GitLab vs VMware Tanzu Platform comparison

GitLab and Broadcom are both solutions in the Build Automation category. GitLab is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.3, while Broadcom is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.5. GitLab holds a 12.2% mindshare in BA, compared to Broadcom’s 1.5% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of GitLab users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

GitLab

Read 87 GitLab reviews

18,203 Views
4,187 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

VMware Tanzu Platform

Read 23 VMware Tanzu Platform reviews

6,728 Views
336 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

GitLab

VMware Tanzu Platform

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

GitLab and VMware Tanzu Platform compete in the cloud and development tools space. GitLab appears to hold an advantage in repository and CI/CD pipeline management, whereas VMware Tanzu excels in Kubernetes and VMware integration.

Features: GitLab offers powerful repository tools, CI/CD pipeline, and integration capabilities, allowing for effective branch management and code reviews. VMware Tanzu Platform excels in Kubernetes cluster management and integrates seamlessly with VMware infrastructure, enhancing microservices and container orchestration with strong integration across virtualization, networking, and storage components.

Room for Improvement: GitLab struggles with integration beyond Kubernetes, lacking compatibility with platforms such as AWS, ETS, and Jira. Improvements are also needed in documentation and reporting features. VMware Tanzu needs better customization, visibility, and integration with non-VMware products, as well as reduced costs and enhanced disaster recovery options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: GitLab supports deployments across public, private, and hybrid clouds, benefiting from a large user community despite less responsive direct support without paid tiers. VMware Tanzu supports hybrid and multi-cloud deployments, with support experience influenced by knowledge of the VMware ecosystem and licensing terms. Both products emphasize the need for in-house expertise for effective management.

Pricing and ROI: GitLab offers a free version and paid licenses, proving cost-effective for small teams but expensive for some organizations. Its automation enhances ROI. VMware Tanzu's pricing is higher, fitting larger enterprises comfortably within VMware's ecosystem, and is known for enterprise-grade integration and scalability at a higher premium.

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

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. VMware Tanzu Platform

September 2025

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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

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (11th), Release Automation (2nd), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (7th), Rapid Application Development Software (11th), Software Composition Analysis (SCA) (5th), Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (2nd), Fuzz Testing Tools (3rd), DevSecOps (1st)

VMware Tanzu Platform

Ranking in Build Automation

13th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

PaaS Clouds (11th), Cloud Management (22nd), Development Platforms (3rd), Container Management (3rd), Service Mesh (8th), Agile and DevOps Services (3rd)

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 VMware Tanzu Platform is 1.5%, up from 0.9% 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%
VMware Tanzu Platform	1.5%
Other	86.3%

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

ErmiasGirma

Cloud Infrastructure Engineer at Safaricom Ethiopia plc

Has supported container-based deployments and improved infrastructure visibility through monitoring tools

Aria Operations, formerly known as VMware vRealize Operations, has been renamed to vROps. We are currently using this for monitoring purposes. For orchestration, we are using VCD to automate Telco Cloud. VCD is an automation tool, and we are also using VMware Tanzu Platform for the Kubernetes environment, alongside TKG, Tanzu Kubernetes Grid. These are also other solutions for the Tanzu Kubernetes environment. For Telco Cloud, we are using it to automate our company's operations, which is for a telecom company. We are familiar with these products, especially vCenter, ESXi, VCD, vCF, and vROps. It is very easy to integrate applications when we deploy vCenter and ESXi since we can enable vSphere with Tanzu feature. We can build namespaces and provide application developers the platform to deploy their applications on pods within containerization. We can easily manage, pull results, and create containers efficiently, making it a simple way to handle applications. We provide namespace labels for application developers, and we can manage their resources along with other aspects easily. Regarding security, we use many tools such as CDX and LDAP, AD for integrating our Kubernetes cluster with the developer teams. We can manage roles and permissions simply. It is very straightforward to integrate with EDX and other third-party tools, Active Directory, to the Kubernetes cluster, allowing easy access and management.

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 important feature is the entire process of versioning source code maintenance and easy deployment. It is a necessity for the CI/CD pipeline."

"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."

"Key features allow creation of well-presented Wiki that includes ideas, development, and domains."

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

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

"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."

"This is a scalable solution. We had around 200 users working with it."

More GitLab pros

"Tanzu Mission Control has quite a set of rich features when compared to OpenShift."

"We can build namespaces and provide application developers the platform to deploy their applications on pods within containerization, and we can easily manage, pull results, and create containers efficiently, making it a simple way to handle applications."

"The most valuable feature of VMware Tanzu Mission Control is the management functionality of the cluster life cycle. Additionally, the solution integrates well with other vendors, such as Velero for backups and Sonobuoy for compliance. Additionally, it works well in multi-cluster environments."

"Defining security metrics has proven beneficial for customers in maintaining a safe environment."

"The most important thing about the solution is its flexibility."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the ability to check the flow of all the different variants within our applications."

"The valuable feature I have found to be the management of Kubernetes clusters in a private cloud or public clouds, such as Azure or Google Cloud Platform."

"The solution is integrated very well with a lot of other systems. Also, its GUI is very good."

More VMware Tanzu Platform pros

Cons

"GitLab can improve its user interface to make conflict resolution more user-friendly."

"I have encountered issues with the deployment of CI/CD pipelines, especially dealing with variable environments."

