GitLab-CEvsWriteFreely
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| GitLab-CE | WriteFreely | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 | 65/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 14 in Code Hosting | #2 of 24 in Blogging |
| GitHub stars | 24 547 | 5 276 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +0 | +19 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 3 |
| Latest release | — | v0.17.2 · 10 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Ruby | Go |
Which one should you pick?
GitLab-CE scores 77/100 against 65/100 for WriteFreely, so it is the safer default.
WriteFreely ships more often: 3 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for GitLab-CE.
If you want the quickest setup, WriteFreely is easier to run; GitLab-CE needs more configuration.
WriteFreely is growing faster right now (+19 stars in 30 days).
GitLab-CE details →WriteFreely details →