GitLab vs Harness comparison

GitLab and Harness are both solutions in the Build Automation category. GitLab is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.3, while Harness is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.0. GitLab holds a 12.2% mindshare in BA, compared to Harness’s 6.9% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of GitLab users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Harness users who would recommend it.

GitLab

Read 87 GitLab reviews

18,203 Views
4,187 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Harness

Read 5 Harness reviews

2,388 Views
1,982 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

GitLab

Harness

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

GitLab and Harness compete in the software development domain. GitLab has the upper hand with its all-encompassing DevOps platform offering, contrasting with Harness's specialization in continuous delivery automation.

Features: GitLab delivers an integrated set of tools covering version control, continuous integration and delivery, and robust project management. Harness sets itself apart with its focus on simplifying continuous delivery, featuring automated rollbacks, feature flags, and insights into deployment efficiency.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: GitLab provides both self-managed and cloud-hosted deployment options, valued for flexibility and detailed documentation. Harness opts for a managed service, prioritizing simplicity in continuous delivery and offering responsive customer support.

Pricing and ROI: GitLab is more budget-friendly initially, offering a comprehensive DevOps solution that appeals to cost-conscious businesses. Harness, with potentially higher setup costs, aims to deliver long-term ROI by optimizing delivery processes through automation and efficiency gains.

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

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. Harness

September 2025

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Helped 871,358 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 Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

7th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (11th), Release Automation (2nd), Rapid Application Development Software (11th), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (5th), Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (2nd), Fuzz Testing Tools (3rd), DevSecOps (1st)

Harness

Ranking in Build Automation

7th

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

18th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Cost Management (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Build Automation category, the mindshare of GitLab is 12.2%, down from 17.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Harness is 6.9%, up from 4.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Build Automation Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
GitLab	12.2%
Harness	6.9%
Other	80.9%

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.

Read full review

Linwei Yuan

Software Engineer at Citi

Streamline microservices deployment with integrated execution pipelines and comprehensive monitoring

Harness integrates all functions like execution pipelines, environment checks, and log monitoring in one place. It is very convenient since we have many microservices, so having one platform for all of them is beneficial. The dashboard allows me to monitor all core services' deployment status in one place, making it easier to find bugs and check logs.

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

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

"GitLab's best features are continuous integration and fast deployment."

"I like GitLab from the CI/CD perspective. It is much easier to set up CI/CD and then integrate with other tools."

"GitLab's source control is excellent."

"Of all available products, it was the easiest to use and easy to install."

"A user friendly solution."

"The CI/CD pipeline with Helm has significantly improved deployment speed and efficiency."

"This product is always evolving, and they listen to the customers."

More GitLab pros

"Everything in Harness is configured and runs smoothly."

"Harness integrates all functions like execution pipelines, environment checks, and log monitoring in one place."

"It's a highly customizable DevOps tool."

"The features of Harness are valuable, supporting rolling deployments, basic deployments, and blue-green deployments with zero downtime."

"Harness integrates all functions like execution pipelines, environment checks, and log monitoring in one place, making it convenient."

"Harness starts integrating with organizations, making everything automated without the need for manual interruption."

Cons

"It would be really good if they integrated more features in application security."

"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 solution does not have many built-in functions or variables so scripting is required."

"The integration and storage capabilities could be better."

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

"The solution should be more cloud-native and have more cloud-native capabilities and features."

"GitLab could add a plugin to integrate with Kubernetes stuff."

More GitLab cons

"When deploying multiple components to multiple environments, like production and BCP, failures sometimes occur. Improvements are needed when deploying one component to one environment."

"I prefer the previous less compact UI version of Harness, which showed more details on the screen."

"When integrating Harness with more than twenty applications in one place, it becomes less stable, causing improvements to be necessary."

"There's also room for improvement in debugging pipeline issues, which can sometimes become complex."

"Harness setup and configurations could be made easier to configure, which would be helpful."

"Even with automation, there's a requirement for manual change requests for approvals."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"We are using its free version, and we are evaluating its Premium version. Its Ultimate version is very expensive."

"GitLab's pricing is good compared to others on the market."

"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."

"I'm not aware of the licensing costs because those were covered by the customer."

"My company uses the free version of GitLab, which is GitLab Community Edition. There is a licensed version also available for GitLab."

"The open-source version is very good and the commercial version is reasonably priced."

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

More GitLab pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

30%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	35
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	42

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?

We are currently using general GitLab, not GitLab Premium.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GitLab?

GitLab needs to improve the CI/CD functionality because it is not compatible with Jenkins and other tools, as it is not that efficient. Security-wise, we have security features enabled in GitLab fo...

See all answers

What do you like most about Harness?

It's a highly customizable DevOps tool.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Harness?

Harness setup and configurations could be made easier to configure, which would be helpful.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Harness?

In Harness, we are basically using Canary type deployments. We have applications, web applications, and web servers. Whenever we get the WAR file with 50 servers in a load balancer, Harness will de...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Azure DevOps vs GitLab

Compared 39% of the time

GitHub CoPilot vs GitLab

Compared 11% of the time

TeamCity vs GitLab

Compared 4% of the time

Tekton vs GitLab

Compared 4% of the time

More GitLab Competitors

GitHub Actions vs Harness

Compared 19% of the time

Jenkins vs Harness

Compared 15% of the time

TeamCity vs Harness

Compared 10% of the time

Tekton vs Harness

Compared 9% of the time

Bamboo vs Harness

Compared 6% of the time

More Harness Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

GitLab

October 2025

Download GitLab product report

Buyer's Guide

Harness

October 2025

Download Harness product report

Also Known As

Fuzzit

Armory

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

Harness offers a comprehensive toolset for automating deployment processes and enhancing software update efficiency. It's lauded for its CI/CD capabilities, feature flagging, and real-time deployment monitoring. Key features include an intuitive UI, secret management, and robust rollback functionalities, all contributing to improved productivity and reduced errors in DevOps environments.

Harness

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

Linedata, Openbank, Home Depot, Advanced

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. Harness

September 2025

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