GitLab Reviews

“great access control”

Pros

It is a simple yet trustworthy source control system that covers most of the standard needs you expect from this kind of tool. One thing that sets it apart from GitHub is the unlimited repositories for basic use at no cost, with the option to upgrade later for premium features.

Cons

While it covers most of our needs I still find its permission controls somewhat limited when more granular access management is required. It also lacks some of the advanced features available on platforms like Bitbucket. Additionally certain menu items are not always easy to locate which can make navigation less easier than it should be.

“Feature-packed code hosting”

Pros

One of the best things here is that it gives you unlimited private repositories and unlimited team members which is a huge plus. The free plan also comes with plenty of useful features so it offers a lot without needing to pay right away. It works especially well for managing source code and keeping development projects organized.

Cons

The platform handles the essentials well but it still lacks some of the features available on GitHub. Adding more built-in tools and customization options would make it even more capable.

“Consistent performance!”

Pros

It connects well with tools like JIRA and Jenkins which makes end-to-end release management much easier to handle.

Cons

User interface still has room for improvement and could be designed much better.

“user-friendly workflow and smart integrations”

Pros

Compared with other repository tools this one is much more user-friendly to use most of the time. One feature that really helps is the automatic popup prompting you to create a merge request right after a commit which makes the workflow faster. The code comparison screen is also very simple and saves a lot of time and effort. Another useful option is "Merge after the pipeline succeeds," which helps reduce manual work and speeds things up. Its integration with third-party notification tools like Slack is also very effective.

Cons

Reverting changes can be a little confusing and more complicated than it should be. The overall user experience could also be improved with better documentation especially for integrating third-party applications. Other than that I do not see many real disadvantages in this software when compared to its competitors.

“works well for developers”

Pros

As an automatic CI/CD tool this works really well for developers and DevOps teams. The version control is excellent and the security around command-line access is a big advantage. Even if someone gets the repository link, only an authorized user can actually clone it which makes the access control very dependable.

Cons

Without credit or debit card verification users are not allowed to make changes to the repository assigned to them. That feels a bit weird and can also raise privacy concerns. It performs very well for CI/CD but the pricing is on the higher side so it ends up being more practical for larger companies.

“Automation that delivers”

Pros

Works really well for source code management because it keeps file versions organized and maintains a clear history of changes. It also comes with strong DevOps automation integrations that connect nicely with tools like Jenkins and Runduck for build automation. Another big advantage is being able to create multiple branches from the main project branch which lets several developers work on the same project at the same time and helps shorten delivery timelines.

Cons

Things get difficult when a lot of developers are working simultaneously because resolving integration conflicts can be challenging. The merge feature could definitely be improved to help prevent those issues. Another downside is that after development is complete, we still need to push the code to a remote repository and that process can be slow sometimes especially when a large number of files are being uploaded.

“user-friendly overall”

Pros

Whether I'm working from the office or at home it is something I genuinely enjoy using every day. Being able to host my own projects on my own servers is really important to me for privacy and the CI/CD features save me a lot of time. Another big plus is that we can run the GitLab Runner inside our own infrastructure which makes the pipeline setup easy and very practical.

Cons

Even though it's fairly user-friendly overall it is still a heavy platform and can feel slow when you're using it in the browser. On top of that the review workflow doesn't always feel as simple as what some competing tools offer. I'm hoping strong browser extensions will come along soon to help improve that part of the experience.

“open-source and reliable”

Pros

Being open source is a big plus and it's simple to use. It also includes enough features to do what I need and works the way I expect.

Cons

It is pretty basic when you compare it with other tools like GitHub and the Pull Request collaboration workflow still has room for improvement.

“good for source code management”

Pros

As a software developer I rely on this tool every day for source code management and version control and it has been an excellent experience overall. The UI, API and runners have all worked really well for me.

Cons

Few features such as reverting branches, are still only available through the CLI. It would be much better if the UI included those functions too.

