GitLab Reviews

“My go-to dev platform”

Pros

This software is a complete package for version control and project management in any organization. It gives you pretty much everything you need at a very reasonable price. It's the tool I keep coming back to for my own projects and I've also used it at every company I've worked with. I even spent time self-hosting the community edition and that was a really positive experience too. The documentation is organized clearly and any breaking changes are communicated properly. On top of that, the CI/CD features are easy to work with, the interface is simple to navigate and the reporting, labeling and tagging tools are among the simplest tools I've used. Even the free plan for individuals or smaller teams includes all the essentials.

Cons

Nothing comes to mind. I even prefer the newer UI they rolled out recently.

“Top pick for code management”

Pros

When it comes to application management this is easily one of the strongest products out there. It lets you pull the latest code to your local machine, merge your updates to the remote branch, handle conflicts and cherry-pick changes without much hassle. Honestly it stands out as one of the best.

Cons

I really do not have any complaints about this software. The only thing worth mentioning is that first-time users may find it challenging at the beginning but with a bit of practice that gets much better.

“Helpful pipeline mapping”

Pros

The pipeline features are really useful especially the visual pipeline mapping and the code review tools add a lot of value.

Cons

UI/UX changes pretty often which can be frustrating. Pricing is also a concern and it could use more third-party integrations. The project management tools feel a bit limited as well.

“Collaborative development system”

Pros

Having an integrated development chain in one place is really valuable especially with the option to include security and quality checks while still supporting an agile development workflow. The full product suite gives teams strong collaboration and accurate control across the entire software development and deployment lifecycle. The product roadmap is also clearly defined which makes its direction easy to understand.

Cons

A limitation is that everyone in the organization needs to be on the same tier even when using the SaaS version. Also moving through the project-related functions can feel a bit difficult at times.

“Familiar developer workflow”

Pros

It is built on Git a widely known and popular version control system so it does a great job of helping us track changes across files and code. Beyond being one of the better platforms for version control, it also has a well-designed interface that feels efficient and simple for getting work done. The features are all there where users expect them and using command line actions like commit, push and pull feels familiar if you have worked with version control before. Connecting it with other applications is usually quick and it also includes useful collaboration features for following ongoing work and keeping completed tasks organized.

Cons

Onboarding with it can feel a bit overwhelming for beginners especially if you are coming from other platforms like GitHub. The interface and overall feature set take a little time to fully get used to. Permissions and control settings could also use clearer guidance especially when something fails or does not work as expected.

“its good overall”

Pros

We primarily relied on this platform as our DVCS instead of other version control systems and the CI/CD plus pipelines features were the parts we used the most. It was pretty easy to set up and to bring new projects on board.

Cons

It still isn't as widely recognized as GitHub or Bitbucket and its integration with documentation and issue management tools feels a bit weaker compared with those alternatives.

“Fantastic experience”

Pros

Working with a team on this platform has been fantastic. The way it lets us follow progress and keep track of changes across the whole development cycle is incredibly valuable and it handles all of that smoothly.

Cons

Since I was still new to development, it took me some time to really understand how to use a lot of it's features properly.

“simple interface”

Pros

The interface is simple and well thought out. You can assign project structures clearly and it also lets you build out the team hierarchy in a practical way.

Cons

Compared with GitHub, the interface still doesn't feel quite as polished. Browsing through projects and finding the right repositories to fork can also be a bit frustrating.

“good tool”

Pros

GitLab Pages has been a good feature for us. We used it to launch a business website with the Jekyll static site generator, starting from a forked sample project and following video tutorial. One thing that really helped was that, unlike GitHub Pages, GitLab Pages let us build the site with the latest version of Jekyll. It also supports multiple static site generators instead of limiting us the way GitHub Pages does so we have the flexibility to move beyond Jekyll later if we want. On top of that, it's documentation has been an essential resource whenever we work with CI/CD and GitLab Runner.

Cons

The biggest downside we've run into is the wait time on shared build instances which it refers to as runners. Build queues for GitLab Pages have been noticeably longer than what we see with GitHub or Netlify. We realize this would probably improve if we set up our own runners but we just haven't taken that step yet. Another limitation is that GitLab Pages doesn't include a CDN, whereas GitHub Pages provides one by default.

