What is the difference between Bitbucket and Gitea?

Bitbucket is best for Atlassian users who want integrated Git hosting, while Gitea is best for Teams wanting lightweight self-hosted Git. Bitbucket starts at Free and Gitea starts at Free.

Is Bitbucket or Gitea cheaper?

Bitbucket starts at Free with a free tier. Gitea starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Gitea?

Both Bitbucket and Gitea offer free tiers.

Bitbucket vs Gitea

Bitbucket is git repository hosting with built-in CI/CD pipelines, integrated with Jira and other Atlassian tools, while Gitea is lightweight, self-hosted Git service written in Go — fast, easy to install, and open source. Gitea is open source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your data. Bitbucket is built for atlassian users who want integrated git hosting, whereas Gitea targets teams wanting lightweight self-hosted git.

At a glance

	Bitbucket	Gitea
Best for	Atlassian users who want integrated Git hosting	Teams wanting lightweight self-hosted Git
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Actions CI	—	✓
Git Hosting	✓	—
Jira Integration	✓	—
Lightweight	—	✓
Package Registry	—	✓
Pipelines CI/CD	✓	—
Pull Requests	✓	—
Self-Hosted	—	✓

Bitbucket

Strengths

Includes Git Hosting as a core feature, purpose-built for version control workflows
Includes Pipelines CI/CD as a core feature, purpose-built for version control workflows
Free for up to 5 users — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Established product with 18+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Large binary files (videos, PSDs) are still a pain to manage in Git-based systems
Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Try Bitbucket → Full review

Gitea

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Self-hosted deployment gives you full control over your data and infrastructure
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Self-hosting requires Linux admin skills and ongoing server maintenance
Large binary files (videos, PSDs) are still a pain to manage in Git-based systems

Try Gitea → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both Bitbucket and Gitea are free. You can try both without spending a dollar.

Feature gaps: Bitbucket offers Git Hosting, Jira Integration and Pipelines CI/CD that Gitea lacks. Gitea brings Actions CI, Lightweight and Package Registry that Bitbucket does not have.

Team fit: Bitbucket is geared toward mid-size teams teams, while Gitea is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Gitea is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Bitbucket is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Bitbucket's biggest strengths are: includes git hosting as a core feature, purpose-built for version control workflows. includes pipelines ci/cd as a core feature, purpose-built for version control workflows. Gitea's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. self-hosted deployment gives you full control over your data and infrastructure.

Watch out for: With Bitbucket, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With Gitea, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.

Choose Bitbucket if...

You need a tool built for atlassian users who want integrated git hosting
You specifically need Git Hosting and Jira Integration
You care about includes pipelines ci/cd as a core feature, purpose-built for version control workflows
Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile Bitbucket is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for up to 5 users

Choose Gitea if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams wanting lightweight self-hosted git
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Actions CI and Lightweight
You care about self-hosted deployment gives you full control over your data and infrastructure
Your team size fits the small teams profile Gitea is designed for