GitHub vs. GitLab vs. Bitbucket: 100,000 Repos Moved in 24 Hours, and What Didn't Move With Them

GitHub vs. GitLab vs. Bitbucket: 100,000 Repos Moved in 24 Hours, and What Didn't Move With Them

In June 2018, Microsoft announced it was buying GitHub for $7.5 billion in stock. Within hours, many open source developers decided they didn't want their code on a Microsoft-owned platform. GitLab, a rival, said it saw ten times its normal daily volume of repository imports, and its CEO reported more than 100,000 repositories migrating in 24 hours. GitLab was already hosting about 4 million projects before the spike, and it had to scale its infrastructure on the fly to keep up.

That story shows something important about Git hosting. The code itself moved easily, because Git is the same everywhere. What didn't move so easily was everything around the code: issues, pull request history, CI pipelines, webhooks, permissions, and the community that surrounds a project.

Today the gap in scale is large. GitHub's own Octoverse 2025 report says more than 180 million developers use the platform, that over 36 million joined in a single year (more than one every second), and that it now hosts about 630 million repositories, with around 395 million of them public. And in February 2024, Atlassian ended support for Bitbucket Server, which pushed self-hosted customers to pick Bitbucket Cloud or Data Center. The platform you choose isn't just a features question. It's a question of ecosystem, hosting model, and how much you're willing to depend on one company's decisions.

This guide compares GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket honestly: what each one actually offers, where the real numbers come from, and how to choose without just following the crowd. If Git is still new to you, our Git & GitHub and CI/CD Pipelines material is a good starting point.

First, Git Is Not GitHub

Beginners often use these words interchangeably, and they shouldn't:

• Git is the version control tool itself. It runs on your computer, tracks changes, and works the same everywhere.
• GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket are hosting platforms built around Git. They store your repositories online and add collaboration features on top: pull requests, issue tracking, code review, CI/CD, and permissions.

When you choose a platform, you're choosing the layer around Git, not Git itself. That's also why you can move between platforms far more easily than you can move between different version control systems.

This post originally appeared on the Ciphemic Academia blog.

The Short Version

• GitHub: the largest developer community and ecosystem, strongest for open source, portfolios, and teams that want the widest set of integrations.
• GitLab: an all-in-one DevOps platform with built-in CI/CD, issue tracking, and security tooling in a single application, with a strong self-managed option.
• Bitbucket: Atlassian's Git hosting, built to work closely with Jira and the rest of the Atlassian toolchain.

If you want one default: for learning, open source, and portfolio work, use GitHub, because that's where the community and recruiters are. For a company that wants one integrated DevOps platform or needs to self-host, look hard at GitLab. If your team already lives in Jira and Confluence, Bitbucket fits naturally. Whatever you pick, keep your code portable.

What All Three Are Actually Trying to Solve

Before the differences, the shared job:

• Hosting Git repositories safely, with backups and access control
• Enabling code review, through pull requests on GitHub and Bitbucket or merge requests on GitLab, which are the same idea with different names
• Tracking work with issues and boards, or links to external trackers
• Automating builds and tests with built-in CI/CD
• Managing who can do what, through teams, roles, and branch protection
• Connecting to other tools through webhooks and APIs

All three can handle a small team's daily workflow. The differences show up in ecosystem, integration depth, hosting options, and cost.

GitHub

What it actually is: the largest Git hosting platform, with built-in pull requests, issues, GitHub Actions for CI/CD, GitHub Pages for static sites, and AI coding features. It's also where most open source lives, so it doubles as a public portfolio.

