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GitLab vs HackerOne comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

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 Application Security Tools
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
Build Automation (1st), Release Automation (2nd), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (9th), Rapid Application Development Software (11th), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (4th), Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (2nd), Fuzz Testing Tools (2nd), DevSecOps (1st)
HackerOne
Ranking in Application Security Tools
19th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (27th), Bug Bounty Platforms (2nd), Penetration Testing Services (2nd), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (11th), AI Observability (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of GitLab is 2.1%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HackerOne is 0.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Security Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
GitLab2.1%
HackerOne0.5%
Other97.4%
Application Security Tools
 

Featured Reviews

BasilJiji - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Role-based workflows have transformed daily deployments and improve team collaboration
GitLab has role-based access control, so when a team member needs to make a code change, they cannot directly apply it to the environment but must put in a merge request. Once a senior reviews the code and approves it, then it is implemented across the environment, making it safer and allowing everyone to experience the process. The best features GitLab offers are version control and automation, which are the major things that stand out to me. When it comes to access, the login is very smooth, with just one login integrated with our Okta, allowing everyone to log in easily. Deployments become much easier, and that is how GitLab helps. The automation features make my work easier because we use a tool called AWX, which is connected to GitLab. Whenever we run a job on AWX, it directly checks the code and uses it. Since the code is not preserved locally but kept in the cloud, it is safe and nobody can tamper with it. When it comes to safety, that is a major thing. Automation features allow the code to be accessed from any tools we use, so the jobs we run are helping tremendously and doing their work perfectly. For pipeline tasks, we have created a significant amount of pipelines, which are all hosted in GitLab. Running the pipelines has become much easier, and they are doing a perfect job, helping tremendously in our day-to-day activities. GitLab has positively impacted my organization because previously we stored code locally on servers, leading to many risks. Since GitLab came into our environment, our integration and deployments became much easier, helping our work become much smoother. Improvements from GitLab have led to better team collaboration because when several people are working, they can all edit the code and submit it as a merge request, and once approved, it reflects directly to the main branch. Many can work at the same time. When it comes to deployments, deploying has become much faster since we started using GitLab, and even if errors occur, we can spot them easily and troubleshoot, which has helped tremendously.
Ruphus Muita - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior ICT Security Consultant at Applied Principles Limited
Has improved my motivation to submit bugs consistently through fast response and clear filtering
I think HackerOne can be improved by allowing new users to gain access to certain programs that are only open to known, renowned users. Sometimes new users don't receive invites just because they are new, despite potentially being very skilled hackers, so I feel new users should get more chances and opportunities. I am currently satisfied with the rewards, response time, and other aspects of the platform, so I don't have anything else to add about the necessary improvements. I give HackerOne a nine out of ten because if new hackers are given more opportunities, it could be a perfect 10 for me. However, the reason I gave a nine is that I don't have much to complain about; I specifically love the program and don't have many concerns.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"CI/CD is valuable for me."
"It is user-friendly, easy to use, and easy to administer."
"The most valuable feature of GitLab is the ability to upload scripts and make changes when needed and then reupload them. Additionally, the solution is user-friendly."
"They incorporate new features every September, and they have introduced their own code editor and AI features."
"Git hosting has an integration with ACD which is why we liked this solution in the first place."
"Key features allow creation of well-presented Wiki that includes ideas, development, and domains."
"In our software development lifecycle, GitLab is used as a component for code repository management. We use GitLab for several projects to handle code repositories. For other software projects, we use Bitbucket, but the use case for both is very similar."
"The solution's most valuable features are pipelines."
"Apart from getting all the bug bounty opportunities, we also get the chance to practice in a safe environment, like a demo setup. These features are great for beginners who want to explore bug bounties in the future."
"It helps me to get new sales, profits, and other benefits."
"The most valuable feature of HackerOne is its variety of programs. These programs provide depth into various areas, such as mobile, API, and websites."
"HackerOne is larger than WebCloud and has a better reputation than BugCloud, which results in a smoother process."
"The fast verification process impacts my motivation significantly because a quick response keeps me motivated, and if I'm going to try and hunt bugs today, I would appreciate a response within the day or at least within a few days."
"HackerOne is larger than WebCloud and has a better reputation than BugCloud, which results in a smoother process."
 

Cons

"It has fewer options, and its UI is not so user-friendly."
"GitLab could consider introducing a code-scanning tool. Purchasing such tools from external markets can incur charges, which might not be favorable. Integrating these features into GitLab would streamline the pipeline and make it more convenient for users."
"Based on what I know so far, its integration with Kubernetes is not so good. We have to develop many things to make it work. We have to acquire third-party components to work with Kubernetes."
"I believe there's room for improvement in the advanced features, particularly in enhancing the pipeline functionalities."
"In my experience, GitLab is stable; however, sometimes it takes much time to start the runner and gets stuck in a pending situation, possibly due to traffic issues."
"The solution could be faster."
"I'm new to GitLab, so I would appreciate more documentation about the code and commands."
"I would like to see AI support in GitLab."
"One issue I've experienced is traffic. Many people try to participate when an opportunity with a bounty of around 1,000-15,000 dollars comes up. In this case, the first person to report the vulnerability gets the bounty. If a second person reports the same vulnerability, they are marked as duplicated instead of receiving some recognition. The second person also invested time finding the issue, so I think this can be improved."
"Response time can be improved. The HackerOne Trust team can be slow to respond sometimes. They're not using AI, which could help reduce the number of duplicate reports."
"Everything has become slower on HackerOne. I have noticed that older researchers receive all the private invites while newer ones receive fewer."
"Everything has become slower on HackerOne."
"Sometimes new users don't receive invites just because they are new, despite potentially being very skilled hackers, so I feel new users should get more chances and opportunities."
"The ability to view the conversation between the triagers and the programs will be really good."
 

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."
"The price of GitLab could be better, it is expensive."
"We are currently using the open-source version."
"I'm not sure if they have some kind of discount. I've been negotiating with them on prices before, and I believe they weren't too happy to give discounts, but list prices are $19 per user, per month for Premium and $99 per user, per month for Ultimate. So, the difference between Premium and Ultimate is a bit bigger, and in most companies, you need to build some type of business case."
"GitLab is cheap."
"The price is okay."
"The open-source version is very good and the commercial version is reasonably priced."
"I think that we pay approximately $100 USD per month."
"The solution is free."
"The tool is open-source and free for bug bounty hunters."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business36
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise45
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Large Enterprise3
 

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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GitLab?
We are currently using general GitLab, not GitLab Premium.
What needs improvement with GitLab?
GitLab can be improved by being more responsive in the UI and offering better pricing for premium features, which would be useful for small startups. While GitLab's CI/CD is powerful, it is somewha...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HackerOne?
I have not experienced any costs since I use HackerOne independently, just logging into the site, hunting bugs, and submitting them without any expenses.
What needs improvement with HackerOne?
I think HackerOne can be improved by allowing new users to gain access to certain programs that are only open to known, renowned users. Sometimes new users don't receive invites just because they a...
What is your primary use case for HackerOne?
My main use case for HackerOne is mostly for submitting bugs. I get into the programs listed there, find one that is suitable for me, do my penetration testing on the systems, try to bypass some co...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Fuzzit
HackerOne Assets, HackerOne Pentesting Services, HackerOne Security Assessments, HackerOne Vulnerability Management
 

Overview

 

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
Anthropic, Crypto.com, General Motors, GitHub, Goldman Sachs, Uber, and the U.S. Department of Defense
Find out what your peers are saying about GitLab vs. HackerOne and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.