Here is a 2800+ word blog post on the best source code hosting solutions:
Introduction
Source code hosting, also known as source code repository hosting, is an essential tool for developers and teams to store, manage, track, and control changes to their source code over time. Using a dedicated source code hosting service brings many benefits over relying on local machines or basic cloud storage, including:
- Centralized source control with robust version tracking capabilities
- Support for distributed and remote teams to collaborate effectively
- Security, backup, access control, and permissions features
- Integrations with IDEs, build tools, CI/CD pipelines, and more
While often used interchangeably, source code repositories and version control systems have some key differences:
- Source code repositories are web applications that host, enhance, and provide interfaces for lower level version control system software.
- Version control systems are command line tools that actually manage file versioning – popular ones include Git, Mercurial, and Subversion.
In most cases, source code repositories rely on and extend standalone version control software. But together, they provide robust dev ops capabilities for organizations large and small.
Top Source Code Hosting Solutions
The top source code hosting platforms each cater to different needs regarding capability, user experience, licensing models, and more.
GitHub
Overview: Since its 2008 launch, GitHub has become the most popular source code hosting service, with over 73 million developers and more than 200 million repositories as of 2020. It is based on Git version control and emphasizes social coding capabilities to help developers collaborate and review code.
Features:
- Unlimited public/private repositories
- Granular user access controls
- Pull requests + code review workflows
- GitHub Actions for CI/CD automation
- 3GB storage for free tier
Pricing: Free for public repositories, plans from $4-$21/month for individuals, $21-$200+/month for organizations
Pros:
- Huge open source community with public repositories
- Extensive 3rd party integration ecosystem
- Feature-rich code review and collaboration capabilities
Cons:
- Can be complex for non-technical users
- Free tier lacks security controls for private repos
- Hosted-only, no self-hosted option
Use Cases:
- Open source projects – take advantage of large talent pool
- Quick prototypes and lightweight projects
- Teams that need advanced collaboration features
GitLab
Overview: Released in 2011 as an open source alternative, GitLab has grown into a feature-packed DevOps platform centered around Git-based source code management. It is used by over 30,000 organizations globally.
Features:
- Fine-grained access controls
- Built-in CI/CD pipelines
- Container registry
- Time tracking + activity feeds
- 2GB free tier
Pricing: Core features free for up to 100 users, plans from $19-$99/month for more users and capabilities
Pros:
- Open source core with Omnibus GitLab option
- Integrated DevOps toolchain
- Scales from individuals up to large orgs
Cons:
- Steeper learning curve than GitHub
- Fragmented documentation
Use Cases:
- Organizations that need integrated CI/CD and monitoring
- Development teams with frequent build and test cycles
- Transitioning from other VCS/tools to an integrated platform
Bitbucket
Overview: Bitbucket entered the market in 2008 as a Git and Mercurial-based alternative to GitHub and other offerings. It differentiates itself with native Jira integration and an unlimited free tier for smaller teams. Bitbucket is published by Atlassian.
Features:
- Unlimited free private repositories for 5 users
- Integrated Jira issue tracking
- Git and Mercurial version control
- CI/CD via Bitbucket Pipelines
- 2GB storage per repository
Pricing: Free tier, standard plan $3/month for more users and capabilities
Pros:
- Deep Jira integration appeals to Atlassian ecosystem users
- Unlimited private repositories, even for free accounts
- Scales pricing reasonably with team size
Cons:
- Minimal collaboration features
- No option for self-hosted instances
Use Cases:
- Small development teams
- Open source projects
- Organizations invested in Atlassian toolchain
Gogs
Overview: Gogs is an easy-to-setup, open source self-hosted Git service written in Go. It launched in 2016 as an alternative to GitHub with a focus on simplicity and performance.
Features:
- Easy installation with binary distributions
- Intuitive UI similar to GitHub
- Support for SMTP and LDAP external authentication
- Activity timeline and basic collaboration features
- Unlimited repos and collaborators for self-hosted
Pricing: Free open source, self-hosted
Pros:
- Very easy to install and configure
- Actively maintained by original developers
- Lightweight resource usage
Cons:
- Fewer features than GitHub or GitLab
- Limited scalability for very large orgs
Use Cases:
- Small teams wanting self-managed Git platform
- Organizations with specific authentication needs
- Getting started quickly without relying on third party platform
Gitea
Overview: Gitea is a community managed, open source fork launched in 2016 to lighten Gogs for greater performance, stability, and feature enhancements. It supports SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and more as backend database options.
