--- title: "GitHub vs GitLab: Which is searched more?" description: "Is GitHub or GitLab more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Code hosting platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/code-hosting-platforms/compare/github-vs-gitlab" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # GitHub vs GitLab: Which is searched more? Is GitHub or GitLab more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Code hosting platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: GitHub and GitLab - **Competitive set**: Code hosting platforms - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **GitHub Share of Search**: 92.4% - **GitLab Share of Search**: 4.6% ## Is GitHub or GitLab more popular in search? - In September 2026, GitHub had more branded searches than GitLab among code hosting platforms worldwide. GitHub had about 16.6 million branded searches, while GitLab had 823,000. GitHub made up 92.4% of all code hosting platform searches we track, and GitLab accounted for 4.6%. - GitHub was ahead of GitLab in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, GitHub’s share of searches among code hosting platforms worldwide moved from 89.1% to 92.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 11.1M to 16.6M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, GitLab’s share of searches among code hosting platforms worldwide moved from 6.6% to 4.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 823K. ## Top code hosting platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, both GitHub and GitLab showed up in all five answers. GitHub was listed before GitLab in every answer. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | GitHub | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | GitLab | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Bitbucket | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Codeberg | 4th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Forgejo | 5th | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Gitea | 6th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Azure DevOps | 7th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about code hosting platforms - Asked ChatGPT "Which code hosting platform should I use?": 1. GitHub, 2. GitLab, 3. Bitbucket, 4. Forgejo - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best code hosting platforms?": 1. GitHub, 2. GitLab, 3. Bitbucket, 4. Codeberg, 5. Forgejo, 6. Gitea, 7. Azure DevOps - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best code hosting platform for a development team?": 1. GitHub, 2. GitLab, 3. Bitbucket, 4. Azure DevOps, 5. Forgejo - Searched Google, AI Overview "code hosting platform": 1. GitHub, 2. GitLab, 3. Bitbucket, 4. Codeberg, 5. Gitea, 6. Forgejo, 7. Azure DevOps - Searched Google, AI Overview "source code hosting": 1. GitHub, 2. GitLab, 3. Bitbucket, 4. Codeberg, 5. Gitea, 6. Forgejo Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 19, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for code hosting platforms worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, GitLab gained share of searches among code hosting platforms worldwide, from 3.8% to 4.6%. - In September 2026, GitHub lost share of searches among code hosting platforms worldwide, from 93.1% to 92.4%. ## Month by month | Month | GitHub estimated searches | GitHub Share of Search | GitHub rank | GitLab estimated searches | GitLab Share of Search | GitLab rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 11.1M | 89.1% | 1 | 823K | 6.6% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | 13.6M | 91.9% | 1 | 673K | 4.5% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | 11.1M | 90% | 1 | 673K | 5.5% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | 11.1M | 90.1% | 1 | 673K | 5.5% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | 13.6M | 91.7% | 1 | 673K | 4.5% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | 16.6M | 92% | 1 | 823K | 4.6% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | 16.6M | 92.1% | 1 | 823K | 4.6% | 2 | | May 2026 | 16.6M | 91.9% | 1 | 823K | 4.6% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 13.6M | 90.9% | 1 | 823K | 5.5% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | 13.6M | 91.7% | 1 | 673K | 4.5% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | 16.6M | 93.1% | 1 | 673K | 3.8% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | 16.6M | 92.4% | 1 | 823K | 4.6% | 2 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using GitHub’s and GitLab’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **GitHub**: Measured on the search term “github”. - **GitLab**: Measured on the search term “gitlab”. - [GitHub profile](/demand/global-en/brands/github) - [GitLab profile](/demand/global-en/brands/gitlab) - [All code hosting platforms worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/code-hosting-platforms): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is GitHub or GitLab more popular in search? In September 2026, GitHub had more branded searches than GitLab among code hosting platforms worldwide. GitHub had about 16.6 million branded searches, while GitLab had 823,000. GitHub made up 92.4% of all code hosting platform searches we track, and GitLab accounted for 4.6%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "GitHub vs GitLab: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/code-hosting-platforms/compare/github-vs-gitlab This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/code-hosting-platforms/compare/github-vs-gitlab. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.