400 compute minutes a month per top-level namespace on GitLab-hosted runners, with up to 5 users per group; instance runners stop taking jobs once the quota is used.
Verified ·Oct 15, 2026
Free allowance
What the free plan includes, as the provider states it.
- build minutes / month
- 400 min
- Per top-level group or personal namespace on GitLab-hosted instance runners; bigger machines use minutes faster (cost factor 2-12 on Linux). Your own project or group runners do not count.
- seats
- 5
- Per top-level group.
- storage
- 10 GB
- GitLab's pricing lists '10 GiB adjustable storage' for Free (shown here as 10 GB); that line does not say what 'adjustable' means.
The fine print
Each verdict links to the quote it rests on.
- Free for
- As long as you stay within the limits
- At the limit
- Anything over the limit is refused until the next period
- Spending cap
- None needed: the free plan cannot bill you
- Idle projects
- No pause rule documentedUsage resets on the first day of each month. Jobs already running may continue until the namespace is 1,000 compute minutes over quota, then they are dropped.
- Data retention
- No deletion rule documented
- Card at sign-up
- Sometimes requiredThe pricing page says no credit card is required, but sign-up checks are risk-based: medium-risk users verify a phone number and high-risk users a credit card. Phone verification is unsupported in some countries, including China.
- Identity check
- An email address
- Commercial use
- Not statedThe pricing page describes Free as for individuals working on personal projects and open source contributions; no restriction is stated.
- Mainland China
- Partly reachableGreatFire rates gitlab.com, where developers use the web UI and API, as mixed: https://gitlab.com opens only sometimes, and tested gitlab.com pages range from blocked to accessible.
- Sign-up regions
- No restrictions documented
- Quotas apply per
- Organization
Alternatives
Other free plans for the same need, ranked by the same neutral rules.
Changes
- Correction
Better: Mainland China reachability corrected: not verified → partly reachable
- Oct 15, 2026
- Awaiting review
- Free