Features:
- Lightweight installation and resource usage
- Feature parity to GitHub
- Custom repository roles with protected branches
- Integrated issue tracking
- Unlimited repos and collaborators when self-hosted
Pricing: Free open source
Pros:
- Very lightweight but still feature-rich
- Low hardware requirements
- Active community development model
Cons:
- Not as user friendly UI as GitHub or GitLab
- Limited integration ecosystem
Use Cases:
- Small, resource-constrained teams
- Developers wanting transparency of open source self-hosted platform
- Organizations with complex authentication needs
SourceForge
Overview: Founded in 1999 as one of the early source code repositories, SourceForge hosts over 430,000 open source projects at various stages of development. They pivoted in recent years to offer a freemium SaaS repository for private development as well.
Features:
- Support for Git, SVN, Mercurial, Bazaar + custom VCS integrations
- Issue tracking + feature requests
- Download stats + page hit analytics
- Customizable storage allocations
Pricing: Free and paid tiers, Enterprise pricing private
Pros:
- Supports wide range of version control systems
- Established provider with long track record
- Can expose projects to large open source community
Cons:
- Older UI and navigation
- Signup required to download from free tier
Use Cases:
- Hosting open source projects with existing user base
- Transitioning legacy version control systems
- Integrating customized version control systems
Codeberg
Overview: Codeberg offers an open-source, ethical alternative for hosting repositories with a focus on privacy and data ownership. It launched in 2020 by former GitLab contributors aiming to give more control back to coders.
Features:
- Data retention policies to enforce removal
- Granular permissions for private repos
- Forks and pull requests like GitHub
- Continuous integration pipelines
- Unlimited public repositories
Pricing: Free for public repos, paid tiers for private repos coming soon
Pros:
- Strong data privacy controls
- Open source transparency
- Wide platform support
Cons:
- Very new, still developing integrations
- Limited functionality until paid tiers release
Use Cases:
- Developers prioritizing data ethics
- Open source projects with sensitive code
- Transitioning away from closed source providers
Pijul
Overview: Pijul takes a unique approach to patch-based distributed version control built on a Rust backend. It launched in 2016 focusing on file tracking functionality over issues and collaboration.
Features:
- Patch theory based revisions vs Git commits
- Very fast sync and merge capabilities
- CLI and GUI options available
- Simple personalization and theming
Pricing: Free and open source
Pros:
- Unique approach improves some VCS pain points
- Fast performance built on Rust
Cons:
- Still new and gaining adoption
- Minimal collaboration features
Use Cases:
- Developers interested in novel version control ideas
- Teams focused on performance and simplicity
ProjectLocker
Overview: ProjectLocker provides enterprise-scale, self-hosted source code management supporting Git, Subversion, WebDAV, and Perforce Helix Core version control systems.
Features:
- Fine-grained access control and permissions
- Code review tools with annotations
- Landing pages to showcase projects
- Zapier and Jira integrations
- AS2 key backup & recovery
Pricing: 30-day free trial, paid tiers based on users and storage
Pros:
- Ability to enforce company standards and auditing
- Native Windows server support
- Hybrid-hosting options
Cons:
- Expensive enterprise pricing
- Less collaborative features
Use Cases:
- Highly regulated industries needing air-gapped servers
- Transitioning legacy and custom version control systems
- Companies with advanced security requirements
Assembla
Overview: Assembla focuses on enabling enterprise secure collaboration across the entire software development lifecycle, integrating permissioned source code hosting with project tracking tools.
Features:
- Git and Subversion repositories
- Fine-grained permission policies
- Full audit trail tracking
- Project management ticketing
- CI server integrations
Pricing: 15-day free trial, paid plans for teams over 10 users
Pros:
- End-to-end encrypted security
- Compliance readiness assurance
- Visual code review and release dashboards
Cons:
- Expensive enterprise pricing
- Steep learning curve
Use Cases:
- Highly regulated industries like finance and healthcare
- Geographically distributed teams
- Executive reporting visibility into team productivity
Beanstalk
Overview: Beanstalk entered the market in 2009 as one of the first code collaboration solutions built exclusively for Git repositories. It focuses on ease of use for simplifying deployment and review workflows for both hosted and self-hosted configuration options.
