Replace / GitLab.com
Best free GitLab.com alternatives (open source, self-hosted) 2026
The best open-source alternative to GitLab.com is Forgejo or Gitea, self-hosted on Railway. Git you host. Forgejo is a community git forge; Gitea is MIT — GitHub and Bitbucket Cloud without the workspace seat.
Estimated save $1,200 a year.
Open the stackStart on Railway
How GitLab.com compares
| GitLab.com | Forgejo / Gitea | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Hosted subscription | Open-source or fair-code license; you pay the host |
| Hosting | Vendor cloud | Self-hosted on Railway or any VPS |
| Rough monthly cost | Public list price not verified this run | Hosting only — no SaaS seat meter in this repo |
FAQ
- What is the best free open-source GitLab.com alternative?
- The best open-source alternative to GitLab.com is Forgejo or Gitea, self-hosted on Railway. Git you host. Forgejo is a community git forge; Gitea is MIT — GitHub and Bitbucket Cloud without the workspace seat.
- Is it free?
- The Forgejo / Gitea licenses are open source or fair-code. You still pay hosting (Railway or any VPS) and any APIs the stack calls. There is no GitLab.com seat or task bill on this path.
- Can I migrate from GitLab.com?
- Yes. Start with the workflows or data you actually use, then cut over. The Forgejo / Gitea stack page has the agent prompt and the cost table; most teams rebuild the slice that matters and leave old GitLab.com links until they expire.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open the Forgejo / Gitea stack, copy the agent prompt, and deploy on Railway (one service, PORT, and a volume when the app needs disk). Placeholder: Forgejo (or Gitea) + a volume for repos and a database. Actions runners want Docker — often a second box. CI pipelines can sit on /stacks/woodpecker-ci. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway.
- What does this replace?
- GitHub / Bitbucket Cloud. The published small-team estimate on this stack is $1,200 a year.
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