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DevOps

Free and open-source GitHub alternatives

GitHub (Code hosting, pull requests and CI for software teams) is a commercial product. These 3 tools do the same job and are free to use or to self-host.
Short answer: the best free alternatives to GitHub are Gitea, Forgejo and GitLab CE. Self-hosting is free; you pay only for the server (a small VPS is about $4–6/mo). Licenses and prices checked 2026-10-01.
  1. 1
    Gitea

    Painless self-hosted Git service

    Lightweight self-hosted Git service with issues, PRs and Actions.

    Open source (MIT) ·★ 58k GitHub stars · last commit 2026-10-07 · details

  2. 2
    Forgejo

    Self-hosted lightweight software forge

    Community fork of Gitea; hosted on Codeberg, self-hosted.

    Open source (GPL-3.0-or-later) ·details

  3. 3
    GitLab CE

    Free community edition of GitLab: Git hosting, CI/CD and issues

    Full DevOps platform; the free CE edition omits paid ee/ features.

    Open source (MIT (core)) ·★ 25k GitHub stars · last commit 2026-10-07 · details

Want paid options too? See all GitHub alternatives or the full free alternatives list. Beyond developer tools, OSS Software lists more open-source GitHub alternatives.

FAQ

Is there a free alternative to GitHub?+

Yes. Gitea, Forgejo and GitLab CE do the same job for free; Gitea, Forgejo and GitLab CE are open source.

What is the best open-source alternative to GitHub?+

Gitea is the most starred on GitHub (58k stars). Lightweight self-hosted Git service with issues, PRs and Actions.

Open source: OSI-approved license. Free to self-host: the code is public and free to run yourself, with limits in the license.