GitHub vs Bitbucket
GitHub is the default code host, with the biggest ecosystem of Actions, integrations and developers. Bitbucket is Git hosting built into the Atlassian suite, where commits link to Jira issues automatically. Teams that want the broadest marketplace and the most familiar pull request workflow pick GitHub; teams already paying for Jira and Confluence often find Bitbucket the natural fit.
Niels AbrahamsenAnalyst, Security & Infrastructure
Elena Marchetti
Sebastiaan SmitsVendors can pay for visibility on this site; it never changes what we say about a product. How that works.
Choose GitHub ifyou are not tied to Atlassian, want the largest marketplace of Actions and integrations, and value developers arriving with an account and the habits already in place.
Choose Bitbucket ifyour team already runs on Jira and Confluence, wants commits linked to issues without extra setup, and likes slightly lower published seat prices.
GitHub and Bitbucket side by side
| GitHub | Bitbucket | |
|---|---|---|
| Our version control software rank | #2 of 11 | #3 of 11 |
| Established in | United States | Australia |
| Pricing | Free plan with unlimited public and private repositories; Team $4 and Enterprise from $21 per user per month for the first twelve months, published | Free up to 5 users; Standard $3.65 per user per month; Premium $7.25 per user per month, published |
| List price, 30 September 2026 | Team: $4 USD per user per month for the first 12 months | Standard: $3.65 per user per month |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | Yes | — |
Both are reviewed in full in our version control software ranking: GitHub and Bitbucket.
Where they differ
GitHub 2 · Bitbucket 2 · open 1- 01
Fit with Jira
Bitbucket comes from the same vendor as Jira and ties code changes to Jira work items as part of the suite. GitHub connects through the GitHub for Atlassian app: once a Jira site administrator and a GitHub organisation owner install it, branches, commits and pull requests that carry a work item key appear in Jira. Both work; Bitbucket needs no separate app to set up and maintain.
Edge: Bitbucket
- 02
Pull requests and marketplace
Outside the Atlassian ecosystem, Bitbucket's pull request interface and marketplace feel thinner than GitHub's. GitHub has the largest ecosystem of Actions and integrations, plus the biggest pool of developers who already know it. For the daily experience of reviewing code and adding automation, GitHub is the stronger product.
Edge: GitHub
- 03
What the free plans cover
GitHub's free plan is defined by repositories: unlimited public and private ones, with 2,000 Actions minutes a month. Bitbucket's is defined by headcount: free for up to five users, with 50 build minutes a month and 1 GB of Git LFS storage. A team of three is covered by either, but GitHub's allowance is larger and does not end at five people.
Edge: GitHub
- 04
Paid seat prices
Bitbucket Standard costs $3.65 per user per month and Premium $7.25. GitHub Team is listed at $4 and Enterprise at $21, both for the first twelve months. The entry tiers are close; the gap opens at the top tier, where Bitbucket is about a third of the price. Tier contents differ, but on published price Bitbucket is cheaper.
Edge: Bitbucket
- 05
Self-hosted editions
Both vendors sell a self-managed edition aimed at larger organisations. GitHub Enterprise Server is part of the Enterprise plan, listed at $21 per user per month for the first twelve months. Bitbucket Data Center is positioned for customers with strict regulatory or security requirements and is sold through Atlassian's sales team, with no price on the Bitbucket pricing page. Neither is a low-cost route to self-hosting.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
If you need to run the platform on your own servers, or want pipelines, security scanning and planning in one product, GitLab fits better than either. A Microsoft shop wanting boards, pipelines and artifact feeds bundled should look at Azure DevOps.
GitHub or Bitbucket: questions
4 answersIs Bitbucket cheaper than GitHub?
Slightly at the entry level and clearly at the top.
Bitbucket Standard is $3.65 per user per month against GitHub Team at $4, and Bitbucket Premium is $7.25 against GitHub Enterprise at $21; GitHub lists both its prices for the first twelve months. The tiers are not feature-identical.
Should a Jira team use GitHub or Bitbucket?
Bitbucket is the natural choice if you already pay for Jira and Confluence, because it belongs to the same suite.
GitHub also works with Jira through the GitHub for Atlassian app, which shows branches, commits and pull requests on a work item when its key is in the branch name, commit message or pull request title.
Is it easy to switch between GitHub and Bitbucket?
Moving into Bitbucket is easier than moving out: migrating a large history away from it takes more work than bringing it in.
In any host change, the CI pipelines are the real effort, since GitHub Actions workflows and Bitbucket Pipelines definitions do not carry over unchanged.
Does Bitbucket have a container registry like GitHub Packages?
Yes. Atlassian made Bitbucket Packages, a container registry inside Bitbucket Cloud, generally available in December 2025 for Standard and Premium workspaces on monthly billing, with 1 GB or 2 GB of storage included.
GitHub's plans include Packages storage from 500 MB on Free to 2 GB on Team.
Sources
Checked 30 September 2026- GitHub pricing page: GitHub plan prices, free plan allowances and Enterprise Server being part of the Enterprise plan.
- Bitbucket pricing page: Bitbucket plan prices, the five-user free plan and its build minutes and storage.
- Atlassian Support: connect GitHub Cloud to Jira: how GitHub activity is linked to Jira work items.
- Bitbucket Data Center page: Bitbucket having a self-managed edition sold through sales.
- Atlassian blog: Bitbucket Packages general availability: Bitbucket Cloud including a container registry on paid plans.