2 Best Gitea Alternatives in 2025
Last updated: February 2026 • 7 min read
Gitea is a popular tool for teams wanting lightweight self-hosted git. While it offers a free tier (Free (self-hosted)), its paid plans start at Free. Whether you're looking for a cheaper option, better features, or an open-source solution, we've compiled the 2 best Gitea alternatives to help you find the right fit.
📋 Quick Summary
- Total alternatives: 2
- Free alternatives: 2 (GitHub, GitLab)
- Open-source options: GitLab
- Best overall: GitHub
- Best free: GitHub
Why Look for Gitea Alternatives?
People commonly look for Gitea alternatives for several reasons:
- Cost: While Gitea has a free tier, its paid plans starting at Free can add up quickly for growing teams.
- Feature gaps: Smaller ecosystem and fewer integrations are common complaints.
- Simplicity: Some users find Gitea overly complex for their needs and prefer simpler solutions.
- Better fit: Different tools excel at different use cases — you may find a tool that's specifically built for your workflow.
📊 Quick Comparison Table
| Tool | Free Tier | Starting Price | Rating | Open Source | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gitea | ✓ Free (self-hosted) | Free | ⭐ 4.2 | ✓ Yes | Teams wanting lightweight self-hosted Git |
| GitHub | ✓ Unlimited public/private repos | $4/user/mo | ⭐ 4.7 | No | Software development teams and open-source projects |
| GitLab | ✓ Free with 5 GB storage | $29/user/mo | ⭐ 4.3 | ✓ Yes | Teams wanting all-in-one DevOps |
Detailed Reviews of Each Alternative
GitHub
The world's leading platform for software development and version control.
GitHub is the world's largest code hosting platform, used by over 100 million developers. It offers Git repository hosting, code review, project management, CI/CD (GitHub Actions), and Copilot AI. GitHub has become the default platform for open-source and collaborative software development.
Pros
- ✓ Industry standard
- ✓ Generous free tier
- ✓ Massive community
- ✓ Great CI/CD
Cons
- ✗ Microsoft owned
- ✗ Can be complex
- ✗ Limited free CI minutes
- ✗ Expensive Copilot
GitLab
Complete DevOps platform delivered as a single application.
GitLab is a complete DevOps platform that covers the entire software development lifecycle in a single application. From planning and source code management to CI/CD, security testing, and deployment, GitLab provides everything a development team needs. It can also be self-hosted.
Pros
- ✓ All-in-one DevOps
- ✓ Self-hostable
- ✓ Great CI/CD
- ✓ Security features
Cons
- ✗ Complex interface
- ✗ Can be slow
- ✗ Expensive premium
- ✗ Resource heavy to host
🏆 Our Recommendations
❓ FAQ
What is the best free alternative to Gitea?
The best free alternative to Gitea is GitHub, which offers Unlimited public/private repos.
Is there an open-source alternative to Gitea?
Yes! GitLab is open-source alternative to Gitea that you can self-host for free.
What is the cheapest alternative to Gitea?
The cheapest alternatives are the free options: GitHub, GitLab. For paid alternatives, prices start from as low as $4/mo.
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