# Free alternatives to GitHub

> GitHub (Team) costs $48 a year. Free alternatives: Forgejo, Gitea and GitLab Community Edition (self-managed). Data checked 2026-10-17.

- Page: https://stoprenting.dev/apps/github/
- Category: Developer Tools (https://stoprenting.dev/categories/developer-tools/)
- Vendor: GitHub (Microsoft)
- Plan: Team
- Price: $4/month, $48/year
- Billing: per user per month
- Price quote from the vendor's page: "Team Advanced collaboration for individuals and organizations $ 4 USD per user/month"
- Price source: https://github.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-17)

## Alternatives

### Forgejo

- Website: https://forgejo.org
- License: GPL-3.0-or-later
- Open source: yes, OSI-approved license
- Type: server app
- Linux: self-hosted server; web UI
- Self-hostable: yes
- Note: You host your own CI runners; most GitHub Actions workflows run with minor changes.
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/forgejo/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

### Gitea

- Website: https://about.gitea.com
- Repository: https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea (58,541 stars, last push 2026-10-17)
- License: MIT
- Open source: yes, OSI-approved license
- Type: server app
- Linux: self-hosted server; web UI
- Self-hostable: yes
- Note: You host your own CI runners; most GitHub Actions workflows run with minor changes.
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/gitea/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

### GitLab Community Edition (self-managed)

- Website: https://about.gitlab.com/install/
- Repository: https://github.com/gitlabhq/gitlabhq (24,551 stars, last push 2026-10-17)
- License: MIT (Community Edition; ee/ directory is proprietary)
- Open source: yes, OSI-approved license
- Type: server app
- Linux: self-hosted server; web UI
- Self-hostable: yes
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/gitlab-community-edition-self-managed/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

## FAQ

### Is there a free alternative to GitHub?

Yes. The 3 free alternatives are Forgejo (open source, GPL-3.0-or-later), Gitea (open source, MIT) and GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) (open source, MIT).

### How much does GitHub cost?

GitHub's Team plan costs $4 a month, which is $48 a year (per user per month). Source: the official pricing page at github.com, checked Oct 17, 2026.

### Which GitHub alternatives run on Linux?

Forgejo (self-hosted server; web UI), Gitea (self-hosted server; web UI) and GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) (self-hosted server; web UI).

### Can you self-host a GitHub alternative?

Yes. Forgejo, Gitea and GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) run on your own server.

### Are these GitHub alternatives open source?

Yes. All 3 use OSI-approved open-source licenses: Forgejo (GPL-3.0-or-later), Gitea (MIT) and GitLab Community Edition (self-managed) (MIT).

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Source: Stop Renting (https://stoprenting.dev). Methodology: https://stoprenting.dev/methodology/