SHSelfHostIndex

GitLab vs Woodpecker CI

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?
GI GitLab Git-repository manager providing wiki, issue-tracking and CI/CD VS WO Woodpecker CI Simple, container-native continuous integration
FeatureGitLabWoodpecker CI
CategoryCI/CD & BuildCI/CD & Build
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageGo
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM2,000 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metaldocker, kubernetes
GitHub stars—★ 7,650
First released20232019
ReplacesGitHubJenkins, CircleCI

Why pick each one

Choose GitLab if…

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

Choose Woodpecker CI if…

  • Easy to set up
  • Lightweight CI
  • Good Git integrations
Woodpecker CI details

Frequently asked questions

Is GitLab or Woodpecker CI better?

Neither is universally better. Woodpecker CI 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 GitLab and Woodpecker CI free and open-source?

Yes. GitLab is licensed under MIT and Woodpecker CI under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run GitLab and Woodpecker CI with Docker?

GitLab: check the project docs for container support. Woodpecker CI: yes.

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