GitLab vs Microsoft Azure DevOps comparison

GitLab and Microsoft are both solutions in the Release Automation category. GitLab is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.4, while Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.2. GitLab holds a 36.0% mindshare in RA, compared to Microsoft’s 38.9% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of GitLab users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

GitLab

Read 81 GitLab reviews

11,677 Views
9,548 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure DevOps

Read 130 Microsoft Azure DevOps reviews

13,529 Views
10,943 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

GitLab

Microsoft Azure DevOps

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

GitLab, GitHub, and Microsoft Azure DevOps are leaders in the DevOps tools category. Microsoft Azure DevOps seems to possess an upper hand due to its seamless integration with Azure Cloud services and strong project management features.

Features: GitLab offers advanced repository management, efficient CI/CD pipeline management, and robust code review tools. GitHub provides a stable and intuitive CI/CD implementation with seamless branching and merging capabilities. Azure DevOps stands out with its integration with Azure Cloud services, comprehensive project management via Azure Boards, and effective test management through Azure Test Plans.

Room for Improvement: GitLab needs better AWS integration, simpler third-party tool connectivity including Jira, and clearer pricing for premium features. Azure DevOps could improve integration with non-Microsoft tools, enhance its dashboards, and streamline user-access flexibility for large deployments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: GitLab offers straightforward setup with various cloud deployment options but relies on community forums for support. Azure DevOps provides a more structured support mechanism with diverse deployment options, though response times and resources for mixed infrastructure could be better.

Pricing and ROI: GitLab's free version is appreciated, but paid tiers, particularly the Ultimate, are costly. However, ROI is reported as good due to automation and productivity gains. Azure DevOps is known for competitive pricing, especially with Microsoft enterprise agreements, and provides flexible license scaling. Its ROI is evident in reduced deployment times and strong ecosystem synergy.

To learn more, read our detailed GitLab vs. Microsoft Azure DevOps Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. Microsoft Azure DevOps

January 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 831,369 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 Release Automation

2nd

Ranking in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (10th), Build Automation (1st), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (9th), Rapid Application Development Software (12th), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (5th), Fuzz Testing Tools (2nd), DevSecOps (3rd)

Microsoft Azure DevOps

Ranking in Release Automation

1st

Ranking in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

130

Ranking in other categories

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Release Automation category, the mindshare of GitLab is 36.0%, up from 30.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure DevOps is 38.9%, up from 36.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Release 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

Akshat Prakash

Consultant at BP

Allows us to deploy code to production without releasing certain features immediately and agile project management capabilities offer resource-leveling

My company has experienced benefits from using it or from recent updates in Azure Pipelines. For instance, we can manage different code versions from the same repository across different environments. We also use feature flags; the code is deployed, but the feature can be made visible to the end user at a later time. Additionally, as part of the deployment, we integrate automated and regression testing, which stops the deployment if testing fails, thus preventing regression bugs. This saves time and increases productivity by reducing the need for manual testing. Lastly, it integrates with the project management aspects, allowing us to link code deployments with project milestones. Azure DevOps supported our shift towards DevOps culture or practices. We shifted to the cloud environment and started migrating from our data centers about eight or nine years back. It has been a long journey. However, we have used Azure DevOps for almost five to six years in every project. We also use automation testing in Azure, so we have an integrated test suite that allows us to perform functional and regression testing effectively via the Azure DevOps system.

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

"The scalability is good."

"It is very useful for reviews. We are using branch merging operations and full reset operations. It is also very useful for merging our code and tracking another branch. The graph diagrams of Git are very useful. Its interface is straightforward and not too complex for us."

"The most valuable features of GitLab are ease of use and highly intuitive UI and performance."

"The best thing is that as the developers work on separate tasks, all of the code goes there and the other team members don't have to wait on each other to finish."

"The solution makes the CI/CD pipelines easy to execute."

"For us, Gitlab's most valuable feature is the integration with Cypress. We're using Cypress as an automation tool, so we're using GitLab as a tool for running in parallel."

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

"The SaaS setup is impressive, and it has DAST solutioning."

More GitLab pros

"We can eliminate some of the middleman processes."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the CI/CD pipeline, and the testing automation."

