GitLab vs GoCD comparison

GitLab and Thoughtworks are both solutions in the Build Automation category. GitLab is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6, while Thoughtworks is ranked #16 with an average rating of 7.3. GitLab holds a 14.5% mindshare in BA, compared to Thoughtworks’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of GitLab users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of Thoughtworks users who would recommend it.

GitLab

Read 85 GitLab reviews

19,768 Views
4,547 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

GoCD

Read 7 GoCD reviews

881 Views
617 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

GitLab

GoCD

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 7, 2025

GoCD and GitLab compete in the continuous integration and delivery space. GitLab seems to hold the advantage due to its comprehensive feature set and strong market appeal.

Features: GoCD provides powerful pipeline management, efficient resource consumption, and value stream mapping to enhance project transparency. In contrast, GitLab offers extensive integrations, robust CI/CD pipelines, and a sophisticated code review system, making it a complete solution for the development lifecycle.

Room for Improvement: GoCD could benefit from a broader range of plugins and enhanced documentation for newcomers. It may also require improvements in user interface customization options. GitLab may improve in refining its complex features for better accessibility, offering more straightforward onboarding guides, and expanding its feature set usage to meet diverse development needs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: GoCD's lightweight architecture simplifies quick setups, focusing on standard workflow management. GitLab provides versatile deployment options, including cloud and hybrid setups, supported by extensive documentation and superior customer service channels for a seamless implementation experience.

Pricing and ROI: GoCD appeals with low initial costs due to its open-source nature, making it cost-effective. GitLab charges higher prices, justified by its extensive features and integration capabilities, which lead to favorable ROI through decreased need for additional tools.

To learn more, read our detailed GitLab vs. GoCD Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. GoCD

July 2025

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Helped 865,164 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

GitLab

Ranking in Build Automation

1st

Ranking in Release Automation

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (11th), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (7th), Rapid Application Development Software (10th), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (5th), Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (2nd), Fuzz Testing Tools (2nd), DevSecOps (1st)

GoCD

Ranking in Build Automation

16th

Ranking in Release Automation

10th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites (15th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Build Automation category, the mindshare of GitLab is 14.5%, down from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GoCD is 1.6%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Build Automation

Featured Reviews

Rohit Kesharwani

Manager, Engineering at 7-Eleven

Improved agility and time to market with CI/CD enhancements

The CI/CD pipelines in GitLab are highly valuable. Another important feature is the single source of repository, allowing efficient repository management and source code management. GitLab provides manageability by allowing us to manage source code effectively through separate repositories. Additionally, GitLab enables the creation of individual CI/CD pipelines for each repository, making software more agile. By integrating GitLab as a DevOps platform, we have enhanced agility, improved our time to market, and different teams can work collaboratively on various projects.

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Nishant Narayan Singh

DevOps Architect at Cognizant

Simplifies the pipeline process, but the access control system needs enhancement

One area of product improvement is the access control system. It is difficult to assign different access levels because it relies on separate keys for developer and admin access, which could be simplified. The folder structure is another aspect that could be enhanced, as all jobs are displayed on a single page without the clear organization seen in Jenkins. Implementing a more structured approach to organizing jobs would improve user experience. AI could simplify job creation. For example, instead of manually editing pipelines as code, an AI tool could allow users to input variables and automatically generate the required jobs. It would help reduce human errors, such as issues that arise from incorrect edits in large code files.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"It speeds up our development, it's faster, safer, and more convenient."

"I have had no problem with the stability of the solution."

"The most valuable feature of GitLab is the automatic merging of code."

"Their CI/CD engine is very mature. It's very comprehensive and flexible, and compared to other projects, I believe that GitLab is number one right now from that perspective."

"We have seen a couple of merge requests or pull requests raised in GitLab. I see the interface, the way it shows the difference between the two source codes, that it is easy for anyone to do the review and then accept the request; the pull request is the valuable feature."

"The important feature is the entire process of versioning source code maintenance and easy deployment. It is a necessity for the CI/CD pipeline."

"It's a great toolbox where the CI/CD pipeline is the fundamental component, but there are so many other features that you can pull from, which makes it a very powerful tool. My current client is using AWS, and they can, of course, use AWS CodePipeline, but GitLab is much more mature than that, and it also gives you the freedom to decide to go to another platform or have a multi-cloud strategy and things like that. That freedom for me is also very valuable."

"As a developer, this solution is useful as a repository holder because most of the POC projects that we have are on GitLab."

More GitLab pros

"Permission separations mean that we can grant limited permissions for each team or team member."

"The UI is colorful."

"The most notable aspect is its user interface, which we find to be user-friendly and straightforward for deploying and comprehending pipelines. We have the ability to create multiple pipelines, and in addition to that, the resource consumption is impressive."

"GoCD's open-source nature is valuable."

Cons

"The only thing our company is really waiting on in terms of features is the development of metrics."

"The solution should again offer an on-premises deployment option."

"The initial setup was quite challenging because it takes some time to understand how to pull out or push the code."

"I would like to see better integration with project management tools such as Jira."

"GitLab's UI could be improved."

"I would like to have some features to support peer review."

"Their RBAC is role-based access, which is fine but not very good."

"We would like to have easier tutorials. Their tutorials are too technical for a user to understand. They should be more detailed but less technical."

