What does GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) replace?

GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) is a free alternative to GitHub ($48/yr) and GitLab ($348/yr).

Is GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) open source?

Yes. GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) is licensed under MIT, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Yes (self-hosted server; web UI).

Yes. GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) is a server app you run on your own server, and its repository includes Docker files.

A free, open-source alternative to GitHub and GitLab. Switching saves up to $348/yr at list price.

Checked Oct 17, 2026 · How we check

Self-hosted server

Replaces it Active Open source · MIT Linux Self-hostable

gitlabhq/gitlabhq24.6k★last push Oct 17, 2026checked Oct 17, 2026

Imports your data: built-in GitHub importer (repos, issues, pull requests, wiki)

Self-host

Runs on your own Linux server, with Docker files in the repo. Setup docs are on about.gitlab.com.

What does GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) replace?: GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) is a free alternative to GitHub ($48/yr) and GitLab ($348/yr).
Is GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) open source?: Yes. GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) is licensed under MIT, an OSI-approved open-source license.
Does GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) run on Linux?: Yes (self-hosted server; web UI).
Can you self-host GitLab Community Edition (self-managed)?: Yes. GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) is a server app you run on your own server, and its repository includes Docker files.