GitHub
Bug tracking software
Application release orchestration (ARO) tools
Continuous delivery tools
Continuous integration tools
Build automation software
Configuration management tools
Cloud infrastructure automation software
DevOps platforms
Peer code review software
Version control hosting software
Gaming tools
Secure code review software
Software composition analysis tools
Static application security testing (SAST) software
DevSecOps software
DevOps software
CI/CD tools
Source code management software
Game development software
Automated testing software
Programming software
AI code review tools
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
Take the quiz to check if GitHub and its alternatives fit your requirements.
$4 USD per user per month
Free TrialFree version
Small
Medium
Large
- Information technology and software
- Media and communications
- Real estate and property management
What is GitHub
GitHub is a hosted source code management platform built around Git repositories, used to store, collaborate on, and review code. It supports software teams with pull requests, issue tracking, project planning, and automation via GitHub Actions for CI/CD workflows. The platform also includes security and compliance capabilities such as code scanning, secret scanning, and dependency analysis, with optional enterprise controls for larger organizations. It is commonly used by development teams and open-source maintainers who need centralized repository hosting and collaboration.
Widely adopted Git collaboration
GitHub provides mature Git repository hosting with pull requests, branch protections, and code owner workflows that support structured peer review. Its collaboration model is well understood across engineering teams, which can reduce onboarding friction for new contributors. The platform also supports discussions, wikis, and project boards to keep development context close to code.
Integrated CI/CD automation
GitHub Actions enables workflow automation for build, test, and deployment directly from repositories. It supports event-driven pipelines, reusable workflows, and a marketplace of third-party actions, which can reduce the need to operate separate automation servers for many use cases. Environments, approvals, and secrets management help teams implement controlled release processes.
Built-in security scanning options
GitHub includes security features such as Dependabot alerts/updates, secret scanning, and code scanning (including support for CodeQL) to identify common risks in repositories. Security advisories and dependency graphs help teams track and respond to vulnerable components. Enterprise plans add administrative controls and reporting that support governance requirements.
Advanced features require paid tiers
Several capabilities commonly expected in enterprise DevSecOps programs—such as expanded security features, advanced governance, and certain compliance controls—are tied to paid plans. Organizations may need GitHub Enterprise and/or add-ons to meet internal policy requirements. This can increase total cost compared with using separate best-of-breed tools already licensed.
Actions complexity at scale
GitHub Actions can become complex to manage across many repositories, especially when standardizing workflows, runners, and permissions. Self-hosted runners introduce operational overhead for patching, scaling, and network access control. Large organizations often need additional internal tooling and conventions to keep pipelines consistent and auditable.
Issue tracking is lightweight
GitHub Issues and Projects cover common engineering workflows but can be limiting for organizations needing advanced portfolio planning, complex reporting, or cross-team resource management. Teams with heavy non-engineering collaboration needs may require integration with dedicated work management platforms. Reporting and customization can depend on third-party apps or internal development.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 USD per month (forever) | Unlimited public & private repositories; Community support; Included GitHub Actions: 2,000 minutes/month (free for public repositories); 500 MB GitHub Packages storage.. |
| Pro | $4 USD per month | Individual plan: advanced tools for private repos; included GitHub Actions: 3,000 minutes/month; 2 GB Packages storage; Codespaces entitlements (see docs).. |
| Team | $4 USD per user/month (for the first 12 months*) | Everything in Free + Codespaces access; repository rules, multiple reviewers, draft PRs, code owners; included GitHub Actions: 3,000 minutes/month; 2 GB Packages storage; web-based support.. |
| Enterprise | Starting at $21 USD per user/month (for the first 12 months*) | Everything in Team plus: data residency, Enterprise Managed Users, SCIM provisioning, enterprise account management, advanced auditing; included GitHub Actions: 50,000 minutes/month; 50 GB Packages storage; contact sales / start free 30-day trial.. |
Additional usage-based pricing (official site): GitHub Codespaces — compute billed per hour by machine size (examples): 2-core $0.18/hr, 4-core $0.36/hr, 8-core $0.72/hr, 16-core $1.44/hr, 32-core $2.88/hr; storage $0.07 per GB-month..
GitHub Actions (larger / billed runners) — standard included minutes vary by plan (listed above). Larger runners / additional runners billed per minute; example per-minute rates from official runner pricing: Linux 2-core $0.006/min, Linux 4-core $0.012/min, macOS 3–4 core $0.062/min, macOS 5-core (M2 Pro) $0.102/min, GPU Linux 4-core $0.052/min. See official Actions runner pricing for full SKU list..
Git LFS & Packages overage — Paid usage rates documented (examples): Git LFS storage $0.07 per GiB-month, bandwidth $0.0875 per GiB; Packages additional storage/data-transfer rates and billing rules available in docs..
Notes:
- Promotional pricing language on the official pricing page references "for the first 12 months*" for some paid tiers; see pricing page for details and footnotes.
- GitHub offers add-ons (Copilot, Advanced Security, Secret Protection, Premium Support) with separate pricing pages.
Seller details
GitHub, Inc.
San Francisco, California, United States
2009
Subsidiary
https://www.npmjs.com/
https://x.com/npmjs
https://www.linkedin.com/company/npm-inc-
