GitLab

Choosing the right programme

• Pre-Seed or Seed, externally funded: GitLab for Startups gives a free Ultimate licence for one year.
• Series A or Series B: the discount is 50% in year one and 25% in year two.
• An open-source project that does not sell services or add-ons: use the Open Source Program.
• To enter the hackathon: Life After Code closes on 27 October 2026.
• Support is not included in the startups programme, so budget for it separately.

How applications work

• GitLab for Startups: complete the application form on the programme page. Questions go to startups@gitlab.com.
• Applications are not processed during U.S. holidays.
• Open Source Program: enrol through the programme page and renew each year.
• Life After Code: register on Devpost.

How selection works

• GitLab checks each startup application against a Crunchbase or PitchBook profile, or a VC or accelerator web page.
• The startups programme is offered at GitLab's sole discretion and can change, so check the page before you plan around it.

Before you apply

• The startups page does not say whether companies in India qualify. Ask startups@gitlab.com before you assume.

GitLab Inc. is a publicly traded software company, listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker GTLB, that describes itself as all-remote. It runs a licence programme for externally funded startups, a free programme for open-source projects, and a hackathon whose entries close on 27 October 2026.

How programmes work

GitLab for Startups is for companies that have outside funding and are new GitLab customers. Pre-Seed and Seed companies get a free GitLab Ultimate licence for one year, for up to 20 seats, on SaaS or self-managed deployments. In year two they get 50% off any tier, for up to 20 users. Series A and Series B companies get 50% off any tier in year one and 25% off in year two, also for up to 20 users. Each tier has an external-funding ceiling, which the programme page sets out. Support is not included, and the page says the product is designed to be easy to use without it.

GitLab's pricing page describes free Ultimate licences for startups in general. Its startups page limits the free year to Pre-Seed and Seed companies and gives Series A and Series B companies a discount instead. This page follows the startups page, which is the more specific source.

The GitLab for Open Source Program gives qualifying open-source projects GitLab Ultimate features at no cost, self-managed or on SaaS, including 50,000 compute minutes. Membership is renewed each year, and members do not receive support.

GitLab says its open core is published under an MIT open source licence and the rest of the product is source-available.

The hackathon, Life After Code, is run on Devpost as the 2026 GitLab Transcend Hackathon. Entries close on 27 October 2026 at 1:00pm UTC. Prizes are offered for every level of autonomy, and judges come from GitLab, Google and Anthropic. An earlier Transcend Orbit Hackathon ran until 24 June 2026 and is closed.

Who can apply

GitLab for Startups is for externally funded companies. The programme page does not say whether companies in India qualify, so ask GitLab before you apply. Applications are checked against a Crunchbase or PitchBook profile, or a VC or accelerator web page.

The Open Source Program is for projects under an OSI-approved open-source licence, in a namespace where every project is open source and publicly visible. The organisation may accept donations to sustain its work, but it may not seek to make a profit by selling services, charging for enhancements or add-ons, or by other means. That rules out most commercial startups. GitLab says it serves people worldwide, except in U.S.-embargoed countries.

Life After Code is open to adults above the age of majority in their country of residence.

Scale

GitLab's company page gives an estimated registered user base of over 50 million as of June 2026. It also reports 2,500-plus team members, 5,500-plus code contributors and 177 consecutive monthly releases. These are the company's own figures.

History and founders

The company's page says its 2011 start was an open-source project for one team of programmers. Secondary reports say the company itself was incorporated in 2014 to develop and sell the software. We have not confirmed the company's founding year. Secondary reports name Dmitriy Zaporozhets as the person who started the project and Sid Sijbrandij as a founder who joined later. We have not checked those reports against the company's own pages. Secondary reporting says the company listed on the Nasdaq on 14 October 2021.

Locations

GitLab describes itself as all-remote, and its company page gives no headquarters. Secondary reports disagree: one lists San Francisco, California, and others say the company has no headquarters.