GitLab CI
Built-in CI/CD for GitLab repositories with Auto DevOps, container registry, review apps, and integrated Pages hosting.
Best for teams already on GitLab who want integrated CI/CD without setting up a separate service or managing runners.
Use Cases
Free Tier
400 CI minutes/month, 10GB storage, 5 users per group
How to Maximize the Free Tier
GitLab CI's free tier includes 400 CI minutes/month — among the lowest of major CI providers. Stretch them by: (1) Using GitLab's caching between pipeline runs to avoid re-downloading dependencies. (2) Running jobs only on merge requests (rules:if) rather than every push. (3) Using the public runner fleet for open-source projects (unlimited minutes). (4) Enabling Auto DevOps — it handles CI pipeline creation automatically with sensible defaults. Monitor your minutes in CI/CD Settings and set a pipeline quota to prevent accidental overuse.
Getting Started
Sign up or log into GitLab → go to your project → Settings → CI/CD → create .gitlab-ci.yml in repo root → define stages (build, test, deploy) → commit → pipeline runs automatically. Use GitLab's template library for quick starts. Enable Auto DevOps for zero-config pipelines.
Pros
- Integrated platform: Source control, CI/CD, container registry, and project management in one place — no tool stitching needed
- Auto DevOps: Auto DevOps creates a full CI/CD pipeline automatically with minimal configuration for common stacks
- Open-source friendly: Unlimited CI minutes for public and open-source projects on shared runners — great for community repos
Cons
- Sparse free minutes: 400 minutes/month for private repos is very restrictive — a few full test suites can exhaust them within days
- Runner availability: Free shared runners can be slow or unavailable during peak hours compared to dedicated runners
- YAML complexity: GitLab CI YAML has a steep learning curve with rules, needs, parallel, and include — expect a learning investment