GitLab vs Zenhub (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Zenhub grades higher than GitLab: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
GitLab grades higher on the free plan and features. Zenhub grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
GitLab
DevSecOps platform with issue boards, epics and CI/CD built in
Zenhub
Agile project management built on top of GitHub issues
Which one is for you
Pick GitLab if
- Fits if your team already keeps code and CI/CD on GitLab
- Works for organizations that need to host the tool themselves
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a simple task manager for non-technical people
- Pricey if you outgrow 5 users, as Premium is $29 per user a month
- Watch out: Ultimate has no published price
- Watch out: AI features need the GitLab Credits add-on beyond a limited-time promotional amount
Pick Zenhub if
- Fits if your team already plans its work on GitHub issues
- Works for teams of up to 50 on Teams, with 50 repositories and 5,000 issues
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your work isn't on GitHub, because the boards are made of GitHub issues
- Tight if you're staying free, with 1 workspace, 2 repositories and 250 issues
- Pricey if you pass 50 users or 5,000 issues, or need automations, advanced reports or Figma, Loom and Miro, all Enterprise at a custom price
- Not for you if you want a phone app, as no native mobile app is listed, and the extension is Chrome and Firefox only
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAGitLabFair | 2.4GPAZenhubFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DPremium is $29 per user a month on annual billing, about three times the category's middle of $9. Ultimate has no published price. | BTeams is $4.99 a user a month billed yearly, inside the cheapest quarter for project tools here, covering 50 users, 50 repositories and 5,000 issues with AI labels and sprint reviews. Pay monthly and it's $7.50, and past those limits it's Enterprise at a custom price. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree plan: 5 users per top-level group, 400 compute minutes a month and 10 GiB, plus a 30-day Ultimate trial with no card. The 5-user cap is where you will stop. | CFree for up to 50 people, but the caps land fast: 1 workspace, 2 connected repositories and 250 issues, and a working team gets through 250 issues in no time. New accounts start with a 14-day Teams trial. |
| Features | CIssues, epics, boards, burndown charts and wikis tied to code. The listing says it is not a general task manager for non-technical teams. | DIt needs another product to do anything: boards are made of GitHub issues, and setting up means linking a GitHub organization. On top of that it adds multi-repository boards, sprint planning, estimates, planning poker, roadmaps and velocity reports. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Planning, pipelines and permissions come as one big platform, so there is a learning curve. | BNo store rating on record, but there's genuinely little to set up: it's a tool inside an account you already have, syncing the issues, pull requests and permissions that are already there, and the extension draws the boards inside GitHub's own pages. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb app with Jira, Slack, Jenkins and AWS CodePipeline integrations and an API. Self-managed and single-tenant versions exist; no desktop or phone apps. | BWeb with an extension for Chrome and Firefox, connected to GitHub and Slack, with a public API. No native mobile app is listed, though the FAQ says the web app works in a phone browser. Figma, Loom and Miro are Enterprise only. |
| Best for | software teams that want planning next to their code | teams that plan their work on GitHub issues |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: GitLab and Zenhub. How we grade
Price against what you get
GitLab starts at $29 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zenhub starts at $4.99 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Zenhub starts $24.01 a month lower. Of the other project management tools on the chart, 60 score higher than GitLab for less, and 10 score higher than Zenhub for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- GitLab is open source, according to its own site.
- Zenhub also covers reports.
At a glance
| GitLab | Zenhub | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per user / month, billed annually | $4.99 per user / month, billed yearly |
| Free plan | Free plan on GitLab.com: 5 users per top-level group, 400 compute minutes a month and 10 GiB of storage. | Up to 50 users, 1 workspace, 2 connected repositories and 250 issues, with sprints, planning poker, roadmaps and basic sprint reports. |
| Free trial | 30-day Ultimate trial, no credit card required | 14-day Teams trial with every new account; 60-day Enterprise trial through sales |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | GitLab | Zenhub |
| Price read from | about.gitlab.com | zenhub.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Worth knowing
GitLab
- The Free plan on GitLab.com is capped at 5 users per top-level group.
- Ultimate has no published price; it is quoted through sales.
