Overview

Gitea is a lightweight, self-hosted Git service written in Go — fast, easy to install, and open source. It handles self-hosted, lightweight, actions ci, and package registry, and it's best suited for teams wanting lightweight self-hosted git. It has been around since 2016, giving it a 10-year head start in building out integrations and refining the product.

The core product is entirely free. Since it's open-source, you can self-host for free with no user limits. It's designed for small teams, striking a balance between simplicity and collaboration features.

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

Quick info

Category
Version Control
Starting price
Free
Free tier
Fully free
Open source
Yes
Best for
Small teams
Founded
2016

Last updated 2026-04-12

Quick comparisons

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