"It's got something that you won't find in other products."

"The product is easy to use and very stable."

"We use all the DevOps features and services, like reports, Boards, Pipelines, Artifactory, etc. The interface is interactive and intuitive. The platform visuals and workflow are straightforward in Azure DevOps."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is task management."

"The extensibility of the work item forms and customizations as well as the backend API to query the data, et cetera, and manipulate the data programmatically are all very valuable aspects of the product."

"Setting up Azure DevOps was straightforward. It's easy to use the default templates. Everything is under our control, so it's simple to implement new requirements."

More Microsoft Azure DevOps pros

Cons

"The integration could be slightly better."

"The solution could improve by providing more integration into the CI/CD pipeline, an autocomplete search tool, and more supporting documentation."

"Even if I say I want some improvement, they will say it is already planned in the first quarter, second quarter, or third quarter. That said, most everything is quite improved already, and they're improving even further still."

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

"I would like to see better integration with project management tools such as Jira."

"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."

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

"GitLab should enhance its GitOps capability as they are currently using FluxCD, however, Argo CD is better and offers more features. GitLab should work on improving their user interface for GitOps as it is lagging behind."

More GitLab cons

"Compared to JIRA, I think Azure DevOps is missing some management elements, like some reporting features. It would be helpful if some things were clearer when we're adding attributes. For instance, sometimes we want to add some categories or attributes, and it's not so easy."

"It is very difficult to integrate the product with third-party tools."

"Service monitoring should be improved."

"I would like to see a bit more project tracking."

"The only downside is that the deployment could be a little challenging but it is manageable."

"The UI could be improved."

"Microsoft Azure DevOps could improve by providing better integration with other tools. It is very easy to integrate with Azure, but when you need to integrate with other solutions, such as Amazon Web Services, is difficult."

"The functions have too much dependency right now, so it makes it really, really hard to upgrade and make a change in the code."

More Microsoft Azure DevOps cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is okay."

"It is very expensive. We can't bear it now, and we have to find another solution. We have a yearly subscription in which we can increase the number of licenses, but we have to pay at the end of the year."

"This product is not very expensive but the price can be better."

"We are using the open-source version."

"GitLab is highly priced for smaller teams, but it's okay if considering a user base of thousands."

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

"GitLab is a free solution to use."

"As I work in a vast enterprise, I'm unsure about the licensing cost for GitLab. It's the management team that takes care of that."

More GitLab pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is very competitive because of the whole development cycle by Azure DevOps. You don't have to buy and integrate several different tools."

"Its pricing is reasonable for the number of features that you get and the functionality that you can utilize for the agile delivery, which is what we are using it for. I found it extremely cost-effective."

"It has an annual subscription. It can be cheaper for partners. Many open-source products are available in the market, and it would be great if they can be a little bit more competitive in terms of pricing. A lot of startups are looking for an open-source, free, or cheap solution. If they can accommodate such requirements, it will be good for the product in the long run."

"The solution's deployment and licensing costs are very cheap compared to those of its competitors."

"It's a good tool, quite rich, it has a lot of features, and quite a lot of analytical capabilities which are built on top of it so that you can see how your projects are going and all that stuff. It's a good tool."

"The reason that customers are going to the cloud is that it provides the ability to reduce the license cost. For example, when purchasing Office 365 it is bundled with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and many other applications. In the past, purchasing a license was approximately $600. Today it's only $35 or $45 per customer, per client, or per user, plus the storage. It's less expensive for companies today, to use something, such as Microsoft Azure DevOps, and provide the software to all the employees needing a license. It's better to go with the cloud than just to buy the licenses by themselves."

"I don't know the pricing of DevOps. It would be much cheaper than ALM because ALM came out as a software product initially. Now they are moving into a cloud and subscription model. In that case, Microsoft is coming from Azure and the cloud and DevOps and software as a service, so it would be much cheaper, but the catch would be that they are trying to get money on all the sides, like an operating system, Microsoft Office, or Microsoft Azure DevOps."

"There are additional costs for some functionality, such as increased scalability."

More Microsoft Azure DevOps pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Release Automation solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

831,369 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

29%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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?

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 w...

See all answers

Which is better - Jira or Microsoft Azure DevOps?

