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GitHub vs GitLab: startup credits compared

Side-by-side amounts, eligibility and access paths, both verified against the official program pages.

GitHub$10,000 in GitHub credits for up to 12 monthsVerified Nov 3, 2026GitLabFree Ultimate (20 seats) for 12 months then 50% off, or 50% / 25% off for Series A-BVerified Nov 3, 2026

At a glance

FactGitHubGitLab
Value$10,000 in GitHub credits for up to 12 monthsFree Ultimate (20 seats) for 12 months then 50% off, or 50% / 25% off for Series A-B
TypeCreditsCredits + discount
Duration1 year1 year
StagesPre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+
RegionsGlobalGlobal
Max funding raisedNot stated$20,000,000
Max company ageNot statedNot stated
Ways to get it
  • GitHub for Startups partners (VCs, accelerators, incubators) — $10,000 credits, 12 months
  • Apply directly — Free Ultimate, 20 seats, 50k compute minutes/month for 12 months, then 50% off
  • Apply directly — 50% off year 1, 25% off year 2, up to 20 users (Early Stage tier)
Requirements
  • Affiliated with a GitHub for Startups partner
  • Received outside equity funding (up to Series B or earlier)
  • New to GitHub Enterprise (not on an Enterprise plan in the past six months)
  • Never received GitHub credits or Enterprise licenses before
  • Externally funded (VC, accelerator) with verifiable proof
  • Up to $5M raised for the free tier; up to $20M for the discount tier
Not eligible
  • Companies that received GitHub Enterprise credits from Microsoft or GitHub for Startups previously
  • GitHub Enterprise Server and Data Residency deployments
  • Non-equity funding does not count toward the funding requirement
  • Bootstrapped companies (program is for externally funded companies only)
  • Paying GitLab customers within the past calendar year
VerificationVerified· Nov 3, 2026Verified· Nov 3, 2026

Which should you pick?

The two programs are not directly comparable on dollar value. Both accept the same range of funding stages. If you qualify for both, there is usually no reason not to apply to both; the programs are independent.

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