GitLab CI/CD Pricing 2026: Compute Minutes, Free Tier, and True Per-Minute Cost
GitLab has two distinct models: SaaS and self-managed. The difference in cost is significant. Verified against about.gitlab.com/pricing and docs.gitlab.com, August 2026.
Two GitLab CI Models: SaaS vs Self-Managed
Managed by GitLab. Charges per compute minute. Free tier: 400 minutes/month. Standard Linux and Windows medium runners consume at cost factor 1; macOS and larger runners consume minutes faster. Great for teams that don't want to run infrastructure.
You run GitLab on your own server. CI minutes are completely free - you just pay for the server and your runner machines. GitLab Community Edition is free and open-source. This is one of the best-value CI options at moderate-to-high build volumes.
GitLab SaaS Pricing
| Plan | Cost | CI minutes/month | Overage rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 400 min | Not available |
| Premium | $29/user/mo (billed annually) | 10,000 min | $0.010/min |
| Ultimate | Custom (contact sales) | 50,000 min | $0.010/min |
Cost factors apply on GitLab SaaS. Standard Linux and Windows medium runners consume compute minutes at factor 1 ($0.010/min effective). macOS runners consume at 6x (M1 medium, about $0.06/min) to 12x (M2 Pro large), and larger Linux runners at 2x to 12x. That puts GitLab Windows level with GitHub Actions Windows ($0.010/min) and GitLab macOS roughly level with GitHub Actions macOS ($0.062/min).
400 free minutes/month is modest. A workflow taking 8 minutes uses the free allowance in just 50 runs. Teams with daily CI on the SaaS free tier will exhaust this quickly.
Self-Managed GitLab: Unlimited Free CI Minutes
GitLab Community Edition is free, open-source, and includes full CI/CD capabilities. You pay for the servers that host GitLab and your runners - that is your only cost.
| Component | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| GitLab CE server | $20-50/mo | t3.medium or equivalent. Handles git + pipelines. |
| Runner server (1 agent) | $15-30/mo | t3.small-medium. Runs your CI jobs. |
| Additional runner (each) | $15-30/mo | Add more for concurrency. |
| CI minutes | Free | Unlimited. You own the runners. |
At 20,000 minutes/month, a self-managed GitLab CE setup costs roughly $50-80/month total. The equivalent on GitHub Actions: (20,000 - 3,000) x $0.006 = $102/month in compute alone.
Cost Factors in Practice: Mixed OS Teams
Worked example: team doing 5,000 min Linux + 2,000 min Windows + 500 min macOS per month.
| Platform | Linux cost | Windows cost | macOS cost | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Actions | 2,000 x $0.006 = $12 | 2,000 x $0.010 = $20 | 500 x $0.062 = $31 | ~$63 |
| GitLab SaaS (Premium) | 5,000x1 + 2,000x1 + 500x6 = 10,000 compute min, within 10,000 included | $0 extra (within plan) | ||
For this mixed-OS team, usage comes to 10,000 compute minutes once cost factors are applied (macOS M1 medium at 6x), which GitLab Premium's included allowance covers exactly. GitHub Actions would charge ~$63/month in compute (after 3,000 free minutes on Team plan). The advantage narrows once you account for macOS cost factors; the bigger lever is that Premium's 10,000 included minutes absorb mixed workloads.