Forgejo vs GitLab
Forgejo and GitLab are both open-source forges, at opposite sizes. GitLab, run from Rotterdam, is a complete DevSecOps platform with pipelines, security scanning and planning, self-hosted or as SaaS. Forgejo is a lightweight, MIT-licensed forge governed by the German non-profit Codeberg e.V., self-hosted only. Teams wanting the whole toolchain choose GitLab; projects wanting a small, community-run forge choose Forgejo.
Choose Forgejo if
you want a light forge on modest hardware with built-in CI, governed by community vote instead of a company, and you care about federation between independent instances.
Read the Forgejo reviewChoose GitLab if
you need repositories, CI/CD, SAST and DAST scanning, registries and agile planning under one permissions model, or want a hosted service with EU data residency.
Read the GitLab reviewForgejo and GitLab side by side
| Forgejo | GitLab | |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Forgejo (under Codeberg e.V.) | GitLab |
| Headquarters | Berlin, Germany | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Jurisdiction | Self-hosted; governed by a German non-profit | EU (Netherlands) |
| Where the data sits | Wherever you deploy it | Self-hosted anywhere, or SaaS with EU data residency options |
| Pricing | Free (self-hosted) | Free tier / Premium $29 per user per month / Ultimate $99 per user per month |
| Free tier or trial | Free | Free tier with unlimited private repositories |
| Certifications and checks | GDPR | GDPR |
| Source code | Open source (MIT) | Open source (Community Edition open source) |
| Usually replaces | GitHub, GitLab, Gitea | GitHub, Bitbucket |
| Position in our Developer Tools guide | #4 of 15 | #1 of 15 |
Both are listed in our European Developer Tools guide. The table is built from the same directory data as those entries; how we check it is described in the editorial process.
Where Forgejo and GitLab differ
Across the four points below, Forgejo has the edge on 2 points and GitLab on 2 points. A count like that is a summary, not a verdict: the point that matters to you may be the one the other product wins.
Scope of the platform
GitLab covers repository management, code review, CI/CD pipelines, DevSecOps scanning including SAST and DAST, package and container registries, Kubernetes integration and agile planning in one product. Forgejo provides git hosting, issue tracking, project management and Forgejo Actions for CI/CD. For a team replacing GitHub plus everything bolted onto it, GitLab covers far more ground.
Edge: GitLab
Weight of self-hosting
Forgejo has a lightweight single-process architecture that runs on modest hardware, sharing Gitea's design of one binary plus a database. Self-hosted GitLab needs substantial resources and maintenance, and is heavier and slower than the lightweight forges. If you run the server yourself and the team is small, Forgejo asks much less of the machine and the administrator.
Edge: Forgejo
Governance and licence
Forgejo operates within Codeberg e.V., where decisions are taken by community consensus through public discussion, RFC processes and democratic voting, and its code is MIT-licensed. GitLab is a company with an open-source Community Edition and paid Premium and Ultimate tiers. For projects that want no commercial owner over their forge, Forgejo is the clearer answer.
Edge: Forgejo
Hosting options and support
GitLab can be self-hosted anywhere or used as SaaS with EU data residency options, with a free tier and priority support from Premium at $29 per user a month. Forgejo is self-hosted: you run and maintain the infrastructure, and there is no commercial support offering. Teams that want someone else to operate or support the forge need GitLab.
Edge: GitLab
When neither Forgejo nor GitLab fits
If you want a community-governed forge without running a server, neither fits: Codeberg hosts open-source projects free, under the same association that houses Forgejo. And Gitea offers the same lightweight design as Forgejo with a larger ecosystem and commercial backing.
Forgejo vs GitLab: questions
No. Forgejo was forked from Gitea in 2022, after community members grew concerned about that project's direction once a commercial entity formed around it. It remains technically very similar to Gitea. GitLab is a separate, much larger platform with its own open-source Community Edition, operated from Rotterdam.
Forgejo includes Forgejo Actions for built-in CI/CD. GitLab's pipelines are part of a wider platform that adds SAST and DAST security scanning, dependency scanning and registries, with 400 CI/CD minutes a month on the free SaaS tier. Forgejo's review does not list security scanning, so compare on what your pipelines actually need.
With Forgejo, wherever you deploy it: it is self-hosted and governed by a German non-profit. GitLab's Community Edition can likewise run on-premise or in any cloud with complete data control, and its SaaS offering has EU data residency options. GitLab operates from Rotterdam under Dutch and EU jurisdiction.