More GitLab cons

"The documentation really should be improved by including real examples and more setup cases."

"It is difficult to assign different access levels because it relies on separate keys for developer and admin access, which could be simplified."

"The aspect that requires attention is the user management component. When integrating with BitLabs and authenticating through GitLab, there are specific features we desire. One important feature is the ability to import users directly from GitLab, along with their respective designations, and assign appropriate privileges based on that information. Allocating different privileges to users is a time-consuming process for us."

"The tool must be more user-friendly."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"GitLab is an open-source solution."

"The price of GitLab could be better, it is expensive."

"The solution's pricing is acceptable."

"In terms of the pricing for GitLab, on a scale of one to five, with one being expensive and five being cheap, I'm rating pricing for the solution a four. It could still be cheaper because right now, my company has a small team, and sometimes it's difficult to use a paid product for a small team. You'd hope the team will grow and scale, but currently, you're paying a high license fee for a small team. I'm referring to the GitLab license that has premium features and will give you all features. This can be a problem for management to approve the high price of the license for a team this small."

"GitLab is highly priced for smaller teams, but it's okay if considering a user base of thousands."

"Regarding pricing, I would rate GitLab as moderately priced, maybe around a seven or eight out of ten. It could be more flexible for clients but generally offers good value."

"The solution is based on a licensing model that includes technical support and is paid annually."

"The solution is free."

More GitLab pricing and cost advice

"It's an open-source and free tool."

"This is an open-source solution and it is inexpensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Retailer

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about GitLab?

I find the features and version control history to be most valuable for our development workflow. These aspects provide us with a clear view of changes and help us manage requests efficiently.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GitLab?

The pricing and cost are on par with other tools and are neither too expensive nor cheap.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GitLab?

Regarding improvements, making task management is something that GitLab can potentially make easier, similar to what DevOps or Jira does.

See all answers

What do you like most about GoCD?

The UI is colorful.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GoCD?

The product is free of cost.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GoCD?

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Azure DevOps vs GitLab

Compared 31% of the time

GitHub CoPilot vs GitLab

Compared 14% of the time

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs GitLab

Compared 5% of the time

TeamCity vs GitLab

Compared 5% of the time

Tekton vs GitLab

Compared 5% of the time

More GitLab Competitors

Jenkins vs GoCD

Compared 31% of the time

GitHub Actions vs GoCD

Compared 20% of the time

Tekton vs GoCD

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Azure DevOps vs GoCD

Compared 9% of the time

More GoCD Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

GitLab

August 2025

Download GitLab product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

August 2025

Download GoCD product report

Also Known As

Fuzzit

Adaptive ALM, Thoughtworks Go

Overview

GitLab offers a secure and user-friendly platform for CI/CD pipeline management, code repository control, and collaboration, enhancing development speed and efficiency. It facilitates automation with extensive customization and tool integration, ideal for DevOps processes.

GitLab supports source code management, version control, and collaborative development. It's frequently used in CI/CD processes to automate builds and deployments while integrating DevOps practices. GitLab allows companies to manage repositories, automate pipelines, conduct code reviews, and maintain development lifecycles. The platform supports infrastructure and configuration management, enabling efficient code collaboration, deployment automation, and comprehensive repository handling. Many organizations commit and deploy developed code using GitLab's capabilities.

What are GitLab's most valuable features?

CI/CD Pipeline Management: Streamlines development through automated testing and deployment.
User-Friendly Interface: Ensures ease of collaboration and task automation.
Code Merging and Branching: Facilitates smooth code integration and version control.
Security Platform: Provides strong security features for safe development.
Tool Integration: Enhances functionality with diverse tool integration.

What benefits should users evaluate?

Development Speed: Accelerates processes through automation.
Collaboration Ease: Simplifies team interactions and workflow.
Customization Options: Offers extensive personalization for specific needs.
Comprehensive Documentation: Provides detailed guidance for users.
Secure Platform: Maintains integrity with robust security features.

In specific industries, GitLab serves as a backbone for source code management and CI/CD implementation. Companies leverage its capabilities for infrastructure management and deployment automation, thus streamlining project delivery timelines. Its ability to handle configuration management and code repositories effectively aids in maintaining development lifecycles, making it a preferred choice for organizations committed to enhancing their DevOps practices.

GitLab

GoCD is an open source continuous delivery server created by ThoughtWorks. GoCD offers businesses a first-class build and deployment engine for complete control and visibility. It was designed for continuous delivery and the concepts essential to this practice are built in at the core.

Thoughtworks

Sample Customers

1. NASA 2. IBM 3. Sony 4. Alibaba 5. CERN 6. Siemens 7. Volkswagen 8. ING 9. Ticketmaster 10. SpaceX 11. Adobe 12. Intuit 13. Autodesk 14. Rakuten 15. Unity Technologies 16. Pandora 17. Electronic Arts 18. Nordstrom 19. Verizon 20. Comcast 21. Philips 22. Deutsche Telekom 23. Orange 24. Fujitsu 25. Ericsson 26. Nokia 27. General Electric 28. Cisco 29. Accenture 30. Deloitte 31. PwC 32. KPMG

Ancestry.com, Barclay Card, AutoTrader, BT Financial Group, Gamesys, Nike, Vodafone, Haufe Lexware, Medidata, Hoovers

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. GoCD

July 2025

Free Report: GitLab vs. GoCD

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