A small example (a CI workflow, in .github/workflows/ci.yml):

name: CI
on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with: { node-version: 20 }
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test

Where it shines:

• Community and network effects: with over 180 million developers and 630 million repositories, it's where collaborators, contributors, and recruiters already are
• Open source discoverability: stars, forks, and public profiles make your work visible to others
• Ecosystem breadth: most developer tools integrate with GitHub first, and the Actions marketplace covers many common tasks
• Developer experience: features like Codespaces and Copilot are built into the platform
• Free for public projects: open source projects get generous free access

Where it struggles:

• Ownership concerns: the 2018 acquisition showed some developers care deeply about who owns their platform, and some projects still prefer independent hosting
• Lighter built-in project management: many teams add Jira or another tracker for complex planning
• Pricing can change: GitHub cut hosted runner prices by up to 39% in January 2026 and announced then postponed a fee for self-hosted runners, so check current pricing before budgeting; our GitHub Actions vs. Jenkins vs. CircleCI guide covers that in detail
• Platform dependency: the more you build on Actions, Pages, and other proprietary features, the more there is to rewrite if you leave

Who this suits: learners, open source maintainers, startups, and teams that want the widest integration support.

GitLab

What it actually is: a single application covering planning, source control, CI/CD, security scanning, and deployment. GitLab was built with CI/CD from the start, and it offers both a hosted service and a self-managed version you can run on your own servers.

A small example (the same pipeline, in .gitlab-ci.yml):

stages: [test]

test:
  stage: test
  image: node:20
  script:
    - npm ci
    - npm test

Where it shines:

• One platform for the whole lifecycle: issues, merge requests, pipelines, container registry, and security scanning live in one place, which cuts down on stitching tools together
• Built-in CI/CD: pipelines are a core feature, not an add-on
• Strong self-managed option: it's popular with organizations that need to run on their own infrastructure for compliance or data control
• Easy migration in: its built-in import tool is what let developers move over so quickly in 2018

Where it struggles:

• Smaller community than GitHub: fewer public projects and contributors, so it's less useful as a public portfolio
• A heavier product: the breadth of features can feel like a lot for a small team that just wants to host code
• Tiering: some features sit in paid tiers, and free-tier limits change over time, so check the current plan details
• Fewer third-party integrations than GitHub for some tools

Who this suits: teams that want an integrated DevOps platform, organizations that need self-hosting, and companies that value having security and CI/CD in the same tool as their code.

Bitbucket

What it actually is: Atlassian's Git hosting, offered as Bitbucket Cloud and as a self-managed Data Center edition. Its main strength is how closely it connects with Jira, so branches, commits, and pull requests link back to the issues they address. It has built-in CI/CD called Bitbucket Pipelines.

A small example (the same pipeline, in bitbucket-pipelines.yml):

image: node:20

pipelines:
  default:
    - step:
        name: Test
        script:
          - npm ci
          - npm test

Where it shines:

• Deep Jira integration: for teams that already track their work in Jira, the connection between issues and code is a real convenience
• Fits the Atlassian toolchain: Confluence, Jira, and Bitbucket work together
• A free tier for small teams: Bitbucket Cloud's free plan supports up to 5 users, according to current third-party summaries, so check Atlassian's pricing page
• Cloud and self-managed options: Cloud for convenience, Data Center for organizations that need to host it themselves

Where it struggles:

• Smaller ecosystem and community than GitHub, and uncommon for open source
• Platform strategy shifts: Atlassian ended support for Bitbucket Server on February 15, 2024, so self-hosted customers had to move to Cloud or Data Center
• Licensing changes ahead: Atlassian says Bitbucket Data Center licenses move to a new hybrid license model by March 28, 2029, so self-hosted customers should plan for that
• Less flexible Cloud customization: some sources note Bitbucket Cloud doesn't support the plugin and marketplace add-ons that Data Center does

Who this suits: teams already using Jira and Confluence, and enterprises that want Git hosting inside the Atlassian toolchain.

