OSI-licensed only · self-hostable
GitLab is an open-core DevOps platform: its Community Edition (the FOSS mirror) is MIT-licensed, while paid editions add proprietary features. People look at alternatives for lighter resource use, a different licence mix, or a tool that does only part of the job.
Every tool below is under an OSI-approved licence (MIT, GPL-3.0-or-later or Apache-2.0), checked against its repository. Some are full Git platforms, others cover only CI or code review, so pick the combination that fits.
Licences checked against each repository on November 7, 2026.
| Tool | Best for | Licence | Runs as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gitea | Lightweight all-in-one Git service | MIT | Docker |
| Forgejo | Community-governed Git forge | GPL-3.0-or-later | Docker |
| Gogs | Minimal self-hosted Git | MIT | Docker |
| OneDev | Git plus CI/CD and boards in one | MIT | Docker |
| Gitness | Code hosting with pipelines | Apache-2.0 | Docker |
| Woodpecker CI | Container-based CI for Gitea, Forgejo and others | Apache-2.0 | Docker |
| Jenkins | Mature, plugin-rich CI automation | MIT | Server |
| Gerrit | Rigorous code review on Git | Apache-2.0 | Server |
Best for: Lightweight all-in-one Git service
A self-hosted software development service in Go covering Git hosting, code review, issues, wikis, a package registry and CI/CD that can reuse GitHub Actions.
Best for: Community-governed Git forge
A Git hosting platform intended to be owned by an independent community, with issues, pull requests, wikis, kanban, a package registry and CI integration. Versions before 9.0 were MIT.
Best for: Minimal self-hosted Git
A simple, stable and extensible self-hosted Git service that is easy to set up.
Best for: Git plus CI/CD and boards in one
A self-hosted DevOps platform with Git hosting, CI/CD, Kanban boards, issue workflows, package registries and a wiki.
Best for: Code hosting with pipelines
An open-source development platform with code hosting, automated pipelines, hosted dev environments and artifact registries. It evolved from Drone.
Best for: Container-based CI for Gitea, Forgejo and others
A simple but powerful CI/CD engine with great extensibility, using SQLite by default and plugins.
Best for: Mature, plugin-rich CI automation
The leading open-source automation server, with over 2,000 plugins for building, testing and deploying.
Best for: Rigorous code review on Git
A tool for reviewing code and managing projects that use Git, with side-by-side changes and inline comments. The GitHub repo is a mirror.
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| If you need… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Closest self-hosted forge, light on resources | Gitea or Forgejo |
| Community-governed forge | Forgejo |
| Git plus CI/CD plus boards in one | OneDev |
| Minimal Git hosting | Gogs |
| CI only | Woodpecker CI or Jenkins |
| Strict review process | Gerrit |
Quick answers to common questions
Partly. GitLab's FOSS mirror is MIT-licensed, while GitLab's paid editions contain proprietary code. It is an open-core product.
Gitea and Forgejo are popular lightweight choices. OneDev is closer if you want CI/CD and boards in one tool.
Forgejo is community-governed and is distributed under GPL-3.0 or later from v9.0, whereas Gitea is MIT licensed.
Gitea and OneDev have built-in CI; Woodpecker CI and Jenkins are standalone CI tools you pair with a Git host.
Git repositories move easily. Issues and merge requests may need import tools, so check each project's documentation.
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