GitLab CI vs GitHub Actions with compiler.dev runners

GitLab CI/CD is part of GitLab, a single product that covers source hosting, issues, CI, security scanning and a package registry. GitHub Actions is the CI layer of GitHub. This is less a CI comparison than a platform choice: if your code lives on GitLab, use GitLab CI. If it lives on GitHub, the question is only whether Actions is fast and cheap enough, and a runner change usually answers that.

How GitLab pricing works

GitLab prices per user, with a monthly pool of compute minutes for its hosted runners. From its pricing page (checked October 2026):

Extra compute minutes are $10 per 1,000 as a one-time purchase, which is $0.01 per minute, on all plans. Minutes apply to GitLab's shared runners; runners you host yourself do not use them. The page does not publish the per-machine cost factors for larger Linux or macOS runners, so we do not compare those here. Check the GitLab docs for current factors.

Notice the shape: you pay for people first and minutes second. A 40-person team on Premium pays for 40 seats whether or not it runs a single pipeline, and gets the rest of the DevOps suite in return.

Side by side

The $0.01 figure is our reading of the extra-minutes price. The default machine size and any cost factor are not stated on the pricing page.

Where GitLab is genuinely better

• All in one. Issues, merge requests, CI, container registry, package registry, environments and security scanning share one data model and one permission system. With GitHub you assemble more pieces, and some security features are separate paid products.
• Pipeline modelling. needs: DAGs, rules:, parent-child and multi-project pipelines, and include: for shared templates are mature and well documented.
• Self-managed option. You can run GitLab entirely on your own servers, which some regulated companies require.
• Runners are a first-class concept. GitLab Runner with autoscaling executors is a well-trodden path for self-hosting.

If you want one tool for the whole lifecycle and are happy to host code on GitLab, that is a good reason to be there, and no runner provider changes that.

The case for GitHub Actions on faster runners

If you are on GitHub already, moving the repository to get a different CI is a large project: pull requests, issues, branch protection, integrations and contributor habits all move. Actions covers the CI need on its own, with the largest marketplace of reusable steps.

The speed complaint is about the default 2 vCPU runner. compiler.dev runs the same workflows on 8 vCPU / 16 GB machines, fresh VM per job, for $0.012 per minute. GitHub's 8-core larger runner is $0.022. In our benchmarks of full CI runs, the React + ASP.NET Core + SQL Server stack went from 3m34s to 1m41s and the Phoenix LiveView stack from 2m07s to 1m03s against GitHub-hosted runners. We did not test GitLab runners, so we make no claim about that comparison.

It also keeps working through GitHub outages: compiler.dev tracks GitHub status, re-delivers missed webhooks and re-runs failed jobs after recovery. See pricing for the full rate table.

Migration sketch

Moving the other way, from GitLab to GitHub Actions, is mostly mechanical for simple pipelines. A .gitlab-ci.yml:

stages: [build, test]

default:
  image: golang:1.23
  cache:
    key: go-$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG
    paths: [.cache/go-build]

build:
  stage: build
  script:
    - go build ./...

test:
  stage: test
  needs: [build]
  rules:
    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event"
  script:
    - go test -race ./...

The GitHub Actions equivalent:

name: ci
on:
  pull_request:
  push:
    branches: [main]
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: [self-hosted, Linux, compiler-ci]
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
        with:
          go-version: "1.23"
      - run: go build ./...
  test:
    needs: build
    runs-on: [self-hosted, Linux, compiler-ci]
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
        with:
          go-version: "1.23"
      - run: go test -race ./...

Differences to plan for:

1. stages disappear; use needs: between jobs. Each job starts on a clean machine, so repeat setup steps or cache between them, see caching guide.
2. rules: become on: triggers plus job-level if:.
3. include: templates become reusable workflows or composite actions.
4. GitLab CI/CD variables become repository or environment secrets.
5. Environments and review apps need rebuilding with GitHub environments.

Install the GitHub App if you decide to stay on or move to GitHub.

FAQ

Is GitLab CI free?

GitLab's Free plan includes 400 compute minutes a month on GitLab.com (checked October 2026). Runners you host yourself do not consume that pool.

Is GitLab CI cheaper than GitHub Actions?

It depends on team size. GitLab charges per user ($29 per month on Premium, billed annually) with 10,000 minutes included, so large teams with light CI can pay more than on Actions. Heavy CI usage can favour a big minute pool. Use the cost calculator for your minutes.

Can I use GitLab CI with GitHub repositories?

GitLab supports running CI for external repositories on paid tiers, but you give up the native GitHub pull request experience. Check GitLab's docs for current terms.

Which has the better YAML?

GitLab's pipeline keywords are more declarative and compact for DAGs. Actions is more step-oriented and leans on reusable actions. Neither is clearly better; familiarity matters most.