Side-by-Side Comparison

How This Fits a Career Path

• All developers: GitHub fluency is close to a baseline expectation, and your public profile is often the first thing a recruiter looks at
• DevOps and platform engineers: you'll meet all three, and understanding the CI/CD model behind each is more valuable than memorizing any one platform's syntax; our CI/CD Pipelines roadmap covers the fundamentals
• Engineers in larger or regulated companies: self-managed GitLab or GitHub Enterprise Server is common, and Bitbucket is common in Atlassian-heavy organizations
• Security-minded roles: where your code and secrets live is a security decision; see our DevSecOps career guide for how that fits in
• Interviews: "walk me through your pull request workflow" and "how would you set up CI for this repo?" come up often, and the concepts transfer across all three platforms

How to Choose Without Overthinking It

1. Start with where your audience is. For open source, learning, and hiring visibility, GitHub's community advantage is hard to beat.
2. Look at the tools your team already uses. If everything runs through Jira, Bitbucket's integration is a real benefit. If you want fewer tools overall, GitLab's single-application approach appeals.
3. Decide whether you need to self-host. Compliance or data-control requirements point toward GitLab self-managed, GitHub Enterprise Server, or Bitbucket Data Center.
4. Check CI/CD needs and costs. Compare free minutes, runner options, and current pricing, since these change.
5. Keep your code portable. Use standard Git workflows, and treat platform-specific CI files and integrations as things you may need to rewrite someday.
6. Don't treat the choice as permanent. Repositories move easily, as 2018 showed. Issues, CI pipelines, and integrations take more effort, so plan for those if you migrate.

A note on honesty: the GitHub figures come from GitHub's own Octoverse 2025 report, so they reflect GitHub's definitions and are favorable to GitHub. The GitLab numbers are company statements from June 2018 reported by the press, and the spike was temporary. The Bitbucket details come from Atlassian-related summaries, and free-tier limits, pricing, and licensing change often, so check each vendor's current pages before deciding. This guide describes trade-offs, not a ranking.

Common Mistakes When Choosing a Git Platform

• Treating Git and GitHub as the same thing. Learning Git itself matters more than any one platform's interface.
• Choosing only by popularity. The biggest platform isn't always the best fit for your team's tools and compliance needs.
• Treating the platform as your only backup. Keep a second copy or mirror of anything important.
• Migrating only the code. Issues, wikis, webhooks, CI pipelines, and permissions need a plan too.
• Ignoring free-tier limits. User caps, CI minutes, and storage limits can surprise a growing team.
• Skipping basic protections. Enable two-factor authentication and branch protection from the start.
• Putting long-lived secrets in repository or CI settings. Our GitHub Actions comparison covers why short-lived credentials limit the damage when something goes wrong.
• Locking everything into one platform's proprietary features without noticing how much you'd have to rewrite to leave.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is GitHub the same as Git?

No. Git is the version control tool. GitHub is a website and service that hosts Git repositories and adds collaboration features.

Which should a beginner use?

GitHub, for most beginners. Most tutorials and communities use it, and your profile doubles as a portfolio.

Is GitLab free?

GitLab has free options, but limits and features vary by plan and change over time, so check its current pricing page.

Can I move a repository between platforms?

Yes. All three can import repositories, and Git history moves with the code. Issues, pull request history, CI configuration, and integrations take more work to recreate.

Can I use more than one platform at once?

Yes. A repository can have multiple remotes, so you can push to GitHub and mirror to GitLab:

git remote add gitlab git@gitlab.com:you/project.git
git push origin main
git push gitlab main

Is Bitbucket still relevant?

For teams that use Jira and the Atlassian toolchain, yes. Atlassian continues Bitbucket Cloud and Data Center, while Bitbucket Server reached end of support in February 2024.

How do interviewers evaluate this topic?

Less by which platform you prefer, and more by whether you understand the workflow: branching, pull or merge requests, code review, CI, and protected branches, and can explain it on any platform.

Choose the Platform, Keep the Skills Portable

The 2018 migration showed how easily repositories can move, and how much else has to move with them. Pick the platform that fits your community, your toolchain, and your hosting needs, and spend your learning time on the workflow skills that carry across all three. Explore the courses to practice real pull request, review, and CI workflows on a real project.