“Developer tools all in one”

Pros

It comes with version control, container storage, an issue tracker, plus grouping and goals. Having all of that in one place makes the overall experience really good for a developer.

Cons

From a design perspective the interface is not entirely to my preference, as it is quite formal and enterprise-oriented. A slightly more playful or modern visual style would be welcome.

“My review”

Pros

Repository system is among its best features which works really well for source control while also supporting project management and team collaboration. It includes editing for different file types and sharing code with teammates is easy along with managing different releases and updated versions of the code. You can also create and merge multiple branches and it clearly shows conflicts during merges. On top of that, the community support around it is quite strong.

Cons

If I had to identify an issue with the tool, it would be the subscription plans which could offer better value or more flexibility.

“powerful features for any project”

Pros

A good amount of features are included even on the free plan of the product. It works really well for enterprise code and fits both large and small projects. Managing roles and users in it is also very easy for me.

Cons

The interface could use a bit more detail and the mobile view feels somewhat limited.

“top tier platform”

Pros

When it comes to pull request merging, it is easily one of the best products available. It is an platform for supporting open-source work while still offering enterprise-grade security. Its CI/CD capabilities are especially strong and that gives it a real advantage.

Cons

I have nothing to complain about with the tool. I am sure even more features will be added over time and the platform will become even more efficient than it already is.

“Productive team collaboration”

Pros

Sharing files, projects, ideas and more feels simpler than ever with this platform. The website runs really well and the uptime and speed have been excellent.

Cons

Getting around it can be a little confusing for new users and some parts do not make much sense at first but most people figure it out after a while.

“Smooth DevOps integration”

Pros

Being open source while still offering a cloud-based option with a really good free tier is a big plus. It lets you connect code repositories with issue tracking along with continuous integration and continuous deployment, all in one place.

Cons

The user experience still has a lot of room for improvement. Search and filtering feel a bit difficult from a UX perspective and bulk actions are limited to the project level only.

“user-friendly system”

Pros

I really enjoy the issue board especially the Kanban board setup. It is very user-friendly and makes tracking progress really smooth. The CI/CD feature is also something I appreciate a lot. On top of that, it's UI and UX feel simple and clear which makes the overall experience pleasant to use.

Cons

There is very little to complain about with this tool. That said running CI/CD pipelines can feel a bit expensive. There can also be some issues when using multiple parallel nodes for CI/CD while integrating with a Kubernetes cluster.

“Different tools connect smoothly”

Pros

It works as an efficient code hosting platform and the continuous integration features together with issue tracking are some of the parts I appreciate most. The vulnerability reporting is very useful and the security dashboard is another strong point. I also really value how well milestones, issue boards and merge requests all connect and work together.

Cons

One downside is that it is not as popular so if you are running an open-source project, it may not attract as much attention or contribution from other developers.

“everything covered in one tool!”

Pros

Covers a lot in one place: project management, pipelines, version control, merge requests, operations, a wiki, issue tracking, auto deploys and packages. Having all of that together makes it really capable for our development teams.

Cons

UI in the Git client could be better and automatic testing still needs work. Key management and third-party integrations also feel limited. The documentation could be clearer and the Jira integration still isn't where it should be.

“Helpful for freelance work”

Pros

Having access to this many features on the free plan is enough to keep my freelance work moving without much trouble. I can host a repository and handle the full DevOps workflow under the free pricing tier, including code reviews, issue tracking and the rest of the essentials.

Cons

There are also a lot of valuable advanced features available, like stronger code review tools, CI/CD dashboards, project management tools and more but the pricing feels fairly high for someone using it as an individual.

“Well structured branches”

Pros

The branch structure is especially well organized which makes everything much easier to manage. On top of that the auto rebase feature really simplifies our workflow. You can also set up rules however you want for all Git operations, including merges and merge requests. It's genuinely very enjoyable to use.

Cons

I've been using it for years and haven't run into any issues up to now. I'm very satisfied with it.