The short answer: GitHub wins for most developers. GitLab wins for specific use cases — and they're not rare use cases. Let me explain where the line is.

I've used both platforms extensively. GitHub is where I've worked on every open source project I've touched in the last decade. GitLab is what I recommended to two clients with strict data residency requirements who couldn't use a cloud-hosted platform. These aren't the same problem, and picking the wrong one is annoying to undo.

Here's the actual comparison.

Quick Verdict

Pick GitHub if: You're a solo developer, you work on open source, you're using GitHub Copilot, or your team is already there.…