Gitea vs OneDev
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted git hosting & forges options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Gitea | OneDev |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Git Hosting & Forges | Git Hosting & Forges |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 58,142 | ★ 15,259 |
| First released | 2016 | 2016 |
| Replaces | GitHub, GitLab | GitHub, GitLab |
What are Gitea and OneDev?
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
OneDev
OneDev is a self-hosted Git server with built-in CI/CD, issue tracking, and kanban boards in a single application. It targets small teams wanting an integrated platform without heavy resource use. It is deployed via Docker or a binary.
- Built-in CI/CD engine
- Kanban issue boards
- Code search and review
- Symbol navigation
Gitea vs OneDev: key differences
Gitea is written in Go, while OneDev is built with Java. Gitea is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for OneDev. Gitea has the considerably larger community, at 58,142 GitHub stars versus 15,259.
Why pick each one
Choose Gitea if…
- Very lightweight
- Easy to deploy
- Familiar GitHub-like UI
Watch out for
- Fewer features than GitLab
- Governance concerns spurred a fork
Choose OneDev if…
- All-in-one in one process
- Strong code navigation
- Lighter than GitLab
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Java memory footprint
Frequently asked questions
Is Gitea or OneDev better?
Gitea is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider OneDev if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Gitea and OneDev free and open-source?
Yes. Gitea is licensed under MIT and OneDev under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gitea and OneDev with Docker?
Gitea: yes. OneDev: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Gitea or OneDev?
Gitea has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for OneDev. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.