your code without having Internet access.

Using the right repository for your project is important for accelerating your software development initiative and efficiency. 

In this post, we’ll discuss two different Git repository managers - GitHub and GitLab to help you understand which fits your project best.

Let’s dive right in!

What is GitHub?

GitHub is a cloud-based repository management hosting service that provides a Web-based graphical interface. It serves as a hosting site where web developers (novice programmers and seasoned engineers) can work reciprocally, upload, and improve the code they create.

Additionally, it offers a robust version control system, which allows for consistent collaboration without jeopardizing the integrity of the original project. You can use GitHub for both public and private projects.

What is GitLab?

This is an open-source code repository, as well as a collaborative development platform. It offers a location for code storage and collaborative development of projects. Like GitHub, GitLab also offers version control that allows users to check previous code. GitLab supports both public and private development branches and offers features for bug tracking and project management. 

Similarities Between GitHub and GitLab

Since both are developed on the same Git basis of version control, their functions are similar. 

Third-party Integrations:

Both GitHub and GitLab offer a wide range of third-party integrations. Integrating your version control system with other applications enriches your workflow and can boost productivity for your developers and other employees connected to the software.

Tracking:

GitHub, as well as GitLab, offers a simple issue tracker that lets you change status and assign owners accordingly. Both of them have great reporting tools, including bug reporting and user feedback that can be accessed instantly.

Labels: 

Both utilize a simple system of labeling that allows you to assign informative titles to easily categorize issues, merge requests, and epics. 

Issues: 

Both GitHub and GitLab offer features like setting the issue status, assignees, milestones, and they can each be filtered without a challenging process.

Enterprise solutions: 

Both GitHub and GitLab offer enterprise solutions for businesses.

Differences Between GitHub and GitLab

Open Source: 

Both are open-source platforms and they both provide free private repositories for open-source projects. However, GitHub allows you to have unlimited collaborators and unlimited repositories, while GitLab allows an unlimited number of users with unlimited free private repositories. 

Authentication Level: 

With GitHub, you can decide who gets reading or writing access to your repositories. While in GitLab, users have different levels of access based on their roles. 

Import/Export Features:

GitHub is more restrictive when it comes to import and export features of existing GitHub repositories as it does not provide step-by-by documentation. On the contrary, GitHub provides a GitHub importer tool to make importing and exporting easy. 

GitLab offers quite extensive documents on how to import and export data from external sources including GitHub, Bitbucket, and any GIT URL. Also, GitLab allows you to export projects to other systems.

GitLab Vs GitHub Enterprise:

The decision to use either GitLab or GitHub is highly dependent on the project and organization.

GitLab enterprise is significantly cheaper compared to GitHub. If you are operating on a tight budget, GitLab is a preferred option. It also provides a feature-rich experience. 

Still, GitHub with its established strong market position is highly popular among larger development teams and organizations. 

GitHub Vs GitLab Performance:

GitHub focuses more on high availability and infrastructure performance, whilst delegating other functionalities to third-party tools. Meanwhile, GitLab puts more emphasis on providing maximum features in a robust platform for end-to-end development management.

GitLab CI vs GitHub Actions:

One of the differences between GitLab and GitHub is the built-in CI of GitLab. GitLab provides its CI for free. It has been addressing the DevOps market earlier than its competitor, as well as offering an operation dashboard that lets you understand the dependencies of your development and DevOps efforts. 

Additionally, GitHub released Actions in 2019. Actions allow you to write tasks that automate and customize the development workflow. But it does not come with a deployment platform and needs additional applications. 

Wrapping It Up

Both GitLab and GitHub are web-based repository managers that allow collaborating on code. GitLab has amazing and unique features that allow you to go from development to cloud without necessarily having to use other third-party tools. GitLab has lots of features. On the other hand, GitHub is trusted by many developers. It provides you with a larger number of integrations and offers collaboration tools.

GitHub Actions makes development faster and easier. But for the DevOps lifecycle, GitLab ranks better with its built-in CI/CD framework and monitoring features.

Your choice of repository management platform depends on the objectives you need to achieve and what suits your needs best.

Get in touch with us to discuss more.