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Developer Tools · head to head

GitLab CI/CD vs Teleport

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
Teleport logo

Teleport

Cybersecurity

Certificate-based access to servers, Kubernetes, databases and apps, replacing shared credentials and VPNs

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; Teleport pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where GitLab CI/CD and Teleport differ
AttributeGitLab CI/CDTeleport
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: 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 Teleport does not also cover.

Only in Teleport

  • Short-lived certificates
  • Protocol coverage
  • Session recording and replay
  • Access Requests
  • Device Trust
  • Identity provider integration
  • Machine identity
  • FIPS and FedRAMP builds

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 Teleport
  • Enforcing monthly CI/CD spending limits and quota notificationsnot Teleport
  • Allocating compute minutes to open source contributors affordablynot Teleport
  • Forecasting CI/CD spending patterns across multiple projectsnot Teleport
  • Providing private runners for cost control without owning infrastructurenot Teleport

Teleport

  • Removing long-lived SSH keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity providernot GitLab CI/CD
  • Producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for SOC 2 or FedRAMPnot GitLab CI/CD
  • Giving contractors or on-call engineers time-boxed, approved access to production instead of standing admin rightsnot GitLab CI/CD
  • Replacing a flat VPN with per-resource authorisation across servers, Kubernetes and internal web appsnot 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

Teleport

  • Pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • The proxy is a hard dependency on reaching production, so it needs its own high availability deployment and a tested break-glass path or an outage in Teleport becomes an outage in your ability to respond to outages.
  • The open source Community Edition omits Access Requests, Device Trust and the FIPS builds, which are exactly the controls an auditor asks about, so the free tier rarely survives a compliance review.
  • Self-hosting means running and upgrading a certificate authority and its backing store, and Teleport releases frequently enough that upgrade work becomes a standing operational commitment.
  • Coverage across protocols is uneven in depth, so teams with legacy systems, unusual databases or bespoke network appliances find gaps that still require the old VPN to remain in place alongside it.

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

Teleport

On request
  • Teleport Community Edition$undefined/year
    • Open source, self-hosted
    • SSH, Kubernetes, database and app access
    • Session recording
  • Teleport Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Cloud-hosted or self-hosted
    • Access Requests and approval workflow
    • Device Trust and hardware key enforcement

Which should you pick?

Choose GitLab CI/CD if

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

Choose Teleport if

  • You need short-lived certificates.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want protocol coverage.
Teleport review

Questions people ask

Is GitLab CI/CD or Teleport better?
Neither clearly leads. GitLab CI/CD starts at Free and Teleport 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 Teleport?
GitLab CI/CD has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for GitLab CI/CD and On request for Teleport.
Does GitLab CI/CD or Teleport run on more platforms?
GitLab CI/CD runs on Web. Teleport runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use GitLab CI/CD for free?
Yes. GitLab CI/CD has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Teleport 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 Teleport is typically brought in for.
What can GitLab CI/CD do that Teleport cannot?
Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, Protocol coverage, Session recording and replay, Access Requests.

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
Teleport: Is the open source edition usable in production?

Yes, but it lacks Access Requests, Device Trust and FIPS builds, which most compliance programmes end up requiring.

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
Teleport: How is it priced?

Not publicly. The vendor prices on active users and protected resources and provides a quote after a sales conversation.

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
Teleport: What happens if Teleport goes down?

Nobody reaches the resources behind it, so you need a highly available deployment and a documented break-glass procedure.

Teleport: Does it replace our VPN?

For anything you put behind it, yes. Legacy systems and appliances it does not support will keep the VPN alive.

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