GNU Make vs GitLab comparison

GitLab and GNU are both solutions in the Build Automation category. GitLab is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6, while GNU is ranked #16 with an average rating of 9.0. GitLab holds a 15.9% mindshare in BA, compared to GNU’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of GitLab users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of GNU users who would recommend it.

GitLab

Read 82 GitLab reviews

6,080 Views
4,974 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

GNU Make

Read 6 GNU Make reviews

226 Views
152 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

GitLab

GNU Make

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

GNU Make and GitLab operate in the build automation and DevOps platform categories. GitLab has a strategic advantage attributed to its modern feature set and robust capabilities, offering greater value despite GNU Make's simplicity and efficiency in specific tasks.

Features: GNU Make automates build activities in software development, facilitating complex build rule definitions with straightforward script syntax. GitLab provides a robust suite of features beyond just build automation, including continuous integration, continuous deployment, project management tools, and collaborative tools like code review capabilities.

Room for Improvement: GNU Make could improve by offering more support options and user-friendly configuration tools. GitLab can be enhanced by extending its feature set to make full use of its existing functionalities and by optimizing user workflows.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: GitLab ensures a streamlined deployment process with comprehensive documentation and responsive customer service. GNU Make, on the other hand, requires more manual configuration and lacks extensive support options, making GitLab more user-friendly.

Pricing and ROI: GNU Make is open-source and free, providing immediate cost-effectiveness for build automation. GitLab, although offering free options, includes premium paid tiers with additional features that generate significant value by enhancing collaboration, efficiency, and reducing time to market.

To learn more, read our detailed GNU Make vs. GitLab Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

GNU Make vs. GitLab

April 2025

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Helped 850,028 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

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (9th), Release Automation (2nd), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (7th), Rapid Application Development Software (12th), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (5th), Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (2nd), Fuzz Testing Tools (2nd), DevSecOps (3rd)

GNU Make

Ranking in Build Automation

16th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Build Automation category, the mindshare of GitLab is 15.9%, down from 18.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GNU Make is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Build Automation

Featured Reviews

Gaurav Chandel

AWS DevOps/ Site Reliability Engineer at Tata Consultancy

Boosted productivity with automated pipelines and seamless collaboration

There are some challenges with repository file management as GitLab may struggle to manage larger files. Improvements could be made regarding size management and file partitioning. Also, the UI has remained the same for a couple of years and could benefit from an update with AI features and better customization.

Read full review

reviewer2561757

Software at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

Enhances productivity with efficient dependency handling and a straightforward setup

GNU Make is used as a build system tool. Most people don't use GNU Make directly but utilize other systems like CMake to generate Make files, which are then run by GNU Make. This is common for tasks like compiling C++ code. In the industry, AI developers, for example, use GNU Make in their work…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We like that we can create branches and then the branches can be reviewed and you can mesh those branches back. You can independently work with your own branch, you don't need to really control the core of other people."

"The solution is stable."

"GitLab is a solution for source code management, container registry, pipelines, testing, and deployment."

"We use the Git repository and tagging feature. We are a product-based company and use this solution to move to a forward or backward tag."

"I like that it's easy to deploy our services over GitLab. The customer support is also good with a really active community. You have a lot of support that you can get online with your stack. That is probably one of the benefits of using GitLab. It's also really fast."

"The user interface is really good so that helps with huge teams who need to collaborate."

"Everything is easy to configure and easy to work with."

"It is scalable."

More GitLab pros

"Setup is extremely straightforward."

"Full-featured syntax allows building strategies as simple or as complex as one wishes, and declarative approach fits the task really well. Wide adoption also means that everybody knows what GNU Make is and how to use it."

"GNU Make is such an essential tool that it is almost impossible to imagine working without it. Not having it, developers would probably have to resort to doing everything manually or via shell scripts."

"The initial setup of GNU Make is straightforward."

"Makefiles are extremely easy to work with using any preferred editor. GNU Make can be run directly from the terminal, not requiring any time wasted on clicking."

"I have not encountered any scalability issues with GNU Make. It is as scalable as the project's structure is, and then some."

Cons

"There was a problem with the build environment when we were looking at developing iOS applications. iOS build require Mac machines and there are no Mac machines provided by GitLab in their cloud. So to build for mobile iOS application, we needed to use our own Mac machine within our own infrastructure. If GitLab were to provide a feature such that an iOS application could also be built through GitLab directly, that would be great."

"GitLab would be improved with the addition of templates for deployment on local PCs."

"I rate the support from GitLab a four out of five."

"We'd like to see better integration with the Atlassian ecosystem."

"The licensing model could be improved to be more accommodating in terms of user numbers and costs."

"There are missing search features, particularly when searching repositories or applying filters. Additionally, I have encountered issues with the deployment of CI/CD pipelines, especially dealing with variable environments."

"This solution could be improved by adding modifications such as slack notifications."

"The price of GitLab could improve, it is high."

More GitLab cons

"GNU Make requires using the Tab symbol as the first symbol of command line for execution. In some text editors this can be problematic, as they automatically insert spaces instead of tabs."

"Vanilla GNU Make does not support any kind of colored output. A wrapper named colormake exists to work around this, but native (opt-in) support would be welcome."

"GNU Make does not provide traditional customer support."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the pricing a five out of ten."

"I don't mind the price because I use the free version."

"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."

"This is an open-source solution."

"The solution's standard license is paid annually. They have changed the pricing model and it used to be better. There is a free version available."

"We are using the free version of GitLab."

"In total, I believe we have more than 300 licenses spread over about 100 users, though I can't comment on the costs involved."

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

More GitLab pricing and cost advice

"GNU Make is free and open source software."

"There is no price for this product. No licensing. It’s open-source."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

24%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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 of GitLab is reasonable, aligning with what I consider to be average compared to competitors.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GitLab?

Certain features in Jira are not available in GitLab, such as the functionality to have weights at the milestone and epic levels. Hopefully, these features will be resolved with work items in GitLa...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GNU Make?

GNU Make is a free solution that comes with Linux, which positively impacts operational costs by eliminating licensing fees.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GNU Make?

I am not familiar enough with it to suggest any specific new features or areas for improvement. It occupies its niche well.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for GNU Make?

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 26% of the time

GitHub CoPilot vs GitLab

Compared 14% of the time

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs GitLab

Compared 7% of the time

AWS CodePipeline vs GitLab

Compared 5% of the time

Tekton vs GitLab

Compared 5% of the time

More GitLab Competitors

Jenkins vs GNU Make

Compared 100% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

GitLab

April 2025

Download GitLab product report

Buyer's Guide

Build Automation

April 2025

Download GNU Make product report

Also Known As

Fuzzit

No data available

Overview

GitLab is a complete DevOps platform that enables teams to collaborate and deliver software faster.

It provides a single application for the entire DevOps lifecycle, from planning and development to testing, deployment, and monitoring.

With GitLab, teams can streamline their workflows, automate processes, and improve productivity.

GitLab

Make is a tool which controls the generation of executables and other non-source files of a program from the program's source files.

GNU

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

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Buyer's Guide

GNU Make vs. GitLab

April 2025

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