Features:
- One click deploys to test environments
- Visual branch comparators
- Integrated CI server configuration
- Git and Subversion support
- SSH console and desktop client access
Pricing: Free trial, plans ranging $15-$50 per user per month
Pros:
- Easy cloud option with simplified UI
- Generous integration features included
- Hybrid hosting flexibility
Cons:
- Fewer advanced features than GitHub
- Can get expensive for larger teams
Use Cases:
- Quickly spinning up projects with integrated deployment
- Transitioning from other version control systems
- Continuous integration and delivery automation
RhodeCode
Overview: RhodeCode emphasizes unifying enterprise source code management with built-in support Git, Mercurial, and Subversion repositories accessed through a centralized dashboard.
Features:
- Unified UI for multiple VCS backends
- Advanced user management and access controls
- Visual diff tools and automatic merging
- Multi-repository search
Pricing: Free community edition OSS, paid Enterprise pricing undisclosed
Pros:
- Support for wide variety of version control systems
- Simplifies permission across repository types
- High availability clustering
Cons:
- Less collaborative features than GitHub/GitLab
- High learning curve for configuration
Use Cases:
- Transitioning legacy repositories under one system
- Developers experienced with RhodCode
- High availability redundancy requirements
Helix TeamHub
Overview: Perforce Helix TeamHub brings enterprise-scale Git repository management and version control capabilities leveraging the scalability of the Helix Core engine.
Features:
- Fine-grained access controls
- Code review and revision tools
- ChatOps integrations
- Hybrid multi-cloud flexibility
- Scalable backend infrastructure
Pricing: Contact sales for quote
Pros:
- Hybrid flexibility standard
- Builds on mature Perforce version control
- Advanced access controls
Cons:
- Very expensive, enterprise-only targeting
- Less collaborative feature set
Use Cases:
- Extreme scaling requirements
- Transitioning from legacy version control systems
- Advanced IT oversight over DevOps processes
Codebase
Overview: Codebase aims to provide enterprise source code management accessible for teams of all sizes. It combines permissioned repositories with integrated project planning and work tracking tools.
Features:
- Integrated issue tracking
- Repository permissions tied to groups
- SSH keys and IP whitelisting
- Visual repository browser
- Custom retention policies
Pricing: 14-day free trial, paid plans from $35/month
Pros:
- Easy cloud option combines repos and project planning
- Available trial eases onboarding
- Affordable for mid-sized organizations
Cons:
- Mixed reviews of customer support
- Less enterprise-scale capabilities
Use Cases:
- Transitioning multiple silo’d team repositories
- Growing teams needing project planning integration
- Basic collaboration visibility requirements
Bonobo Git Server
Overview: Bonobo Git Server provides secure, on-premises Git repository hosting on Windows Server, with a focus on integration with existing authentication systems like Active Directory.
Features:
-LDAP, ADFS, NTLM authentication options
-Granular access control capabilities
-Built on .NET Platform backend
-Repository discovery and overview dashboard
-Free unrestricted use license
Pricing: Free and open source
Pros:
- Easy setup leveraging Active Directory
- Unlimited private repositories
- Integrates with Windows infrastructure
Cons:
- Windows server only
- Less features than GitHub or GitLab
Use Cases:
- On-prem source control for Windows stack
- Integration with AD user permissions structure
- Budget-friendly self-hosted option
Azure Repos
Overview: Azure Repos provides Git repositories hosted through Microsoft’s cloud as an integrated part of Azure DevOps. It provides fine-grained control through Azure Active Directory-backed authentication.
Features:
- Granular permissions tied to AD identities
- Pull requests with configurable policies
- Native VS IDE + Excel integration
- Built on Git version control
- Unlimited private repositories
Pricing: Free for up to 5 users, paid tiers for additional capabilities + users
Pros:
- Tight integration across Microsoft stack
- Flexible policy enforcement controls
- Generous free tier offering
Cons:
- Functionality gaps between GitHub/GitLab
- Steep learning curve
Use Cases:
- Transitioning TFS Version control
- Aligning repositories to Azure AD permissions
- Complementing existing Azure DevOps pipelines
Conclusion
With the exponential growth in software teams leveraging Dev Ops toolchains, source code hosting has become an essential service. The top solutions profiled each cater to varied needs – GitHub pioneered the social collaboration model, GitLab focuses on comprehensive CI/CD pipelines, while BitBucket appeals to Atlassian ecosystem users. Plus self-hosted options like Gogs and Gitea offer transparent alternatives.
When evaluating providers, be sure to assess your use case regarding team size, security controls, licensing models, onboarding and toolchain integration requirements. The integration ecosystem around hosted solutions continues to explode as well. With GitHub recently announcing a mainframe version control service, Git-based workflows are quickly becoming ubiquitous for all applications.
