GitBucket vs Gogs
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted git hosting & forges options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | GitBucket | Gogs |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Git Hosting & Forges | Git Hosting & Forges |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Scala | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | docker, binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,403 | ★ 47,824 |
| First released | 2013 | 2014 |
| Replaces | GitHub | GitHub, Bitbucket |
What are GitBucket and Gogs?
GitBucket
GitBucket is a Git hosting platform written in Scala that offers a familiar GitHub-style interface, plugin system, and easy installation as a single WAR file. It includes issues, wiki, and pull requests.
- Single WAR deployment
- Plugin ecosystem
- Built-in wiki and issues
- GitHub API compatibility
Gogs
Gogs is a lightweight, easy-to-install Git hosting service written in Go. It runs on minimal hardware including a Raspberry Pi and ships as a single binary.
- Single binary deployment
- Runs on low-power hardware
- Built-in issue tracker
- Webhook support
GitBucket vs Gogs: key differences
GitBucket is written in Scala, while Gogs is built with Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for GitBucket versus MIT for Gogs. Gogs is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for GitBucket. Gogs has the considerably larger community, at 47,824 GitHub stars versus 9,403.
Why pick each one
Choose GitBucket if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.4k GitHub stars
Choose Gogs if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Simple to install
Watch out for
- Slower feature development than forks
Frequently asked questions
Is GitBucket or Gogs better?
Neither is universally better. Gogs has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are GitBucket and Gogs free and open-source?
Yes. GitBucket is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Gogs under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GitBucket and Gogs with Docker?
GitBucket: yes. Gogs: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, GitBucket or Gogs?
Gogs has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for GitBucket. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.