Self-hosted GitLab/Gitea vs GitHub cloud
GitHub is the default for a reason: it is where the community is, and it is free for public and small private projects. Self-hosting GitLab CE, Gitea or Forgejo puts the same workflow on your own hardware. The trade is community reach and zero maintenance versus control and cost at scale.
At a glance
HostingSwift vs GitHub (cloud).
| HostingSwift | GitHub (cloud) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Flat VPS cost regardless of seats | Free tier, then per-seat pricing |
| Where code lives | Your server, your backups, your rules | GitHub's infrastructure |
| Community/discovery | Private to your team | The global open-source community |
| CI/CD minutes | Bounded by your server | Metered on paid plans |
| Maintenance | You update and back up it | None |
| Best for | Teams with data-residency needs or many seats | Open-source projects and small teams |
Where GitHub (cloud) genuinely wins
If these describe you, choose the alternative. We would rather you were happy than mis-sold.
- You want your project discovered by the open-source community.
- You contribute to upstream projects and want them in one place.
- You want zero maintenance and the best third-party integrations.
Where HostingSwift wins
The cases where our approach is the better fit.
- You have data-residency or compliance rules the code must stay on-prem.
- You have enough seats that per-seat pricing has become expensive.
- You want your runners, registry and code on one private network.
The verdict
Open source and community → GitHub. Private, compliant and cost-sensitive at scale → self-hosted GitLab CE or Gitea. Plenty of teams use both: a private self-hosted mirror for internal code, GitHub for public projects.
Frequently asked questions
Which self-hosted option is lightest?
Gitea and Forgejo run happily on a 1–2 GB VPS. GitLab CE is a full DevOps platform and wants 4 GB+ of RAM.
Can I mirror between GitHub and self-hosted Git?
Yes — most self-hosted platforms support pull/push mirrors, so you can keep a copy in both places.
Related services
Still weighing it up?
Tell us what you are running and we will give you a straight answer — including when the answer is the other option.
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