What is the difference between GitHub and Forgejo?

GitHub is best for Open-source projects and teams that want the largest developer ecosystem, while Forgejo is best for Communities wanting a community-owned Git forge. GitHub starts at Free and Forgejo starts at Free.

Is GitHub or Forgejo cheaper?

GitHub starts at Free and is free. Forgejo starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Forgejo?

Both GitHub and Forgejo offer free tiers.

GitHub vs Forgejo

GitHub is code hosting, version control, and developer collaboration platform powered by Git, while Forgejo is community-owned software forge — a Gitea fork focused on governance and sustainability. Forgejo is open source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your data. GitHub is built for open-source projects and teams that want the largest developer ecosystem, whereas Forgejo targets communities wanting a community-owned git forge.

At a glance

	GitHub	Forgejo
Best for	Open-source projects and teams that want the largest developer ecosystem	Communities wanting a community-owned Git forge
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Actions CI	—	✓
Actions CI/CD	✓	—
Code Review	✓	—
Community-Owned	—	✓
Copilot AI	✓	—
Issues	✓	—
Packages	—	✓
Pull Requests	✓	—
Self-Hosted	—	✓

GitHub

Strengths

Largest developer community and open-source ecosystem
GitHub Actions for CI/CD included
Copilot AI integration
Generous free tier including private repos

Weaknesses

Owned by Microsoft — data sovereignty concerns
Cannot self-host (except GitHub Enterprise Server)
Issue tracking is basic compared to dedicated tools
Pricing for advanced features can be steep

Try GitHub → Full review

Forgejo

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Includes Community-Owned as a core feature, purpose-built for version control workflows
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 Forgejo → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both GitHub and Forgejo are free, so this decision comes down to features and philosophy rather than budget.

Feature gaps: GitHub offers Actions CI/CD, Code Review and Copilot AI that Forgejo lacks. Forgejo brings Actions CI, Community-Owned and Packages that GitHub does not have.

Team fit: Both tools target any size teams, so the decision hinges on features and workflow fit rather than scale.

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

Where each tool shines: GitHub's biggest strengths are: largest developer community and open-source ecosystem. github actions for ci/cd included. Forgejo's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. includes community-owned as a core feature, purpose-built for version control workflows.

Watch out for: With GitHub, users commonly note that owned by microsoft — data sovereignty concerns. With Forgejo, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.

Choose GitHub if...

You need a tool built for open-source projects and teams that want the largest developer ecosystem
You specifically need Actions CI/CD and Code Review
You care about github actions for ci/cd included

Choose Forgejo if...

You need a tool built for communities wanting a community-owned git forge
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Actions CI and Community-Owned
You care about includes community-owned as a core feature, purpose-built for version control workflows