Gitea
FreemiumGit with a cup of tea.
Published 16 October 2026
Scores
Popularity3/5
The best-known self-hosted Git platform with a large star count and a place in most self-hosting guides and one-click catalogs, but it is mainly known to developers who run their own servers.
Learning Curve2/5
One binary or container with a web-based install page makes setup quick, and the interface follows GitHub's conventions, so most developers are productive straight away. Runners, mirroring, and LDAP take more configuration.
Flexibility4/5
Repositories, packages, Actions, and several authentication methods cover most team needs, and the database is a free choice. It has fewer integrations and extension points than GitHub or GitLab.
Performance5/5
A Go binary that runs in a few hundred megabytes of memory, so a small VPS serves a whole team. CI load sits on the separate runners, not on the Gitea server.
Portability5/5
MIT licensed, uses standard Git, and can import from and export to other forges, with a choice of five databases. Actions workflows follow GitHub's format closely, which eases moving between platforms.
About Gitea
Gitea is an open-source self-hosted Git platform written in Go. It gives a team the parts of GitHub it uses every day (repositories, pull requests with code review, issues, project boards, wikis, and a package registry) from one program that you run on your own server.
Its main draw is how little it needs. Gitea ships as a single binary or a Docker image, runs comfortably in a few hundred megabytes of memory, and stores its data in a database of your choice: SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, or Microsoft SQL Server. SQLite suits a small team, while PostgreSQL is the usual pick as an instance grows. A small VPS is enough to host a whole company's code, which is why it is a common first choice for self-hosting.
Continuous integration comes from Gitea Actions, a built-in CI/CD system whose workflow files are mostly compatible with GitHub Actions. Gitea does not run jobs itself: they are handed to a separate runner program that you install on a machine you control, so existing GitHub workflows often move over with few changes. Authentication works with local accounts, LDAP, OAuth2, and SSO providers, and repositories can be migrated in from GitHub, GitLab, and other forges.
The core is MIT licensed and free. The project is maintained by Gitea Ltd together with community contributors, and the company sells Gitea Enterprise, which adds SAML single sign-on, audit logs, and support, as well as a managed Gitea Cloud. Gitea is a code host rather than a deployment tool, so it is usually installed on a VPS from a provider like Hetzner or DigitalOcean.
Key Features
- Git hosting with pull requests, code review, issues, and project boards
- Single Go binary or Docker image with a small memory footprint
- SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server as the database
- Gitea Actions CI/CD, mostly compatible with GitHub Actions workflows
- Built-in package registry for npm, PyPI, container images, and more
- Migration from GitHub, GitLab, and other forges
- LDAP, OAuth2, and SSO sign-in
- MIT licensed core with no feature gating
Pros
- Very light: a few hundred megabytes of memory for a small team
- Simple install and upgrades, as one binary or one container
- Familiar GitHub-style interface and workflow
- Actions workflows are mostly compatible with GitHub Actions
- Free and MIT licensed, with a paid Enterprise plan only for SSO, audit logs, and support
Cons
- CI needs a separate runner that you install and secure yourself
- Smaller ecosystem of integrations and marketplace actions than GitHub or GitLab
- Maintained by a for-profit company, which some self-hosters avoid in favour of Forgejo
- Fewer built-in enterprise and security features than GitLab
- SQLite does not scale well for growing instances
Gitea Pricing
Freemium- · Free forever, MIT licensed
- · Unlimited users and repositories
- · Git hosting, issues, pull requests, packages, and Actions CI/CD
- · You provide and pay for the server separately
- · Per user, with a one-year commitment
- · SAML single sign-on and audit logs
- · Priority support with an SLA
- · Discounts for non-profits and small companies
- · Fully managed Gitea hosted by Gitea Ltd
- · Pricing on request
- · Free trial available
Tech Stacks with Gitea
Self-Hosted Version Control
InfrastructureRun your own Git hosting with Gitea or Forgejo in Docker on a server you control: repositories, pull requests, issues, and a package registry for your team, with a database (PostgreSQL by default, SQLite for a small group) keeping the metadata. Both are lightweight programs that run on a small server, and both have CI built in that runs on a separate runner.
Tools Related to Gitea
Alternatives to Gitea(3)
Forgejo began as a fork of Gitea and has been a hard fork since 2024, so they no longer swap in place. Gitea is run by Gitea Ltd under the MIT license with a paid Enterprise edition and Actions that are mostly GitHub-compatible; Forgejo is governed by a non-profit under the GPL.
Gitea gives a small team a GitHub-style workflow of pull requests, issues, packages, and Actions on a server it owns, running in a few hundred megabytes of memory. GitHub is the hosted service with far larger reach, an Actions marketplace, and the open-source network effect.
Both can be self-hosted for free. Gitea is a light single binary focused on Git hosting, pull requests, and Actions; GitLab Community Edition is a much heavier all-in-one DevOps platform with built-in pipelines, registries, and security scanning.
Vendor
Gitea Ltd
Website →Tags
Details
- Maintained
- Yes
- Primary languages
- Any
- Type
- Cloud IDE
- Open source
- Yes
- GitHub stars
- 58.5k
- AI features
- None
- Stars updated
- 2026-10-15