Codeberg is a collaborative platform designed for developers, offering version control and project management tools. It operates as a community-driven alternative to proprietary services, prioritizing user privacy and data protection.
Forgejo is a decentralized software development platform that provides a user-friendly interface for managing Git repositories. It serves as an open-source alternative to other version control platforms, enabling developers to collaborate and...
SourceHut (sr.ht) is an open source software forge for Git and Mercurial repositories, operated from Hoorn in the Netherlands. It targets developers who prefer a lean, fast tool and an email-based workflow...
The Open Source category highlights projects that, while originally developed in countries outside of Europe, allow anyone from around the world to contribute. These projects are not bound by geographic location—anyone, regardless of where they are based, can review, modify, and improve the code. The key factor is that the source code is available for anyone to examine, ensuring that the product can be independently verified and trusted, regardless of its origin. By featuring open-source projects, we promote transparency, collaboration, and innovation on a global scale.
Gitea is a lightweight, self-hosted software forge written in Go. It covers Git hosting, code review with pull requests, issue tracking, a package registry and CI/CD through Gitea Actions. The project began...
GitLab is a DevSecOps platform that combines Git repository hosting, code review, CI/CD pipelines, issue tracking and package registries in one application. It is developed by GitLab Inc., a US corporation incorporated...
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Submit SuggestionThe main European alternatives to GitHub are Codeberg, a non-profit Git host in Berlin, Forgejo, the open source forge behind it that anyone can run on their own server, and SourceHut, a minimalist paid forge from the Netherlands. These three host Git repositories without a US corporation behind them. GitLab and Gitea, also listed on this page, are different: US companies develop them, but their core is open source and can run on your own server. Which one fits depends on whether you want a free hosted service, your own server or an email-based workflow.
| Name | Country | Model | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codeberg | Germany (Codeberg e.V., Berlin) | Hosted, non-profit, runs on Forgejo | Free, funded by donations | Free and open source projects |
| Forgejo | Germany (Codeberg e.V. project) | Self-hosted software | Free software, you pay for your own server | Teams and companies that want control and private repositories |
| SourceHut | Netherlands | Hosted, open source | Paid, from 4 euros per month | Experienced developers who like email-based code review |
| GitLab | USA (GitLab Inc., remote-only) | Self-hosted Community Edition (MIT) or hosted GitLab.com, open core | Community Edition free, GitLab.com free tier and paid plans | Teams that want Git, CI/CD and issue tracking in one application |
| Gitea | USA (CommitGo, Inc.) | Self-hosted software (MIT), managed Gitea Cloud available | Free software, you pay for your own server | Small teams that want a lightweight forge |
Codeberg is run by Codeberg e.V., a non-profit association in Berlin, and is funded by donations instead of advertising. It offers the features most projects use daily: Git hosting, issues, pull requests, code review, a wiki, releases and static websites through Codeberg Pages. Its documentation also covers CI with Woodpecker or self-hosted Forgejo Actions runners and a Weblate service for translations. According to codeberg.org, it hosts more than 700,000 projects and has more than 430,000 users.
Limits: Codeberg is meant for free and open source software. Its FAQ states that it does not offer private hosting services, so closed-source company projects do not belong there. The community is a fraction of GitHub's, which means fewer contributors who already have an account, fewer integrations and less discoverability for new projects.
Forgejo is a lightweight software forge for self-hosting, developed under the umbrella of Codeberg e.V. It covers repositories, issues, pull requests, code review, releases and CI through Forgejo Actions, with a focus on security, scaling and federation. Codeberg itself recommends it for commercial projects that need private repositories. The price is administration: someone has to run the server, apply updates and take backups. A small VPS from a European provider is enough for a team.
SourceHut is operated from Hoorn in the Netherlands and is fully open source. It hosts Git and Mercurial repositories and adds build servers on virtualised Linux and BSD images, mailing lists with web-based patch review, ticket tracking and wikis. Hosting projects is paid, with plans from 4 euros per month; contributing to other projects does not require payment. The site still describes itself as a public alpha. The workflow is built around email patches rather than pull request buttons and the interface is deliberately plain, so expect a learning curve if you come from GitHub.
GitLab is developed by GitLab Inc., a US corporation that works remote-only. Its Community Edition is released under the MIT licence and can run on your own server in Europe. The Enterprise Edition adds proprietary features that require a paid subscription, so GitLab is open core. It bundles repositories, merge requests, CI/CD pipelines and issue tracking in one application, which suits teams that want one platform instead of several tools.
Gitea is a lightweight forge under the MIT licence, and Forgejo started as a community fork of it in 2022. The company behind its commercial offers, CommitGo, Inc., is based in the US, but the open source edition has no user limit and runs on modest hardware. Gitea Actions use a workflow syntax that is closely compatible with GitHub Actions.
Related: version control systems, development environments and the Visual Studio Code page.
There is no single equivalent in size. Codeberg is the best-known European Git platform, SourceHut and self-hosted Forgejo cover other needs. GitLab and Gitea can also be self-hosted, but the companies behind them are American.
For open source projects, Codeberg. It is free and non-profit. For private code, self-host Forgejo.
Codeberg states that it does not offer private hosting services. Use Forgejo on your own server or a paid host for private projects.
Yes, stars and the follower graph do not transfer. Issues, labels, milestones, releases and the wiki can be migrated. Keeping a mirror on GitHub helps contributors find the project.