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Indie alternatives to GitHub

6 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what GitHub does, 5 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.

At a glance

Product	Price	Open source	Self-host	Platforms
Codeberg	Free	Yes	–	Web
Forgejo	Free	Yes	Yes	Self-hosted, Linux
Gitea	Free plan	Yes	Yes	Self-hosted, Web
GitLab	Free plan	–	Yes	Web, Self-hosted
OneDev	Free plan	Yes	Yes	Self-hosted
SourceHut	Paid	Yes	Yes	Web, Self-hosted

The alternatives

1. Codeberg

Non-profit, community-run Git hosting

Codeberg is a free Git hosting service for open-source projects run by a German non-profit, powered by Forgejo.

Free · Web · Website ↗

2. Forgejo

Self-hosted, community-run git forge

Forgejo is a lightweight open-source software forge with git hosting, code review, issues, packages and CI, governed by its community.

Free · Self-hosted, Linux · Website ↗

3. Gitea

Lightweight self-hosted Git service

Gitea is a painless self-hosted Git server with code review, issues, packages and Actions CI, with an enterprise cloud option.

Free plan · Self-hosted, Web · Website ↗

4. GitLab

DevSecOps platform with Git hosting and CI/CD

GitLab combines Git repositories, merge requests, CI/CD, package registry and security scanning, as SaaS or self-managed.

Free plan · Web, Self-hosted · Website ↗

5. OneDev

Self-hosted Git server with CI/CD and kanban

OneDev is an all-in-one self-hosted Git server with built-in CI/CD, code search, issue boards and packages.

Free plan · Self-hosted · Website ↗

6. SourceHut

Minimalist software forge with mailing lists and CI

SourceHut is a lightweight, JavaScript-free suite for Git and Mercurial hosting, mailing lists, ticket tracking and builds.

Paid · Web, Self-hosted · Website ↗

Questions

Is there a free alternative to GitHub?

Yes. 5 of the 6 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: Codeberg, Forgejo, Gitea, GitLab and 1 more.

Is there an open-source alternative to GitHub?

Codeberg, Forgejo, Gitea, OneDev and 1 more are open source.

Can I self-host an alternative to GitHub?

Yes: Forgejo, Gitea, GitLab, OneDev and 1 more can run on your own server.

Which GitHub alternatives work on Mac, Windows, iPhone or Android?

On Linux: Forgejo. On the web: Codeberg, Gitea, GitLab and 1 more.

What makes these alternatives to GitHub “indie”?

They are built by independent developers or small teams rather than large companies. Each one is listed because it does the same core job as GitHub.

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