Managed GitLab Hosting
VCloud runs self-hosted GitLab as a managed service with unlimited user seats and unlimited CI/CD minutes on fixed-price infrastructure, starting at $49/month. GitLab is resource-hungry, so we recommend the Business plan at $199/month (4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM) - the official recommendation for a small production instance.
- From $49/month
- Starter plan
- Unlimited seats
- No per-user charge
- Daily · 7d backups
- Automated and verified
What is GitLab?
GitLab is a complete DevOps platform: Git repository hosting, merge requests and code review, built-in CI/CD pipelines, a container registry, issue tracking, and a package registry in a single application.
Why self-host GitLab instead of using GitHub Team, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps?
- CI/CD minutes stop being metered. GitHub Actions and GitLab.com both bill for compute beyond a monthly allowance; a self-hosted instance with its own runners does not.
- Source code stays on infrastructure you control, which is frequently a hard requirement for regulated industries, defence work, and client contracts with source escrow terms.
- Per-seat licensing disappears. GitLab Premium is priced per user per month; a self-hosted Community Edition instance on fixed infrastructure is not.
- The container and package registries are included rather than separately metered on storage and bandwidth.
Why use managed hosting instead of running GitLab yourself?
- GitLab upgrades must follow a supported version path and run database migrations that can take a long time on large instances. We sequence and monitor them.
- A consistent GitLab backup spans the database, Git repositories, uploads, and secrets. Missing the secrets file makes an otherwise complete backup unrestorable.
- GitLab is a large multi-process application that needs deliberate memory tuning. We size Puma workers and Sidekiq concurrency to the instance rather than leaving defaults that cause thrashing.
- Registry and pages endpoints each need valid certificates. These are issued and renewed automatically.
What resources does GitLab need?
Business (4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 100 GB SSD) is what we recommend, and matches GitLab's own guidance for a small production instance. Starter will run GitLab, but leaves little headroom once CI runners and the registry are active. Choose Scale (8 vCPU, 16 GB) for heavier pipeline concurrency or larger teams.
2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 50 GB SSD, 2 apps, 99.9% SLA
4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 100 GB SSD, 5 apps, 99.9% SLA
8 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, 200 GB SSD, Unlimited apps, 99.95% SLA
Can I migrate my existing GitLab data?
GitLab exports a full project archive including repositories, issues, merge requests, and CI configuration, which imports directly into a new instance. GitLab also ships a native GitHub importer that brings across repositories, issues, and pull requests.
Frequently asked questions about managed GitLab hosting
How much does managed GitLab hosting cost?
Managed GitLab hosting on VCloud starts at $49/month on Starter. We recommend Business at $199/month, which provides the 4 vCPU and 8 GB RAM GitLab's own documentation suggests for a small production instance. Every plan includes unlimited users, unlimited CI/CD minutes, daily backups, and a custom domain.
Why do you recommend a larger plan for GitLab?
GitLab is a large multi-process Rails application running Puma web workers, Sidekiq background jobs, PostgreSQL, Redis, Gitaly, and optionally a container registry. GitLab's own documentation recommends 4 vCPU and 8 GB RAM minimum for production. Running it on 4 GB leads to memory pressure once CI is active.
Are CI/CD minutes limited?
No. Runners execute on your own instance, so pipeline minutes are bounded by your instance resources rather than metered. For teams with heavy CI usage this is typically the largest saving over GitHub Actions or GitLab.com.
Can I migrate from GitHub?
Yes. GitLab includes a native GitHub importer that transfers repositories, issues, pull requests, and wikis. Actions workflows do not convert automatically and must be rewritten as GitLab CI pipelines.
Which GitLab edition runs on VCloud?
GitLab Community Edition, which includes repositories, merge requests, CI/CD, the container registry, and issue tracking with no per-seat licence. Features exclusive to paid GitLab tiers are not part of CE.
How are GitLab upgrades handled?
We apply them along GitLab's supported upgrade path, which does not permit skipping major versions and involves database migrations. A backup covering the database, repositories, and the secrets file is taken beforehand.
Deploy GitLab in one click
Plans start at $49/month with unlimited seats, daily · 7d backups, and a 99.9% uptime SLA.For GitLab we recommend Business at $199/month, which gives it the headroom it needs.