Gitea Act Runner vs GitLab

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted ci/cd & build options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureGitea Act RunnerGitLab
CategoryCI/CD & BuildCI/CD & Build
LicenseMITMIT
LanguageGo
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM256 MB2,000 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarybare-metal
GitHub stars★ 800
First released20232023
ReplacesGitHub ActionsGitHub

Why pick each one

Choose Gitea Act Runner if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in Go
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Gitea Act Runner details

Choose GitLab if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
GitLab details

Frequently asked questions

Is Gitea Act Runner or GitLab better?

Neither is universally better. Gitea Act Runner has the larger community, while GitLab is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Gitea Act Runner and GitLab free and open-source?

Yes. Gitea Act Runner is licensed under MIT and GitLab under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Gitea Act Runner and GitLab with Docker?

Gitea Act Runner: yes. GitLab: check the project docs for container support.

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