“Privacy that fits compliance”

Pros

Being able to connect it to a Microsoft login is really useful and it provides the level of privacy that legal and accounting firms need.

Cons

Interface layout could use some improvement and it sometimes feels like GitHub is the one getting all the newer, more polished features.

“Easy repository tracking”

Pros

Keeping track of repositories and open issues in the software is really convenient. Setting up teams and assigning project permissions is also very easy.

Cons

Even though it covers the basics effectively but it feels a step behind GitHub in terms of capabilities.

“secure platform”

Pros

Using it has been very simple and it has proven to be highly reliable. The security it provides for our codebase is also very amazing.

Cons

This is not really a downside but the threaded way comments appear in merge requests could be improved so they are easier to follow and track.

“clear insights into development cycle”

Pros

The project development chart gives a clear, smooth view of everything happening during development and the wikis do a really good job of capturing development details for a collaborative DevOps environment.

Cons

It seems to put more emphasis on adding features than on infrastructure performance.

“Definitely the best tool!”

Pros

It covers everything I need, from managing source repositories to handling CI/CD pipelines.

Cons

I haven't come across anything I dislike yet.

“notch above GitHub”

Pros

This software gives you pretty much everything people enjoy about GitHub with the added advantage of being able to self-host it.

Cons

Some of the features you really need are only available in the enterprise tier behind a paywall. Running into those limitations can be pretty frustrating.

“accurate work progress tracking”

Pros

It is approachable to work with for tech users while still offering a wide range of uses. It is not limited to software development projects either. In academic environments especially, institutions can use it to document individual work steps, research data, general datasets and complete workflows over time. Version control is extremely valuable here because every stage of the work remains traceable and mistakes can be reversed right away without creating a lot of extra effort. Another big advantage is that it is customizable and its instances can be transferred to your own infrastructure without much trouble. The team behind the product also seems genuinely open to new ideas and actually implements them. Because of that it works well not just for development teams but for any project where tracking progress step by step really matters.

Cons

For people outside the software world, it is especially hard to learn the workflows and processes since it is less geared toward gamified or beginner-friendly elements than GitHub. Because of that, getting started often requires a lot of preparation and prior knowledge. It is also a very technical platform overall which makes sense to a degree but it would still be useful if areas like testing and CI offered more modular, website-style building principles that were easier to understand and assemble.

“fantastic platform”

Pros

Using it is really satisfying because it brings source control, issue tracking and CI/CD together in one integrated platform. Everything works nicely with the other parts so the overall workflow feels cohesive instead of pieced together. It also has code management best practices by default which is a big plus. The company behind it clearly values open source and transparency which makes the product feel trustworthy whether you use it as a SaaS offering or host it yourself.

Cons

The SaaS version has had its share of problems over the years although that situation has improved steadily and the hosted experience is now much closer to what you would expect from other SaaS platforms. It's also worth noting that the product can be fairly resource-heavy so that shouldn't be overlooked. That said for smaller teams, the monthly server cost is still relatively affordable.

“Terrible experience!”

Pros

It works well just as a platform for software development.

Cons

Our biggest frustration was billing-when they made a mistake with our charges, they would not fix it for us.

“efficient delivery of software projects”

Pros

This tool is much more than a basic repository management platform. It offers a complete environment that really supports continuous delivery for software projects. I was able to create new repositories and get a deployment pipeline running in about five minutes which was impressive. On top of that, the project management features are very efficient, to the point where you could realistically replace JIRA with it if you wanted. There is still a lot I'm interested in trying later on as well especially the DevSecOps capabilities.

Cons

I do not have any real complaints about it. The one thing I would love to see added is support for DORA metrics. A lot of the available tools that handle that are frustratingly expensive so having everything built into a single platform would be ideal.

“effortless deployment handling”

Pros

Being able to create multiple repositories organize them into groups and manage the code in a very easy way has been really useful. It also lets you build pipelines that handle the deployment flow without much hassle.

Cons

The setup for multiple pipelines and linking them together still needs work especially when it comes to making those connections more visible.