What is the difference between GitHub and Gitea?

GitHub is best for Open-source projects and teams that want the largest developer ecosystem, while Gitea is best for Teams wanting lightweight self-hosted Git. GitHub starts at Free and Gitea starts at Free.

Is GitHub or Gitea cheaper?

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

Is there a free alternative to Gitea?

Both GitHub and Gitea offer free tiers.

GitHub vs Gitea

GitHub is code hosting, version control, and developer collaboration platform powered by Git, 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. GitHub is built for open-source projects and teams that want the largest developer ecosystem, whereas Gitea targets teams wanting lightweight self-hosted git.

At a glance

	GitHub	Gitea
Best for	Open-source projects and teams that want the largest developer ecosystem	Teams wanting lightweight self-hosted Git
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Actions CI	—	✓
Actions CI/CD	✓	—
Code Review	✓	—
Copilot AI	✓	—
Issues	✓	—
Lightweight	—	✓
Package Registry	—	✓
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

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 GitHub and Gitea 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 Gitea lacks. Gitea brings Actions CI, Lightweight and Package Registry that GitHub does not have.

Team fit: GitHub is geared toward any size 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. 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. 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 GitHub, users commonly note that owned by microsoft — data sovereignty concerns. With Gitea, 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
Your team size fits the any size profile GitHub is designed for

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