GitLab vs Sonatype Repository Firewall comparison

GitLab and Sonatype are both solutions in the Application Security Tools category. GitLab is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.6, while Sonatype is ranked #31 with an average rating of 8.0. GitLab holds a 2.7% mindshare in AS, compared to Sonatype’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of GitLab users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Sonatype users who would recommend it.

GitLab

Read 85 GitLab reviews

3,135 Views
2,310 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Sonatype Repository Firewall

Read 4 Sonatype Repository Firewall reviews

631 Views
264 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

GitLab

Sonatype Repository Firewall

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

GitLab and Sonatype Repository Firewall are competing in the DevOps and DevSecOps categories. GitLab appears to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive features, although Sonatype is a strong contender with its focused security offerings.

Features: GitLab is valued for its integration of source code management, CI/CD, and security features, all enhancing productivity and collaboration across teams. Sonatype Repository Firewall stands out for robust security in repository management, automatically blocking suspicious artifacts and ensuring secure software consumption.

Room for Improvement: GitLab can improve by expanding its feature set, offering more granular control for advanced users, and enhancing user interface customization. Sonatype Repository Firewall could focus on refining its user experience, increasing its integration capabilities with other tools, and streamlining setup processes to ensure ease of use.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: GitLab offers a streamlined deployment process supported by extensive documentation and a strong community, ensuring seamless integration across environments. Sonatype Repository Firewall scores with efficient deployment tailored for secure environments, backed by responsive and knowledgeable customer support, making its targeted assistance noteworthy.

Pricing and ROI: GitLab generally presents a more competitive pricing model, focusing on high ROI through its versatile functionalities. Sonatype Repository Firewall may entail higher initial costs, justified by its specialized security benefits that effectively mitigate security risks, highlighting its value in terms of security assurance.

To learn more, read our detailed GitLab vs. Sonatype Repository Firewall Report (Updated: May 2025).

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. Sonatype Repository Firewall

May 2025

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Helped 860,168 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 Application Security Tools

10th

Ranking in Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Build Automation (1st), Release Automation (2nd), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (7th), Rapid Application Development Software (11th), Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (2nd), Fuzz Testing Tools (2nd), DevSecOps (1st)

Sonatype Repository Firewall

Ranking in Application Security Tools

31st

Ranking in Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

15th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Application Security Tools category, the mindshare of GitLab is 2.7%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sonatype Repository Firewall is 0.5%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Security Tools

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 ( /products/gitlab-reviews ) 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

Ashish Shukla

Global Treasurer at Genpact

You will get clean code every time, and that's a great achievement

For the QA team, it's a really good tool. For those who are not on the QA team, it is also a good tool to use for SDL in the SDLC. It plays a very critical role of doing the automatic quality check recommendation. Meaning, when using this tool, people can easily rectify the issues in the environment itself, instead of going to a higher environment and identifying them. This tool is quite easy to use and learn. We decided that there was no need to hire anyone new who would specialize in this. We had a team of about five to ten people who learned how to use this tool. There are some other automation tools like Jenkins, for example, that require a lot of effort to configure and write out the code, but you do not need to do such for this tool. I thought outside of the box and saw that there are many options available to us when using this tool. The plugins are there, you can download and use the tool at ease and you do not need to do any kind of development. Overall, it’s quite easy to use.

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

"I have found the most valuable feature is security control. I also like the branching and cloning software."

"The most valuable features of GitLab are the CI/CD pipeline and code management."

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

"The code merging capability is something that we use very frequently."

"The solution's most valuable feature is that it is compatible with GitHub. The product's integration capabilities are sufficient for our small company of 35 people."

"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."

"The most valuable feature of GitLab is its security."

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

More GitLab pros

"Another thing that I like about Sonatype is that if you download something today, and five days from today it becomes vulnerable, it will notify you."

"The customer service is fantastic."

"The product's network and intrusion protection features are valuable. It also has rules and compliance features for security."

"The firewall is the only solution that supports Nexus Repository."

Cons

"Atlassian offers more products than GitLab. GitLab offers source control management, version control and collaboration between developers. Atlassian offers features on top of this as well as more integration points for developers."