Jira is a great centralized tool for just about everything, from local team management to keeping track of products and work logs. It is easy to implement and navigate, and it is stable and scalabl...

See all answers

Which is better - TFS or Azure DevOps?

TFS and Azure DevOps are different in many ways. TFS was designed for admins, and only offers incremental improvements. In addition, TFS seems complicated to use and I don’t think it has a very fri...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure DevOps?

Valuable features for project management and tracking in Azure DevOps include a portal displaying test results, check-in/check-out activity, and developer/tester productivity.

See all answers

Comparisons

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs GitLab

Compared 8% of the time

GitHub CoPilot vs GitLab

Compared 8% of the time

AWS CodePipeline vs GitLab

Compared 5% of the time

Tekton vs GitLab

Compared 5% of the time

TeamCity vs GitLab

Compared 4% of the time

More GitLab Competitors

Jira vs Microsoft Azure DevOps

Compared 16% of the time

Rally Software vs Microsoft Azure DevOps

Compared 6% of the time

OpenText ALM / Quality Center vs Microsoft Azure DevOps

Compared 4% of the time

TFS vs Microsoft Azure DevOps

Compared 4% of the time

ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management vs Microsoft Azure DevOps

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Azure DevOps Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

GitLab

January 2025

Download GitLab product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure DevOps

January 2025

Download Microsoft Azure DevOps product report

Also Known As

Fuzzit

Azure DevOps, VSTS, Visual Studio Team Services, MS Azure DevOps

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

Microsoft Azure DevOps is a cloud service that enables developers to collaborate on code development projects and create and deploy applications quicker than ever before. The service helps unite developers, project managers, and software development experts through a collaborative experience while using the application. For the users' convenience, Azure DevOps offers the user cloud services through Azure DevOps Services or an on-premises service using Azure DevOps Server. In addition, it supports integration with additional services and adding extensions, including the ability for the user to create their own custom extensions.

Azure DevOps provides a variety of unified features that can be accessed through their web browser or IDE client, such as:

Azure Pipelines - Develop and deploy services to support ongoing application integration and delivery. Azure pipelines, which work with almost every project type and most languages, will automatically test code projects in order to make them available to others.
Azure Artifacts - Share packages and integrate package sharing between teams. Packages include NuGet, npm, and Maven, in addition to other private and public sources. Developers can now share and consume packages with other developers from different public registries.
Azure Repos - Offers source control of your code through Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC) or Git repositories. Developers can now keep track of any changes that are made in their code over the course of their project.
Azure Test Plans - Offers continuous and manual/exploratory app testing through several tools. Test Suites, or a collection of Test Cases, are grouped together in a container called a Test Plan.
Azure Boards - Provides a suite of Agile tools to track work, support planning, code defects, and general issues while using Kanban and Scrum software. Teams are in need of tools that are flexible and will help them grow. Azure Boards is a service that helps developers manage their software projects.

Benefits of Microsoft Azure DevOps

Microsoft Azure DevOps offers many benefits, including:

A quick setup and easy deployment
An elastic scale
Exceptional security
No-maintenance operations
Effortless collaboration through domains
The ability to create and deploy products faster than traditional software

Reviews from Real Users

Microsoft Azure DevOps stands out among its competitors for a variety of reasons. Two major ones are its ability to forecast how long each task will take and the ability for users to follow the entire development process.

PeerSpot viewers note the effectiveness of this solution. An executive chief operating officer for a cloud provider notes, “We can forecast tasks and the number of hours a task will take and can compare it with how long a task actually takes.”

Carlos H., a product and system director at SPCM, writes, “I think the most usable thing is that you can follow the whole progress of the development process. This makes it very useful for us.”

Microsoft

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

Alaska Airlines, Iberia Airlines, Columbia, Skype

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. Microsoft Azure DevOps

January 2025

Free Report: GitLab vs. Microsoft Azure DevOps

Find out what your peers are saying about GitLab vs. Microsoft Azure DevOps and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

831,369 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our GitLab vs. Microsoft Azure DevOps report.

See our list of best Release Automation vendors and best Enterprise Agile Planning Tools vendors.

We monitor all Release Automation reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.