GitHub Alternatives

Introduction to GitHub Alternatives

GitHub is an important tool and works well on an open-source project. GitHub users can use Git or Subversion to manage their software projects. They allow unlimited free public code repositories for all users of GitHub. In addition, Github enables a social networking site for software developers. Three important elements in GitHub used by developers are a fork, merge and pull request. Non- programmers use GitHub to work on multimedia projects and documentary. Although GitHub helps to build a central repository, we have other interesting options to decide alternatives to GitHub to display and store their own creations on the cloud server. In today’s software world, repository management services are key components of version controls tools and code collaboration.

Top 7 GitHub Alternatives

In this article, we briefly discuss the Top seven Alternatives To GitHub and the comparisons between them.

1. Bitbucket

Developer: Atlassian

In contrast to GIT, bitbucket comes in terms of usage and popularity around the globe. They provide a free account for five users at least and also provides free access to the unlimited private and public repository. Different Operating system support this Platform. And they have the Possibility to create a new deployment model for any team members, and it can be deployed in the cloud. They have features like code search, pull request and branching permissions for protecting the job. Atlassian works as a client for a bitbucket. They primarily support for game development by Git large file storage. They have features like integration with Slack, supporting static websites and code aware search, and easily managing the code.

2. SourceForge

Developer: SlashDot Media

It is a centralized place for software developers to manage open source software development.  They provide efficient tools for the developers to create their own open-source projects. It supports any number of individual projects (Apache, File Zilla). SourceForge host both static and dynamic web pages for online code repositories. The pros part is they are reliable and consistent. SourceForge makes it easy for downloading projects. SourceForge allows to the storage of source code and binary files in the repository. They have added features like a wiki, forum, mail list, blog, ticketing system.

SourceForge URL: https://sourceforge.net/projects/myproject/

3. GitLab

Developer: GitLab.com

It is a GIT repository management tool, open-source software. You can install it on your own server with a custom host and a secure and powerful application for handling DevOps Lifecycle to monitor the software. The installation procedure is fast with the availability of packages. They do code reviews and issue tracking process. We use GitLab for clean and intuitive UI. Besides this, they have extended features like Time tracking, updating is regular and easy and unlimited repositories (Private/public for users). Gitlab integrates with third-party apps to allow external authentication and confidentiality. The branching system in gitlab makes it easy to design, test and manage the code effectively.

4. GitKraken

Developer: Junio Hamano

It is a cross Platform Git Client with user–friendly interface which has attractive features such as in-app tasks and merges tool with added undo and redo options and quick to learn. They run on Mac, Windows and Linux system, respectively and free for commercial purpose. The features make it best for collaborating faster on software projects. They are easy to use for beginners with less memory. GitKraken can be used as a primary GIT GUI Tool and can read visually. They have smooth integration with GitLab, BitBucket and GitHub.

5. RhodeCode

Developer: Rhode Code Inc.

It is a good alternative to GitHub with an open-source platform and supports online editing. You can perform and get notifications with live chats and live code reviews from the outside user. It supports Mercurial, Git and SVN. The random facts about Rhode code are they have flexible and advanced code reviews and pre and post-commit. Rhode code’s community version is free, and enterprise edition is paid service. They have very high security (advanced permission system) with centralized user management.

6. Gogs

Developer: GIT

Commonly known as Go Git Service, an alternative to GitHub written in Go (you can execute anywhere) with minimal requirements and requires less RAM. They have a built-in wiki and issue tracking for project documentation. They have a good feature with excellent performance and efficiency. Gogs can be run on any platform.

7. BeanStalk

Developer: WildBit

Another alternative to GitHub is Beanstalk. It allows code editing in the browser, so the user needs not to switch to the command line for every time. BeanStalk is not a free version that need a trial subscription and is a versatile version. They provide strong security for password protection that large corporations make it feel safer in using BeanStalk. BeanStalk has a code review option which is useful for the teams to look out for outside coders. They allow organizing multiple environments. They run for Git and SVN hosting.

Comparison Table for GITHub Alternatives

Following is the comparison table explained below:

Comparison of GIT Alternatives	GitLab	SourceForge	BitBucket	RhodeCode	Gogs	BeanStalk	GitKraken
Type	Host and self-hosted on a cloud server	Website host	Host and self-hosted	Self – Hosted	Self – Hosting	Versatile Platform	Cross-Platform
Cost-effectiveness	Free	Free	Free subscription for five users	Free	Free Version	Paid version dollar 15/mo	Free version available.
Source and support	Open Source and imports GIT	Open source Projects	Closed Source and supports GIT, CodePlex, HG	Open Source with the community edition.	Open Source with MIT license.	Open Source	They are not open source.
Multiple database systems	Supported with a limited version	MySql Database	They have good functionality	They have good functionality	They support only GIT management and SQL driver and go-sqlite3.	Amazon RDS	Kraken _db
Built-in CI/CD	They have good CI/CD feature	NIL	NIL. CI tool is not free.	NIL	They have built-in CI/Continuous delivery for free.	Yes, using AWS.	They have CI/CD Integrations.
Pull- Merge Request	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with simple pull request/ commit-by commit.	Cannot make pull-request	Creates new comment in pull-request.	Pull request for certain branch is available.
Web hosting	Static	Dynamic and CMS	Static sites	Nil	GitLab Pages	No hosting	Web App
Code reviews	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes. They have powerful code reviews.	Yes	Yes	To review repository they have code reviews.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide on GitHub Alternatives. Here we have discussed the top 7 GitHub Alternatives with a comprehensive table of comparison. You may also look at the following article to learn more –

1. GitHub Commands
2. GIT Commands List
3. GitLab vs GitHub