"You need to have a good knowledge of the product in order to use it."

"There are some challenges with repository file management as GitLab may struggle to manage larger files."

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

"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."

"The only thing our company is really waiting on in terms of features is the development of metrics."

"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."

More GitLab cons

"It is not easy to build a solution with containers. It has a graphical user interface, but you need to have a lot of knowledge of Linux and how to work in the command mode. Its support can also be improved. Currently, its biggest disadvantage is that it is a new product, and the clients prefer to go for a solution that has been in the market for a long time. There are not that many people who know this product."

"Cost is always a concern. Smaller companies might find the price a bigger issue."

"VMware Tanzu Service Mesh could add better integration with other cloud platforms, such as vRealize Automation or VMware vCloud Director for cloud providers."

"The solution's initial setup process was complex...The solution could benefit from improved customization and visibility for its users."

"LYNX is a managed cluster solution that takes care of specific details within a cluster, such as sequences or services. I haven't seen this feature in Tanzu Mission Control."

"The infrastructure is quite challenging."

"Having a unified dashboard to manage all infrastructure, whether it involves additional IT infrastructure or modern apps, would be highly advantageous"

"The product should support integration with Google Cloud Platform (GCP)"

More VMware Tanzu Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's pricing is acceptable."

"This is an open-source solution."

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

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

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

"We are currently using the open-source version."

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

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

More GitLab pricing and cost advice

"It is not the most expensive option, and I believe the capabilities align well with the value it provides."

"The least expensive licensing cost for VMware is around $350 per core."

"The solution is only for large or medium size enterprises because it is expensive."

"The solution is bundled in with Cloud Foundry so the pricing is not independent."

"Since we were at a large data center, the price might not have been a concern for us."

"Its pricing is very competitive. We get around 70% or 75%, sometimes even 80%, discount on the product. I would rate it a four out of five in terms of pricing."

"The price of VMware Tanzu Mission Control is greater than that of Red Hat's competitor solution"

"One of our Spanish customers told us that VMware Tanzu Service Mesh is a very expensive product for their data center."

More VMware Tanzu Platform pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	10

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

Which is better - OpenShift Container Platform or VMware Tanzu Mission Control?

Red Hat Openshift is ideal for organizations using microservices and cloud environments. I like that the platform is auto-scalable, which saves overhead time for developers. I think Openshift can b...

See all answers

What do you like most about VMware Tanzu Mission Control?

It definitely gives the end customer a good overview and perspective of running applications in terms of overall workload footprint. TMC provides a very detailed description of your cloud-native ap...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Tanzu Mission Control?

The price of VMware Tanzu Mission Control is greater than that of Red Hat's competitor solution. I would rate the pricing of VMware Tanzu Mission Control as four out of ten.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 40% 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

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs GitLab

Compared 3% of the time

More GitLab Competitors

Rancher Labs vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 16% of the time

Kubernetes vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 12% of the time

Red Hat OpenShift vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 9% of the time

Docker vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Azure vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 5% of the time

More VMware Tanzu Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

GitLab

October 2025

Download GitLab product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware Tanzu Platform

October 2025

Download VMware Tanzu Platform product report

Also Known As

Fuzzit

Tanzu Application Catalog, Application Platform, Application Service, Hub, Mission Control, Service Mesh, Build Service, Concourse for VMware Tanzu

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

VMware Tanzu Platform is designed for cloud-native development and management of Kubernetes, CI/CD processes, microservices, and containerized workloads. It supports deployments both on cloud and on-premises, providing centralized management via Mission Control.

VMware Tanzu Platform offers seamless integration with vSphere, ESX, and vSAN, supporting centralized cluster management and lifecycle management. The platform provides a GUI for monitoring CI/CD pipelines and network policies, enhancing multi-tenancy and Day 2 operations. Users can easily manage Kubernetes clusters, monitor applications, and integrate with tools such as GitHub, GitLab, Cloud Foundry, and Azure. It ensures compliance and security for service providers, financial institutions, and businesses.

What are the key features of VMware Tanzu Platform?

Integration with vSphere, ESX, and vSAN: Enhances compatibility and flexibility.
Seamless Cluster Management: Centralized control over Kubernetes clusters.
CI/CD Pipelines and Network Policies: Simplifies monitoring and management.
Multi-tenancy Support: Facilitates resource sharing among multiple users.
Comprehensive Lifecycle Management: Streamlines deployment and scalability.
Observability Platform: Provides enhanced visibility and control.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in VMware Tanzu Platform reviews?

Centralized Management: Simplifies operations and reduces manual effort.
Enhanced Compliance and Security: Meets regulatory requirements.
Flexibility in Deployment: Supports both cloud and on-premises options.
Seamless Integration: Works with multiple vendors and tools.
Developer-Friendly Environment: Improves productivity and innovation.

Industries such as financial institutions, service providers, and businesses requiring rigorous compliance and security deploy VMware Tanzu Platform. These entities benefit from centralized management, streamlined DevOps processes, and integrated tools, enhancing their capabilities in cloud-native developments and containerized workloads.

Broadcom

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

Verizon, Cerner, Zipcar, Avarteq

Buyer's Guide

GitLab vs. VMware Tanzu Platform

September 2025

Free Report: GitLab vs. VMware Tanzu Platform

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