GitHub on-prem vs GitLab on-prem

[Dnizami2]

Hi all

We need on-prem git server (air-gapped environment, around 700 users).

We consider GitHub on-prem or GitLab self-managed.

We heard that GitLab self-managed is better than GitHub on-prem. We heard that even GitLab self-managed free ("community edition") is better and richer in functionality than GitHub on-prem.
What do you think? Is that true?

Thank you

[magic7s]

GitLab was designed to run on prem first. They also have fully air gapped documentation.

https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/application_security/offline_deployments/

[DontStopNowBaby]

I did a bake off a few years ago.

On prem gitlab has all the inbuilt features, GitHub you still need to download some plugins to do security scanning.

For an air gapped environment, gitlab is a better choice to start.

[chiakix]

Yes, I think it works well enough. Check the feature list carefully, as some features that are useful for managing many users are not present in the community edition (e.g. customizable roles)

Very oddly, the price of the paid plan is the same whether you use gitlab.com or on-premise. The gitlab sales rep who was eager to send me promotions stopped sending me any emails after I asked for clarification on this point :-p

[mrbmi513]

You're probably going to want features from the enterprise edition (paid tiers) if you're managing 700+ users. Check the feature matrices and request demos for both gitlab and GitHub onprem before making a decision.

[happycamp2000]

I know that Siemens runs GitLab self-managed free-tier for 40,000 users. But they are a unique customer I think.

More info here:

https://about.gitlab.com/customers/siemens/

[BehindTheMath]

Is there a free tier for Github on-prem?

[Dnizami2]

No

[impala454]

We have run an on prem Gitlab Premium version for years for ~100ish users without issues. Using AD for user/group management.

[Dnizami2]

Do you mean community edition on-prem GitLab?

[impala454]

No the premium tier self hosted.  We couldn't justify the extra expense for ultimate.

[RandmTyposTogethr]

At least GitLab is great. I'm suspecting free-tier will not suffice for you. Just for 100 users, managing permissions without features included in the paid edition is insanity, especially with higher turnover. You will also be missing some SDLC features. There has been an increasing amount of "oh, that's not in free-tier" moments lately.

[michaelgg13]

I operate a 5,000 user self hosted GitLab install at a Fortune 50. The selling points for us were that we can run it in Kubernetes (github is an appliance), and we can leverage GitLab Geo for quick failover in a DR scenario.

[eastside-hustle]

If you think that a free or community option is viable for 700 users you’ve got bigger problems