Code hosting · replacement recipe

Go from GitHub to GitLab

The job: Git hosting (Private repositories, Pull requests and code review, CI/CD minutes (GitHub Actions), Issues and projects, Protected branches and required reviewers on private repos). Pick where you are today and where you want to land; the move below follows your pick.

From · what you pay for now
GitHub
GitHub Team · $4/mo
Year one−$2modeled
To · your pickCosts more in year one
GitLab
Free plan · $0 a month
Change where you land

The money

$4/mo today $0/mo

GitHub Team

Year one, net−$2
Pays back in12.5 months

Modeled from public list prices, with your time at $50 an hour. Show the math

Does it do the job? 4 of 5 covered

  • Private repositories
  • Pull requests and code review
  • CI/CD minutes (GitHub Actions)
  • Issues and projects
  • Protected branches and required reviewers on private repos

The work

Setup
About 1 h
Upkeep
None
Watch out
Doesn't cover: Protected branches and required reviewers on private repos

Make the move in four steps

  1. Export from GitHub

    Git repositories with their full revision history. Format: Git repository

    Export steps

  2. Set up GitLab

    Teams of up to 5 per private group: GitLab.com Free has 400 shared CI minutes a month and unlimited minutes on your own runners, but approval rules and code owners need Premium.

    Details

  3. Switch links and integrations

    Point links, embeds and integrations at GitLab, then send a test through every one.

  4. Cancel GitHub

    Turn off renewal before your renewal date, once the new setup works. Access runs until: The end of the current billing cycle (the paid period).

    How to cancel GitHub
Open GitLabHow to cancel GitHub
Modeled, not measured. Savings use public prices and planning assumptions: the bill you stop paying, minus the new tool, your upkeep time and your setup time at $50/hour, over the first 12 months. Paths marked Tested by Stackcut were run end to end by us on our own products. They're our tests, not customer results. Check the must-haves in each recipe before you switch.

The whole recipe: 2 ways out, best first

What you use

  • Private repositories
  • Pull requests and code review
  • CI/CD minutes (GitHub Actions)
  • Issues and projects
  • Protected branches and required reviewers on private repos

Not covered

  • Code owners
  • Package registry (GitHub Packages)
  • Wikis on private repos

Check before switching

  • You only rely on: Private repositories, Pull requests and code review, CI/CD minutes (GitHub Actions), Issues and projects, Protected branches and required reviewers on private repos
  • Export your data from GitHub before canceling

Agents: get_recipe("replace-github") on the Stackcut MCP server.

2 ways out, best first

Switch vendorGitLab (free tier)Costs $2 more in year one
$4/mo today → $0/mo · setup 1 h · then $48/yr · payback 12.5 mo
If your use fits the free tier (GitLab.com Free: 5 users per private top-level group; 400 compute minutes a month on shared runners (your own runners are unlimited); 10 GiB of Git and LFS storage per project; basic SAST, secret detection and container scanning. The self-managed Free edition has no user limit.).
Covers 80% of the core features (not: Protected branches and required reviewers on private repos)
Teams of up to 5 per private group: GitLab.com Free has 400 shared CI minutes a month and unlimited minutes on your own runners, but approval rules and code owners need Premium.
How we got this
You pay now: GitHub Team$4/user/mo × 1 user$4/mo
New cost: GitLab (free tier)free plan$0/mo
Difference each month$4 − $0+$4/mo
Over 12 months+$4 × 12+$48
Setup, once1 h × $50/h−$50
Year one+$48 − $50−$2
  • Not counting your time (1 h in year one): saves $48 in year one.

Year one = 12 × (what you pay now − the new cost − upkeep) − setup, with your time at $50/hour. Prices are public list prices; hours are Stackcut’s planning estimates. Price it for your team

Sources: github.comabout.gitlab.com
Switch vendorBitbucketCosts $46 more in year one
$4/mo today → $3.65/mo · setup 1 h · then $4/yr · payback 142.9 mo
Covers 60% of the core features (not: Issues and projects, Protected branches and required reviewers on private repos)
Teams already on Jira: Bitbucket Standard is $3.65 per user a month with 2,500 build minutes, just under GitHub Team's $4.
How we got this
You pay now: GitHub Team$4/user/mo × 1 user$4/mo
New cost: Bitbucket$3.65/user/mo × 1 user$3.65/mo
Difference each month$4 − $3.65+$0.35/mo
Over 12 months+$0.35 × 12+$4
Setup, once1 h × $50/h−$50
Year one+$4 − $50−$46
  • Not counting your time (1 h in year one): saves $4 in year one.

Year one = 12 × (what you pay now − the new cost − upkeep) − setup, with your time at $50/hour. Prices are public list prices; hours are Stackcut’s planning estimates. Price it for your team

Sources: github.comatlassian.com

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