"It would be better if there weren't any outages. There are occasions where we usually see a lot of outages using GitLab. It happens at least once a week or something like that. Whatever pipelines you're running, to check the logs, you need to have a different set of tools like Argus or something like that. If you have pipelines running on GitLab, you need a separate service deployed to view the logs, which is kind of a pain. If the logs can be used conveniently on GitLab, that would be definitely helpful. I'm not talking about the CI/CD pipelines but the back-end services and microservices deployed over GitLab. To view the logs for those microservices, you need to have separate log viewers, which is kind of a pain."

"We would like to have easier tutorials. Their tutorials are too technical for a user to understand. They should be more detailed but less technical."

"Technologies are always changing. Nowadays, new things like serverless computing and workload management have emerged. We have noticed a few gap items for faster service delivery. For example, we do user interface testing in the latest team and automate it using some tools. Recently, we integrated a tool with user interface testing, which can simulate a multi-user environment. So, we would like to see more integration with different platforms."

"The documentation is confusing."

"The initial setup was quite challenging because it takes some time to understand how to pull out or push the code."

"As a partner, sometimes it's difficult to get support. They have a really complicated procedure for their support."

"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."

More GitLab cons

"What I don't like is the lack of an option to pick up the phone and call someone for support. That is something they need to improve on. They need to have a professional services package, or they need to include that option with their services."

"There are several features lacking in the current offering, particularly concerning container support and AI packages."

"There are several features lacking in the current offering, particularly concerning container support and AI packages, like humming phase support."

"The tool needs to improve its file systems. The product should also include zero test feature."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"GitLab is comparatively expensive, but it provides value because it's feature-rich."

"The solution is based on a licensing model that includes technical support and is paid annually."

"GitLab is an open-source solution."

"We are using the open-source version."

"There are different licensing options available, including a free limited-user license."

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

"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."

"Its price is fine. It is on the cheaper side and not expensive. You have to pay additionally for GitLab CI/CD minutes. Initially, we used the free version. When we ran out of GitLab minutes, we migrated to the paid version."

More GitLab pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is reasonable if you're a large enterprise developing code. It's not super-expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

13%

Educational Organization

12%

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

25%

Government

12%

University

Manufacturing Company

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 and cost are on par with other tools and are neither too expensive nor cheap.

See all answers

What needs improvement with GitLab?

One significant feature we lack is the configuration that enforces code reviews, which simplifies the development life cycle. Unfortunately, this is available only at a higher license level than we...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sonatype Nexus Firewall?

Also, I consider it average. Some people might consider it expensive, however, since it supports many beautiful features, I would say it is worth it.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Sonatype Nexus Firewall?

Many companies, including ours, use Nexus Repository due to concerns about malware and critical vulnerabilities. There should be a specific method to prevent malicious packages from entering the in...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Sonatype Nexus Firewall?

I would give the solution eight out of ten. I would look at the comparison of Sonatype to some other firewalls. There is room for improvement, especially mentioning container support and AI packages.

See all answers

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Product Reports

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GitLab

June 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Application Security Tools

June 2025

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Also Known As

Fuzzit

Sonatype Nexus Firewall, Nexus Firewall

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

Sonatype Repository Firewall is a cloud-based security solution designed to safeguard your software supply chain against malicious components. It operates by meticulously scanning and evaluating each new component against customized governance policies, thereby effectively identifying and blocking potential threats before they infiltrate your development pipeline. What sets Sonatype Repository Firewall apart is its user-friendly setup, seamless integration with existing workflows, and remarkable scalability, making it suitable for software development environments of any size. Key features include blocking malicious components through behavioral analysis, malware scanning, and vulnerability assessment, as well as the ability to enforce custom governance policies. By utilizing this tool, organizations can enhance their software supply chain security, mitigate risks related to supply chain attacks, bolster compliance with industry standards, and ultimately reduce costs associated with security incidents.

Sonatype

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

EDF, Tomitribe, Crosskey, Blackboard, Travel audience

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. Sonatype Repository Firewall

May 2025

Free Report: GitLab vs. Sonatype Repository Firewall

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