head to head · open source
GitLab vs mantis
GitLab has 24,550 GitHub stars, 5,943 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. mantis has 2,704 stars, 224 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. GitLab leads on adoption by 808% (24,550 vs 2,704 stars). GitLab is written in Ruby under a custom or non-standard licence; mantis is written in Python under Apache-2.0. GitLab has attracted 24% as many forks as stars, mantis 8%. mantis was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| GitLab | mantis | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Ruby | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-23 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.9K | ⑂ 224 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick GitLab if
- You weight community size — 25K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick mantis if
- You want the mantis feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and mantis fits your workflow better
About GitLab
GitLab Canonical source The canonical source of GitLab where all development takes place is hosted on GitLab.com. If you wish to clone a copy of GitLab without proprietary code, you can use the read only mirror of GitLab located at However, please do not submit any issues and/or merge requests to that project. Free trial You can request a free trial of GitLab Ultimate on our website. Open source software to collaborate on code To see how GitLab looks please see the features page on our website. Manage Git repositories with fine grained access controls that keep your code secure Perform code reviews and enhance…
read the full GitLab overview →
About mantis
Mantis: Portable Toolkit for Building Secure Software [!CAUTION] USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL. This suite is designed to generate and execute autonomously generated code that may be unstable or perform unexpected actions. USE THIS ONLY IN ISOLATED, RESTRICTED ENVIRONMENTS. Never run this suite on a machine with access to production systems, sensitive data, or internal networks. [!IMPORTANT] RESPONSIBLE USE AI models are non deterministic and can hallucinate findings or generate incorrect patches. All findings must be manually verified by a security expert before being reported. Do not mass file…
read the full mantis overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is GitLab or mantis more popular?
GitLab has 24,550 GitHub stars and mantis has 2,704. GitLab has the larger community by that measure.
Are GitLab and mantis free?
Both are open source. GitLab has no licence declared in this registry, and mantis is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between GitLab and mantis?
GitLab is written in Ruby and mantis in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, GitLab or mantis?
Choose GitLab if you want the larger community (24,550 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose mantis if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.