- AI features need the GitLab Credits add-on beyond the included promotional credits, which the page says are available for a limited time.
- Project tracking is aimed at software delivery; it is not a general task manager for non-technical teams.
Zenhub
- Zenhub works on top of GitHub: setting up means linking a GitHub organization, and boards are made of GitHub issues.
- The Free plan is limited to 1 workspace, 2 connected repositories and 250 issues.
- Teams stops at 50 users, 50 repositories and 5,000 issues; workspace automations, advanced reporting and Figma, Loom and Miro integrations are Enterprise only.
- No native mobile app is listed: the FAQ says the web app also works in mobile browsers, and the extension supports Chrome and Firefox.
Key features
GitLab
- Issues, epics and boards
- Planning uses issues and epics, with issue boards that support Scrum and Kanban workflows and parent-child relationships between items.
- Planning next to code
- Work items live on the same platform as repositories and pipelines, so each item can be tied to the code and deployments behind it.
- Reports and dependency views
- Burnup and burndown charts, drill-down reports and the Value Streams Dashboard, plus a view of dependencies across issues, epics and roadmaps.
- Scaled agile frameworks
- The vendor says it supports SAFe, LeSS and Disciplined Agile with governance controls for larger organizations.
- Wikis and documentation
- Wikis and static websites can be written and published directly from GitLab, next to the code they describe.
- Duo Agent Platform
- AI features for planning and delivery are available through the GitLab Credits add-on, and each paid plan includes a promotional amount of credits.
Zenhub
- Boards built on GitHub issues
- Zenhub syncs issues, pull requests and permissions from a connected GitHub organization and arranges them on Kanban boards that can span several repositories.
- Extension for Chrome and Firefox
- The browser extension places Zenhub's boards, planning poker and automations inside GitHub's interface. The same workspace is also available as a separate web app.
- Sprints, estimates and planning poker
- Automated sprint planning, story estimates and planning poker are included on every plan, the free one included.
- Roadmaps and work hierarchy
- Real-time roadmaps sit on every plan, and work can be nested as objectives, projects, epics, tasks and sub-tasks that stay in step with GitHub.
- Agile reports
- Basic sprint reports, a velocity report and sprint insights come with every plan. Advanced reporting and GitHub insights are reserved for Enterprise.
- Zenhub AI
- Teams adds AI suggested labels and AI sprint reviews. AI-written acceptance criteria are listed for Enterprise only.
Plans
GitLab
Free$0
5 users per top-level group, 400 compute minutes a month, source code management, CI/CD and static application security testing.
Premium$29
per user / month, billed annually
Unlimited users, 10,000 compute minutes a month, advanced CI/CD, team project management, SLA management and priority support.
UltimateCustom
50,000 compute minutes a month, guest users, security testing, value stream management and strategic portfolio management.
Zenhub
Free$0
Up to 50 users, 1 workspace, 2 connected repositories and 250 issues, with the GitHub extension, sprints, planning poker, roadmaps and velocity reports.
Teams$4.99
per user / month, billed yearly ($7.50 billed monthly)
Up to 10 workspaces, 50 users, 50 repositories and 5,000 issues, adding AI suggested labels, AI sprint reviews and private workspaces.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited users, repositories and issues, up to 10 GitHub organizations, workspace automations, advanced reporting, priority support and a self-hosted option.
Ways to pay less
GitLab
- Other savings
Ultimate free for qualifying open source projects
GitLab for Open Source gives qualifying open source projects Ultimate-tier features, including 50,000 compute minutes, at no cost.
Zenhub
- Annual discount
33% off with annual payment
Teams is $4.99 per user / month billed yearly against $7.50 billed monthly. Zenhub's FAQ describes this as 4 months free, or 33% off.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, GitLab or Zenhub?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Zenhub is cheaper to start with: $4.99 a month for each person, against $29 a month for each person for GitLab. GitLab starts at $29 per user / month, billed annually, and Zenhub starts at $4.99 per user / month, billed yearly.
Which has a free plan, GitLab or Zenhub?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both GitLab and Zenhub have a free plan.
Which platforms do GitLab and Zenhub run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Zenhub lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.