Apache Allura vs Gitea
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted git hosting & forges options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Gitea
Lightweight self-hosted Git service
| Feature | Apache Allura | Gitea |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 68 · Good | 100 · Excellent |
| Category | Git Hosting & Forges | Git Hosting & Forges |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 148 | ★ 58,142 |
| First released | 2012 | 2016 |
| Replaces | GitHub, SourceForge | GitHub, GitLab |
What are Apache Allura and Gitea?
Apache Allura
Apache Allura is the software behind SourceForge, providing repository hosting, ticket tracking, wikis, and discussion forums. It supports Git, Mercurial, and Subversion repositories.
- Multi-VCS repository hosting
- Ticket tracking and wikis
- Discussion forums
- Pluggable tool architecture
Gitea
Gitea is a lightweight, self-hosted Git service offering repositories, issues, pull requests, and CI integration. It targets developers and teams who want a fast, easy-to-run code platform. It is deployed via Docker or a single binary.
- Fast single-binary Git server
- Issues, PRs and wiki
- Built-in package registry
- Gitea Actions CI
Apache Allura vs Gitea: key differences
Apache Allura is written in Python, while Gitea is built with Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Apache Allura versus MIT for Gitea. Gitea is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Apache Allura. Apache Allura is the more established project (first released 2012), while Gitea arrived in 2016. Gitea has the considerably larger community, at 58,142 GitHub stars versus 148.
Why pick each one
Choose Apache Allura if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Choose Gitea if…
- Very lightweight
- Easy to deploy
- Familiar GitHub-like UI
Watch out for
- Fewer features than GitLab
- Governance concerns spurred a fork
Frequently asked questions
Is Apache Allura or Gitea better?
Gitea is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Apache Allura if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Apache Allura and Gitea free and open-source?
Yes. Apache Allura is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Gitea under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Apache Allura and Gitea with Docker?
Apache Allura: yes. Gitea: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Apache Allura or Gitea?
Gitea has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Apache Allura. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.