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Developer Tools · head to head

GitLab CI/CD vs Semperis

GitLab CI/CD logo

GitLab CI/CD

Developer Tools

Automatically build, test, deploy, and monitor your applications with GitLab CI/CD

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Semperis logo

Semperis

Cybersecurity

Identity threat detection and Active Directory forest recovery for AD, Entra ID and Okta, from a privately held US vendor.

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only GitLab CI/CD has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: GitLab CI/CD compute minute quotas for Premium and Ultimate tiers not disclosed in documentation; Semperis scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GitLab CI/CD and Semperis actually diverge.

Attributes where GitLab CI/CD and Semperis differ
AttributeGitLab CI/CDSemperis
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in GitLab CI/CD

Nothing recorded that Semperis does not also cover.

Only in Semperis

  • Active Directory Forest Recovery
  • Malware-free restore
  • Replication-stream monitoring
  • Automated rollback
  • Attack indicator scoring
  • Entra ID and Okta coverage
  • Purple Knight
  • Forest Druid

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

GitLab CI/CD

  • Reducing open source project infrastructure costs with public project discountsnot Semperis
  • Enforcing monthly CI/CD spending limits and quota notificationsnot Semperis
  • Allocating compute minutes to open source contributors affordablynot Semperis
  • Forecasting CI/CD spending patterns across multiple projectsnot Semperis
  • Providing private runners for cost control without owning infrastructurenot Semperis

Semperis

  • An organisation that cannot answer an auditor or insurer asking how long it would take to rebuild Active Directory after a destructive attacknot GitLab CI/CD
  • Post-incident recovery where domain controllers are compromised and restoring from system-state backup would reintroduce the attacker's footholdnot GitLab CI/CD
  • Continuous detection of privileged group changes and directory-level tampering that domain controller security logs missnot GitLab CI/CD
  • Hybrid estates where AD, Entra ID and Okta all matter and no single tool currently shows changes across the threenot GitLab CI/CD

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

GitLab CI/CD

  • Compute minute quotas for Premium and Ultimate tiers not disclosed in documentation
  • Additional compute minutes beyond quota incur charges; exact pricing not specified

Semperis

  • Scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
  • The licence buys tooling, not a proven runbook: forest recovery is only worth what your last rehearsal demonstrated, and a plan that has never been executed end to end in a lab is an untested assumption regardless of what was purchased.
  • It overlaps with backup and directory management products from Quest, Veeam, Commvault and others, so the buyer must argue internally why a dedicated product is needed alongside a backup contract that already claims to protect Active Directory.
  • Running Directory Services Protector well requires someone who understands AD internals, replication metadata and Tier 0 attack paths, and without that person the alerts on privileged changes are either ignored or auto-reverted in ways that break legitimate administration.
  • Licensing is driven by identity object counts, so directories carrying years of stale user accounts and service principals pay for objects that should have been deleted, and the cleanup project that would reduce the bill is the one nobody has time for.

Pricing, plan by plan

GitLab CI/CD

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 400 compute minutes per month for free tier namespaces
    • Linux x86-64 runners at 1x cost factor
  • Premium$null/tiered
    • Higher monthly compute minute quotas than free tier
    • Additional compute minutes available for purchase
  • Ultimate$null/tiered
    • Highest monthly compute minute allocations
    • Additional compute minutes available for purchase

Semperis

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Semperis review.

Which should you pick?

Choose GitLab CI/CD if

  • You want to start without paying.
GitLab CI/CD review

Choose Semperis if

  • You need active directory forest recovery.
  • You also want malware-free restore.
Semperis review

Questions people ask

Is GitLab CI/CD or Semperis better?
Neither clearly leads. GitLab CI/CD starts at Free and Semperis at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GitLab CI/CD or Semperis?
GitLab CI/CD has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for GitLab CI/CD and On request for Semperis.
Does GitLab CI/CD or Semperis run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use GitLab CI/CD for free?
Yes. GitLab CI/CD has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Semperis starts at On request.
What is GitLab CI/CD best used for?
GitLab CI/CD is most often used for reducing open source project infrastructure costs with public project discounts, enforcing monthly ci/cd spending limits and quota notifications, allocating compute minutes to open source contributors affordably, forecasting ci/cd spending patterns across multiple projects. Of those, reducing open source project infrastructure costs with public project discounts and enforcing monthly ci/cd spending limits and quota notifications are not what Semperis is typically brought in for.
What can GitLab CI/CD do that Semperis cannot?
Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery, Malware-free restore, Replication-stream monitoring, Automated rollback.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

GitLab CI/CD: How many GitLab CI compute minutes does the free tier include?

The free tier of GitLab CI includes 400 compute minutes per month for free tier namespaces on GitLab.com.

Source
Semperis: Does this replace my backups?

No. It replaces the Active Directory recovery procedure specifically. You still need backups for everything else, and the point of Semperis is that a generic system-state backup of a domain controller is a poor way to recover a forest because it restores the operating system along with whatever compromised it.

GitLab CI/CD: What is the cost factor for different GitLab CI runner types?

Linux x86-64 small runners cost 1x; medium runners cost 2x; large runners cost 3x. macOS and Windows runners have cost factors of 6-12x and are in beta status.

Source
Semperis: Is it useful if we are cloud-only on Entra ID?

Partly. Directory Services Protector covers Entra ID and Okta for change tracking and posture, but the forest recovery product, which is the strongest reason to buy, applies to on-premises Active Directory. A genuinely cloud-only organisation should weigh it against Microsoft's own tooling.

GitLab CI/CD: Do public open-source projects get discounts on GitLab CI compute minutes?

Public open-source projects receive a 0.5x discount on compute minutes. Public forks of GitLab open-source projects receive a 0.008x discount.

Source
Semperis: Are Purple Knight and Forest Druid really free?

Yes, both are free downloads with no licence requirement, and they are widely used by organisations that are not Semperis customers. They are also, transparently, the top of the sales funnel.

Semperis: How long does forest recovery actually take?

The honest answer is whatever your rehearsal took. The vendor's case is hours instead of days, and automation genuinely removes most manual steps, but the number that matters for your board is the one from a test in your own environment.

Semperis: Does it require agents on domain controllers?

It collects directory changes from the AD replication stream, which is what lets it see changes that bypass the security log. Deployment details vary by product and version, so confirm the exact architecture against your domain controller change-control rules.

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