GitHub Pages vs GitLab Pages compared

This comparison rarely changes anyone's mind about which Git host to use — it's almost always decided already by where the repository lives. The interesting part is how similar the two are once you're inside either ecosystem: both are free, both need a working CI config, and both support custom domains.

How they compare

	GitHub Pages	GitLab Pages
Deploy method	Serves from a branch, or via GitHub Actions	Deployed via a .gitlab-ci.yml pipeline, even a minimal one required
Free tier	Free, tied to a GitHub repo	Free, tied to a GitLab repo
Custom domain	Yes, via a CNAME file, free HTTPS	Yes, free HTTPS supported
Build/CI required	Optional — a plain branch works, Actions optional for a build step	Required — a CI pipeline config is needed even for static files
Best for	Projects already hosted on GitHub, especially open-source docs	Projects already hosted on GitLab, including private/self-hosted setups

When to choose GitHub Pages

If your code is already on GitHub, Pages is close to zero marginal cost to turn on — for a pure static site, you can serve straight from a branch with no CI config at all. It's the default for open-source project docs precisely because the repo is already the source of truth and adding a CNAME file is the entire setup.

When to choose GitLab Pages

GitLab Pages makes sense when your team is already on GitLab, particularly if you're using GitLab's self-hosted option or its broader CI/CD pipeline for other parts of the project. The tradeoff is that it always requires a working .gitlab-ci.yml, even for a folder of plain HTML, where GitHub Pages lets you skip CI entirely for the simplest case.

If you just need to host static files

Both of these assume you're already living inside a Git workflow — a repository, commit history, and in GitLab's case a CI pipeline, before your first deploy. If you don't use Git day-to-day, or just have an exported folder of HTML you want online, that's a lot of setup for a static site. Flaash skips all of it: drag the folder or .zip into the browser and it's live on a *.flaash.live subdomain right away, no repo, no CI file. The honest tradeoff is custom domains — both GitHub Pages and GitLab Pages support them for free via a CNAME, while Flaash doesn't support custom domains yet on any plan.

Frequently asked questions

Does GitLab Pages really require a CI pipeline for a static site? Yes — even a minimal .gitlab-ci.yml is required to trigger the deploy, unlike GitHub Pages which can serve directly from a branch with no pipeline at all.

Can I move a site from GitHub Pages to GitLab Pages later? Generally yes, since the deployed output is just static files either way — the main work is replicating the deploy config (Actions workflow versus .gitlab-ci.yml) on the new platform.

Which is better for a private repository? GitLab has historically offered more generous free private repo limits, though both platforms support Pages for private projects depending on your plan.