GitHub vs GitLab vs Bitbucket
Git is, first and foremost, a version control system (VCS) and it is open source. There are two types of (VCS). One is the Distributed version control system (DVCS) and another one is Centralized version control systems (CVCS). There are many version control systems out there, for example, CVS, SVN, Mercurial, Fossil etc. Git is an example of a Distributed version control System (DVCS), which keeps track of each modification done to the code over time, and allows you to backtrack if necessary and undo those changes. Git will allow you to go back to a previous status on a project or to see its entire evolution since the project created. Git is also called as source code management (SCM).
To get a better understanding of all these solutions let’s first get to know the terminology differences between them:-
Feature wise comparison between these SCM solutions can be summarized through the following table:-
| # | Parameter | Github | Bitbucket | Gitlab |
| 1 | Free Private Repos | Yes(New Feature) | Yes | Yes |
| 2 | Open Source Friendly | Yes | No | No |
| 3 | UI | Very Simple and Friendly | Not Friendly | Same UI as Github |
| 4 | Collaborators for Private Repos | 3 | 5 | Unlimited |
| 5 | Number of Private Repos | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| 6 | Private Repo Storage Limit | 1 GB / Repo | 1 GB / Repo | 10 GB / Repo |
| 7 | Max File Size limit | 100 MB | 100 MB | 100 MB |
| 8 | JIRA Support | No | Yes | No |
| 9 | Integrated Devops Tools | No | No | Yes |
| 10 | Built in CI/CD | No | No | Yes |
| 11 | Official Mobile App | No | No | Yes |
| 12 | Owned By | Microsoft | Atlassian | Open Source / Self Hosted |
| 13 | Uptime | High | Very High | High |
| 14 | Companies Using | Airbnb, Netflix, Reddit | Paypal, Salesforce, Tesla Motors | Electronic Arts, Citrix, Freelancer.com |
Conclusion:-
Gitlab is a clear winner when considering above comparison table. Bitbucket is a great tool if using JIRA and other Atlassian products for your project. Last but not the least Github is best for gaining community support for open source projects through collaborations making it the most popular platform out of the three.
