GitHub Actions (hosted runners) vs GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners)
Default scenario: At 50,000 Linux build minutes / month, estimated bills are $2,520/yr for GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and $5,952/yr for GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners). That’s a $3,432 difference before accounting for different features or operating costs.
The services may differ in features, performance, support and the work you need to do yourself. Read the notes and test what matters to your setup.
Your selected usage
50,000 Linux build minutes / month
- GitHub Actions (hosted runners): $2,520/yr estimated
- GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners): $5,952/yr estimated
Estimated costs at different usage levels
| Usage | GitHub Actions (hosted runners) | GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners) |
|---|---|---|
| Small team5,000 Linux build minutes / month | $216/yrFree · $0.006/min | $552/yrFree · $0.01/min |
| Scale-up50,000 Linux build minutes / month | $2,520/yrEnterprise Cloud (10 seats) · $0.006/min | $5,952/yrFree · $0.01/min |
| Monorepo500,000 Linux build minutes / month | $34,920/yrEnterprise Cloud (10 seats) · $0.006/min | $59,952/yrFree · $0.01/min |
Linux x64, 2 vCPU equivalent. Faster runners finish jobs sooner, so cost per build can beat cost per minute. Try your own numbers against all ci runners providers.
Side by side
| GitHub Actions (hosted runners) | GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | GitHub's built-in CI/CD with GitHub-hosted runners; minutes included per plan, then billed per minute by runner size. | GitLab.com's built-in CI with hosted runners; compute minutes included per tier, extra minutes sold in packs. |
| Headquarters | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Parent jurisdiction | 🇺🇸 United States (Microsoft) | 🇺🇸 United States |
| EU self-serve plan | No / not documented | No / not documented |
| GDPR DPA | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | payg | subscription |
| Free tier | Standard hosted runners are free for public repositories; private repos get 2,000 min/month on Free. | 400 compute minutes/month on Free (max 5 users per private top-level group). |
| Open source | No | No |
| Source last checked | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-06 |
| Pricing evidence | Modeled rates | Published rates |
Which should you choose?
GitHub Actions (hosted runners) has the lower estimated bill at every usage level we tested, from 5,000 Linux build minutes / month to 5,000,000 Linux build minutes / month.
Choose GitHub Actions (hosted runners) if…
- it has the lower estimated bill at Small team, Scale-up and Monorepo usage
Choose GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners) if…
Our data shows no advantage on price, residency, jurisdiction or licensing. Compare features in the notes below.
Based on estimated list-price bills and the facts above. Features, performance and support aren’t scored.
GitHub Actions (hosted runners) pricing
Published rates converted using workload assumptions. Read the notes. Assumes ten platform seats. Existing seats are not an incremental runner cost; included minutes depend on the plan.
| Plan | Base fee / month | Build minute |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0.006 |
| Team (10 seats) | $40 | $0.006 |
| Enterprise Cloud (10 seats) | $210 | $0.006 |
Private repositories, standard Linux 2-core x64 runner: $0.006/min (1-core $0.002, 2-core arm64 $0.005, larger x64 runners $0.012-$0.252/min, Windows 2-core $0.010, macOS $0.062). Included minutes per month: Free 2,000, Pro/Team 3,000, Enterprise Cloud 50,000 (docs.github.com/en/billing/concepts/product-billing/ github-actions). Seat prices from github.com/pricing: Team $4/user/month, Enterprise $21/user/month; plans modelled with an assumed 10 seats, though seats are bought for the repo platform, not for CI. Standard hosted runners are free for public repositories, and self-hosted runners are not charged. EU data residency (GHE.com) is only for Enterprise Cloud via sales.
GitHub Actions (hosted runners) plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners) pricing
Calculated from the listed vendor rates; exclusions still apply.
| Plan | Base fee / month | Build minute |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0.01 |
| Premium (10 seats) | $290 | $0.01 |
Compute minutes included per month: Free 400, Premium 10,000, Ultimate 50,000. Additional minutes $10 per 1,000 ($0.01/min). The small Linux x86-64 hosted runner (2 vCPU, 8 GB) has cost factor 1; medium 2, large 3, xlarge 6, 2xlarge 12 (docs.gitlab.com/ci/pipelines/compute_minutes/). Premium is $29/user/month billed annually and mandatory per seat, modelled with 10 seats; Ultimate is quote-only. Free is limited to 5 users per private top-level group. Projects in the GitLab for Open Source program get a 0.5 cost factor. EU data residency only via GitLab Dedicated (contract).
GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners) plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
Frequently asked questions
Is GitHub Actions (hosted runners) cheaper than GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners)?
GitHub Actions (hosted runners) has the lower estimated bill at every usage level we tested, from 5,000 Linux build minutes / month to 5,000,000 Linux build minutes / month. At 50,000 Linux build minutes / month, the estimates are $2,520/yr for GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and $5,952/yr for GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners). Estimates use list prices and leave out features, support and operating costs.
Do GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners) offer EU data residency?
Neither documents EU data residency on a self-serve plan.
Do GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners) have a free tier or trial?
GitHub Actions (hosted runners): Standard hosted runners are free for public repositories; private repos get 2,000 min/month on Free. GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners): 400 compute minutes/month on Free (max 5 users per private top-level group).
Where are GitHub Actions (hosted runners) and GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners) based?
GitHub Actions (hosted runners) is headquartered in the United States and owned by Microsoft (the United States). GitLab CI (GitLab.com hosted runners) is headquartered in the United States.