GitLab CI vs GitHub Actions: The Ultimate Comparison in 2025

Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines have become essential in modern DevOps. In 2025, two major players continue to dominate the CI/CD ecosystem: GitLab CI and GitHub Actions. While both offer robust automation features, they cater to different workflows and developer needs.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll compare GitLab CI and GitHub Actions across multiple dimensions — including features, ease of use, cost, flexibility, and performance. We’ll also explore what makes these tools stand out against traditional solutions like Jenkins.

What is a CI/CD Pipeline?

A CI/CD pipeline is an automated sequence of steps that allows developers to:

• Continuously Integrate code into a shared repository
• Automatically test new code before merging
• Deploy changes to staging or production environments seamlessly

CI/CD pipelines help teams move faster, reduce human error, and deliver software updates more reliably.

Why Jenkins is Becoming Obsolete

Once the king of CI/CD, Jenkins was known for its flexibility and plugin ecosystem. But in 2025, Jenkins shows signs of aging:

• Complex setup and maintenance
• Manual plugin management
• Lack of built-in version control integration
• Poor UX compared to modern tools

"I used Jenkins for years, but switching to GitLab CI and GitHub Actions was a breath of fresh air. They’re faster, cleaner, and deeply integrated with modern workflows."

GitLab CI Overview

🔧 Key Features

• Integrated CI/CD in GitLab (no need for third-party tools)
• Auto DevOps: out-of-the-box pipelines
• Multi-platform runners (Docker, Kubernetes, shell)
• Pipeline visualization
• Powerful caching and artifact handling

🚀 Pros

• Unified experience (issue tracking, CI/CD, code repo in one)
• Free shared runners (with generous limits)
• Built-in secrets management
• Excellent container registry

🧱 Best Use Cases

• End-to-end DevOps teams
• Containerized applications (Docker/Kubernetes)
• Enterprises needing detailed access control

GitHub Actions Overview

🔧 Key Features

• Workflow automation based on events (push, pull request, etc.)
• Marketplace for thousands of Actions
• Matrix builds (e.g., test across multiple OS/Node versions)
• Built-in caching, artifacts, and secrets
• Integration with GitHub Projects & Codespaces

🚀 Pros

• Native GitHub integration
• Extremely easy to set up
• Great for open-source projects
• Huge community and reusable actions

🧱 Best Use Cases

• GitHub-centric workflows
• Fast MVP development
• Startups, solo developers, OSS contributors

GitLab CI vs GitHub Actions: Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Performance & Speed in Real Projects

GitHub Actions often win on cold start performance, thanks to prebuilt environments. However, GitLab CI provides better control and optimization for large-scale pipelines.

Developer Experience: My Personal Journey

As someone who migrated from Jenkins, I appreciated:

• The clean YAML config in both GitLab and GitHub
• Error visibility and trace logs
• Integration with issue tracking and merge requests
• GitHub Actions' prebuilt marketplace helped reduce repetitive scripting

I found GitLab CI more customizable for enterprise setups, while GitHub Actions felt lighter and quicker to ship with.

Cost Comparison (2025)

Flexibility & Extensibility

• GitLab CI supports multiple YAML includes, parent-child pipelines, and reusable pipeline templates.
• GitHub Actions supports composite actions, custom runners, and reusable workflows.

Both are great, but GitLab wins on multi-project pipeline orchestration.

Which One Should You Choose?

✅ Choose GitLab CI if:

• You're already using GitLab for repos
• You want deeper DevOps integrations (monitoring, security, registry)
• You manage complex deployments (K8s, hybrid cloud)

✅ Choose GitHub Actions if:

• Your code lives in GitHub
• You want the fastest setup
• You’re building open-source or personal projects

Other CI/CD Alternatives in 2025

Final Thoughts: Why Modern Devs Prefer GitLab CI and GitHub Actions

CI/CD in 2025 is about speed, simplicity, and integration.

Both GitLab CI and GitHub Actions are mature, reliable, and actively developed. They offer modern developers everything Jenkins once promised — without the overhead.

Personally, I lean on GitLab CI for enterprise applications and GitHub Actions for side projects and OSS.

No matter your choice, the most important thing is this:

Automate early, automate often, and let your CI/CD pipeline be your superpower.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Can I use GitHub Actions with GitLab repos? A: Not directly. GitHub Actions are tightly integrated with GitHub-hosted repositories.

Q: Is GitLab CI open source? A: Yes, GitLab has an open-core model with both open source and enterprise editions.

Q: Can I migrate from Jenkins to GitHub Actions or GitLab CI easily? A: Yes! There are guides, converters, and even community templates for this process.

Call to Action

If you're still using Jenkins in 2025, it's time to rethink your pipeline strategy.

✅ Try GitLab CI if you want full DevOps in one place. ✅ Use GitHub Actions if you're shipping fast and love GitHub.

Whichever tool you choose — automate smart, deploy faster.

Authored by Osman Aras, DevOps enthusiast and Laravel backend architect

Follow me on GitHub • Visit my blog