GitHub is the world's largest code hosting platform, used by over 100 million developers for version control, collaboration, and software development. Built on Git, GitHub provides pull requests, code review, issue tracking, project management, CI/CD with GitHub Actions, and a marketplace of 10,000+ integrations. GitHub is owned by Microsoft and is the default platform for open-source development and most commercial software teams.
Development & CodingVerified listing
GitHub
GitHub is a cloud-based Git hosting platform where developers store code, track issues, review pull requests, and run automated workflows through GitHub Actions.
Best for: Open-source project maintainers who want the widest contributor reach · Software development teams that want collaboration, CI, and hosting in one place · Developers building APIs or libraries that others will integrate · Startups that want professional development workflows without infrastructure overhead · Anyone learning Git who wants tutorials, community, and visibility for their projects
- Free plan
4.7/5 ratingEditorial score 93/100Last reviewed Sep 22, 2026github.com
The editorial note
What to know about GitHub
Is it right for you?
Who GitHub suits
Choose it if
- Open-source project maintainers who want the widest contributor reach
- Software development teams that want collaboration, CI, and hosting in one place
- Developers building APIs or libraries that others will integrate
- Startups that want professional development workflows without infrastructure overhead
- Anyone learning Git who wants tutorials, community, and visibility for their projects
Look elsewhere if
- Teams wanting a fully integrated DevSecOps platform in one product — GitLab includes CI/CD, security scanning, and container registry natively without third-party integrations
What you get
Key features
- Git repository hosting with pull requests
- GitHub Actions CI/CD pipelines
- GitHub Copilot AI code completion
- Issues and project management boards
- Code review with inline comments
- GitHub Packages (container and npm registry)
- GitHub Pages for static site hosting
- GitHub Advanced Security (GHAS)
Works with
Integrations8
What it costs
Pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | FreeBilled month | Unlimited repos, 2,000 Actions minutes/month, basic collaboration |
| Team | $4/user/monthBilled month | Protected branches, required reviewers, 3,000 Actions minutes/month |
| Enterprise | $21/user/monthBilled month | Advanced security, SAML SSO, enterprise support, 50,000 Actions minutes |
Prices are recorded from the vendor's public pricing page and can change. Check before you buy.
The trade-off
Pros and cons
Pros
- Industry standard — virtually every developer and team uses GitHub, making collaboration easy
- GitHub Actions provides powerful CI/CD automation directly in the repository
- GitHub Copilot integrates AI code suggestions into VS Code, JetBrains, and more
- Excellent pull request and code review tools with inline comments and suggestions
- Free unlimited public repositories and generous free private repo allowances
Cons
- GitHub Actions pricing can be expensive for large teams with many CI minutes
- Advanced security features like secret scanning are locked to Enterprise tier
- Repository search and code navigation are less powerful than GitLab's built-in DevSecOps
- Dependency on Microsoft cloud infrastructure concerns some privacy-focused organizations
Quick read
At a glance
- Category
- Development & Coding
- Pricing model
- Freemium
- Entry plan
- Free
- Free plan
- Available
- Free trial
- Not listed
- Platforms
- macOS, Web, Windows, Linux
- Website
- github.com
- Last reviewed
- Sep 22, 2026
The verdict
Our take on GitHub
GitHub's network effects are its defining advantage: nearly every developer has an account, and most public packages are hosted there. The free plan is surprisingly complete for individuals and open-source work. Teams hit its limits quickly — protected branches and required reviewers are basic quality-control features that only appear on the Team plan. GitHub Actions is well-designed and the minutes allocation on paid plans is enough for most teams without additional cost.
Editorial review
From the journal
Editorial review of GitHub
GitHub's network effects are its defining advantage: nearly every developer has an account, and most public packages are hosted there. The free plan is surprisingly complete for individuals and open-source work. Teams hit its limits quickly — protected branches and required reviewers are basic quality-control features that only appear on the Team plan. GitHub Actions is well-designed and the minutes allocation on paid plans is enough for most teams without additional cost.
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Developer toolsCollaboration
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