Gitea vs Gogs
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
Self-hosted Git server with code review, issues, wiki, packages and CI/CD in one app.
Open source · MIT
A simple, self-hosted Git service you run on your own server.
The short answer
Choose Gitea if you need…
- Teams that want to host their own code instead of using a public cloud service
- Small organizations wanting one tool for repositories, issues and code review
- Developers who want to run a private Git server on their own machine or server
- People who already know GitHub Actions and want a compatible self-hosted CI/CD option
Choose Gogs if you need…
- Small teams that want a private Git server on their own hardware
- Hobbyists running a home server or Raspberry Pi
- People who want to avoid hosting code on a third-party platform
- Teams that want to use SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL as the backend
Side-by-side
| Gitea | Gogs | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 58.8k | 47.9k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Download the app | See the README |
| Main language | Go | Go |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 5 days ago |
What each one is
Gitea
Gitea is a self-hosted service where a team can run its own Git hosting, along with code review, issue tracking, project boards, a wiki, a package registry and CI/CD that can reuse GitHub Actions. It is written in Go, so it runs on any platform Go supports, and it is meant to be a lightweight alternative to running several separate tools.
Gogs
Gogs is a web application that lets you host your own Git repositories, similar in spirit to GitHub, on a server you control. It includes features like issues, pull requests, a wiki, and user management. It is written in Go and is designed to be lightweight enough to run on small machines such as a Raspberry Pi.
Best for
Gitea
- Teams that want to host their own code instead of using a public cloud service
- Small organizations wanting one tool for repositories, issues and code review
- Developers who want to run a private Git server on their own machine or server
- People who already know GitHub Actions and want a compatible self-hosted CI/CD option
Gogs
- Small teams that want a private Git server on their own hardware
- Hobbyists running a home server or Raspberry Pi
- People who want to avoid hosting code on a third-party platform
- Teams that want to use SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL as the backend
Strengths
Gitea
- Covers many development tools (Git hosting, reviews, issues, wiki, packages, CI/CD) in one app
- Written in Go and runs on Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and Windows across several CPU architectures
- Released under the permissive MIT license with a large, active community
Gogs
- Designed to be simple to set up, with a single binary distribution across many platforms
- Low resource needs, per the README's hardware section
- Supports several databases and multiple login methods, including LDAP and GitHub
Not ideal for
Gitea
- People who only need a personal repo and are happy with a hosted service, since self-hosting adds server upkeep
- Teams without anyone comfortable administering a server or applying updates, because security patches must be applied by the operator
Gogs
- Users who need a fully managed hosted service, since you must install and maintain it yourself
- Large organizations with very large teams, because the README only gives baseline sizing for teamwork and says to add CPU as teams grow
- Anyone needing a complete GitHub API replacement, since the README describes API support only as experimental
Trade-offs
Gitea
- Self-hosting means you are responsible for installation, configuration, backups and security updates
- The README is truncated here, so detailed feature limits and requirements are not fully confirmed by this analysis
Gogs
- Experimental API support, according to the README
- Installation is delegated to an external guide, so the README alone gives little setup detail
- Browser support and some details are referenced to other documentation rather than stated here
Getting started
Gitea
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/go-gitea/giteaGogs
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/gogs/gogs.gitFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Gitea and Gogs?
Gitea: Self-hosted Git server with code review, issues, wiki, packages and CI/CD in one app. Gogs: A simple, self-hosted Git service you run on your own server. Gitea suits teams that want to host their own code instead of using a public cloud service, while Gogs suits small teams that want a private git server on their own hardware.
Are Gitea and Gogs free?
Gitea: Free and open source. Gogs: Free and open source.
Is Gitea or Gogs more popular?
Gitea has more GitHub stars (58.8k) than Gogs (47.9k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Gitea and Gogs?
Other options people compare them with include OneDev, GitHub Desktop, Git History.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.