AppBreakup

Gitea alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Oct 25, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

Common reasons people leave Gitea: smaller ecosystem than GitHub or GitLab, and company-led governance split the community. We ranked 5 alternatives by how directly each one replaces Gitea, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. Forgejo currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#AppPricingOpen sourcePlatformsVerified factsScore
1Forgejo logoForgejoOpen sourceYesSelf-hosted, Web, Linux4 of 466.5
2GitLab logoGitLabFree plan + paidYesWeb, Self-hosted4 of 462.6
3Gogs logoGogsOpen sourceYesSelf-hosted, Linux, macOS +13 of 359.6
4OneDev logoOneDevOpen sourceYesSelf-hosted, Web4 of 457.2
  1. Forgejo logo

    1. ForgejoTop pick

    Best for: Self-hosters who want a light forge run by a non-profit community rather than a company

    Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Web, Linux

    66.5

    score / 100

    Why switch from Gitea

    Community-governed fork of Gitea with a copyleft licence and federation work.

    Pros

    • Community governance under a non-profit
    • Light to run with built-in Actions CI
    • Copyleft licence guards against proprietary forks

    Cons

    • Smaller ecosystem than GitHub or GitLab
    • No official paid support from the project
    • Federation features are still in progress
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.3100
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Forgejo a good Gitea alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    License
    GPL v3+ (from v9.0)
    Checked Oct 25, 2026forgejo.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Stewardship
    Non-profit Codeberg e.V.
    Checked Oct 25, 2026forgejo.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Self-hosting
    Yes
    Checked Oct 25, 2026forgejo.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Free software
    Always
    Checked Oct 25, 2026forgejo.org(opens source in a new tab)
  2. GitLab logo

    2. GitLab

    Best for: Organisations wanting code, CI/CD and security in one tool, often self-managed

    Free plan + paidOpen sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted

    62.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from Gitea

    Heavier but far more complete DevSecOps platform.

    Pros

    • Very capable built-in CI/CD
    • Free self-managed Community Edition
    • One product covering most of the delivery lifecycle

    Cons

    • Dense interface with many features
    • Key features locked to expensive tiers
    • Free hosted tier is limited to 5 users per group
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.387
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is GitLab a good Gitea alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Free plan
    $0, 5 users per group
    Checked Oct 25, 2026about.gitlab.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Free compute minutes
    400/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026about.gitlab.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Premium plan
    $29 per user/month (billed annually)
    Checked Oct 25, 2026about.gitlab.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Premium compute minutes
    10,000/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026about.gitlab.com(opens source in a new tab)
  3. Gogs logo

    3. Gogs

    Best for: Homelabs and small teams that just need simple private Git hosting on tiny hardware

    Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Linux, macOS, Windows

    59.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from Gitea

    Even simpler self-hosted Git service, the project Gitea forked from.

    Pros

    • Extremely light on resources
    • Single binary, very easy to install
    • Free and MIT-licensed

    Cons

    • No built-in CI or package registry
    • Slower development than Gitea and Forgejo
    • Fewer collaboration features
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.377
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Gogs a good Gitea alternative?

    Verified facts

    3 of 3 verified
    License
    MIT
    Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Minimum resources
    64 MiB RAM
    Checked Oct 25, 2026gogs.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Platforms
    Linux, macOS, Windows, ARM
    Checked Oct 25, 2026gogs.io(opens source in a new tab)
  4. OneDev logo

    4. OneDev

    Best for: Teams wanting self-hosted Git plus strong built-in CI/CD without GitLab's weight

    Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Web

    57.2

    score / 100

    Why switch from Gitea

    Self-hosted Git with a more advanced built-in CI/CD engine.

    Pros

    • GUI-built CI/CD jobs, runnable locally
    • Language-aware code search and navigation
    • Free MIT-licensed community edition

    Cons

    • Small community and ecosystem
    • Java-based server needs more memory than Gitea
    • Some features only in the paid edition
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.369
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is OneDev a good Gitea alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    License
    MIT
    Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Enterprise price
    $6 per user/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026onedev.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Community Edition
    Free
    Checked Oct 25, 2026onedev.io(opens source in a new tab)
    CI/CD
    Built-in, no YAML required
    Checked Oct 25, 2026onedev.io(opens source in a new tab)

The best Gitea alternative for…

The highest-ranked app in this list for each need.

Forgejo logo

Best Gitea alternative for most people

Forgejo

Community-governed fork of Gitea with a copyleft licence and federation work.

Gogs logo

Best Gitea alternative for a free option

Gogs

Even simpler self-hosted Git service, the project Gitea forked from.

GitLab logo

Best Gitea alternative for a free plan you can upgrade

GitLab

Heavier but far more complete DevSecOps platform.

OneDev logo

Best Gitea alternative for open source

OneDev

Self-hosted Git with a more advanced built-in CI/CD engine.

GitHub logo

Best Gitea alternative for self-hosting

GitHub

Hosted, with the largest community and integrations.

Gogs logo

Best Gitea alternative for Mac

Gogs

Even simpler self-hosted Git service, the project Gitea forked from.

Gogs logo

Best Gitea alternative for Windows

Gogs

Even simpler self-hosted Git service, the project Gitea forked from.

Forgejo logo

Best Gitea alternative for Linux

Forgejo

Community-governed fork of Gitea with a copyleft licence and federation work.

GitHub logo

Best Gitea alternative for iPhone and Android

GitHub

Hosted, with the largest community and integrations.

Forgejo logo

Best Gitea alternative for working in the browser

Forgejo

Community-governed fork of Gitea with a copyleft licence and federation work.

Gitea alternatives: common questions

What is the best alternative to Gitea?

Forgejo ranks first right now. Community-governed fork of Gitea with a copyleft licence and federation work. GitLab and Gogs follow it in our ranking.

Is there a free alternative to Gitea?

Yes. Forgejo (open source), GitLab (free plan + paid), Gogs (open source) and OneDev (open source) have a free option. Check each app's verified facts for current plan limits.

Is there an open-source alternative to Gitea?

Yes: Forgejo, GitLab, Gogs and OneDev. Forgejo, GitLab and Gogs can also be self-hosted.

Which Gitea alternatives work on Linux?

Forgejo and Gogs run on Linux.

Why do people switch from Gitea?

The complaints we hear most: smaller ecosystem than GitHub or GitLab; company-led governance split the community; some enterprise features are paid.

How is this list ranked?

Every app is scored with the same published formula: how directly it replaces Gitea, reviews (weighted by verification), visits from AppBreakup, how recently its facts were checked against its own website, and reader votes.