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Developer Tools · head to head

Ona (formerly Gitpod) vs Microsoft Edge

Ona (formerly Gitpod) logo

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Developer Tools

Cloud development environments repositioned as a control plane for software engineering agents

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Microsoft Edge logo

Microsoft Edge

Technology

Microsoft's Chromium-based browser, distinguished by IE mode for legacy applications and by its integration with Microsoft 365 management.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Ona (formerly Gitpod) acquisition risk has already materialised: the company closed a sale to OpenAI on 10 August 2026 and now sits inside the Codex team, so nothing public guarantees pricing, continuity or neutrality between model vendors beyond honouring existing commitments.; Microsoft Edge outside the European Economic Area, Edge cannot be uninstalled from Windows, and Windows components such as Widgets, help links and taskbar search results open in it whatever the default browser is set to, so an organisation standardising on Chrome still has to manage and patch Edge.
  • They diverge on capability: Ona (formerly Gitpod) covers Ephemeral environments, Microsoft Edge covers Internet Explorer mode.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ona (formerly Gitpod) and Microsoft Edge actually diverge.

Attributes where Ona (formerly Gitpod) and Microsoft Edge differ
AttributeOna (formerly Gitpod)Microsoft Edge
Pricing modelPer month by compute unitfree
PlatformsWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud PlatformWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsTechnology

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Ephemeral environments
  • Agent sessions
  • Bring your own cloud
  • Devcontainer standard
  • Compute unit budgeting
  • Enterprise identity

Only in Microsoft Edge

  • Internet Explorer mode
  • Enterprise Mode Site List
  • Entra ID integration
  • Purview DLP for browsing
  • Intune and Group Policy
  • Vertical tabs and Workspaces
  • Sleeping tabs
  • Chrome extension compatibility

What people use each for

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

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Giving a large engineering team identical, disposable environments so onboarding is a link rather than a two day setupnot Microsoft Edge
  • Running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptopnot Microsoft Edge
  • Keeping source code off contractor and offshore laptops by moving the whole environment into a controlled accountnot Microsoft Edge
  • Reproducing a hard-to-configure toolchain for a short-lived project without polluting anyone machinenot Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge

  • A Windows estate with intranet applications that still require Internet Explorer, where IE mode buys years before a rewritenot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Microsoft 365 organisations that want browser sessions covered by Purview DLP and conditional access without a separate secure browser productnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Fleets managed through Intune that need one browser configured by the same console as the rest of the desktopnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Users who work with many tabs at once and want vertical tabs and automatic tab suspension without installing extensionsnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Where each one falls short

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

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Acquisition risk has already materialised: the company closed a sale to OpenAI on 10 August 2026 and now sits inside the Codex team, so nothing public guarantees pricing, continuity or neutrality between model vendors beyond honouring existing commitments.
  • Two disruptive changes of direction inside a year, from development environments to agent orchestration and then from independence to acquisition, mean the product a browser IDE buyer originally chose no longer exists in that form.
  • The Gitpod Classic sunset on 15 October 2025 required manual conversion of configuration, hand-moved secrets, self-rescued workspace data and a brand new account, which is the clearest available precedent for how the vendor handles deprecation.
  • Community self-hosting is finished: the AGPL-3.0 repository is deprecated by its own README, and self-hosted now means a vendor-operated install in your AWS or GCP account, with no Azure, no on-premises and no air-gapped path.
  • Pricing is difficult to model because it runs on a compute unit currency where subscription credits expire at the end of the month, the mapping from units to actual compute is not published on the pricing page, and Enterprise is quotation only.

Microsoft Edge

  • Outside the European Economic Area, Edge cannot be uninstalled from Windows, and Windows components such as Widgets, help links and taskbar search results open in it whatever the default browser is set to, so an organisation standardising on Chrome still has to manage and patch Edge.
  • It is Chromium downstream, so Manifest V3 applies exactly as it does in Chrome; full-strength blocking extensions cannot run, and Microsoft's add-ons store adds a second review process rather than a workaround.
  • Almost all of its advantage is conditional on Microsoft 365 and Entra ID; a Google Workspace or AWS-centred organisation gets Chromium plus Microsoft's promotional surfaces and none of the Purview, Intune or conditional access value.
  • Consumer-facing features including Copilot, the Discover pane, shopping notifications and sidebar apps default to on and reappear after feature updates, so suppressing them requires a maintained policy set rather than a one-off configuration.
  • IE mode is a bridge with a maintenance owner attached: the Enterprise Mode Site List must be curated by somebody, and MSHTML receives security fixes but no new capability, so an application parked there gains nothing and its eventual rewrite is only deferred.
  • By default browsing data feeds Microsoft services for Copilot, Discover and shopping features, which in a regulated environment turns the deployment into a policy exercise before it can be approved.

Pricing, plan by plan

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 3 parallel environments
    • Machines up to 4 vCPU, 16 GB memory and 80 GB disk
    • Ona Cloud multi-tenant only
  • Core$20/month
    • From 20 US dollars a month, up to 100 team members
    • Includes 80 to 2,200 recurring compute units a month depending on tier
    • Additional units from 10 US dollars per 40 units
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Single-tenant deployment in your own AWS or GCP account
    • SAML and OIDC single sign-on
    • Dedicated account management and forward deployed engineers

Microsoft Edge

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft Edge review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Ona (formerly Gitpod) if

  • You need ephemeral environments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud Platform.
  • You also want agent sessions.
Ona (formerly Gitpod) review

Choose Microsoft Edge if

  • You need internet explorer mode.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want enterprise mode site list.
Microsoft Edge review

Questions people ask

Is Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Microsoft Edge better?
Neither clearly leads. Ona (formerly Gitpod) starts at Free and Microsoft Edge at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Microsoft Edge?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) starts at Free and Microsoft Edge at Free.
Does Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Microsoft Edge run on more platforms?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS, Google Cloud Platform. Microsoft Edge runs on Web.
Can I use Ona (formerly Gitpod) for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Ona (formerly Gitpod) best used for?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) is most often used for giving a large engineering team identical, disposable environments so onboarding is a link rather than a two day setup, running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptop, keeping source code off contractor and offshore laptops by moving the whole environment into a controlled account, reproducing a hard-to-configure toolchain for a short-lived project without polluting anyone machine. Of those, giving a large engineering team identical, disposable environments so onboarding is a link rather than a two day setup and running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptop are not what Microsoft Edge is typically brought in for.
What can Ona (formerly Gitpod) do that Microsoft Edge cannot?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) covers Ephemeral environments, Agent sessions, Bring your own cloud, Devcontainer standard. Microsoft Edge covers Internet Explorer mode, Enterprise Mode Site List, Entra ID integration, Purview DLP for browsing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ona (formerly Gitpod): Is Gitpod still called Gitpod?

No. It rebranded to Ona in September 2025, and gitpod.io now redirects to ona.com. The company was acquired by OpenAI in a deal that closed on 10 August 2026.

Microsoft Edge: Can I uninstall Edge from Windows?

In the European Economic Area, yes, because the Digital Markets Act requires it. Elsewhere you cannot, and several Windows components will continue to open it regardless of your default browser.

Ona (formerly Gitpod): Can I still self-host it for free?

No. The AGPL-3.0 self-hosted project is deprecated by its own README. What is offered now is a vendor-operated single-tenant install in your AWS or GCP account on the Enterprise plan.

Microsoft Edge: How long will Internet Explorer mode be supported?

Microsoft has committed to supporting IE mode in Edge through at least 2029. It is a migration window rather than a permanent home, since the underlying MSHTML engine gets security fixes but no new capability.

Ona (formerly Gitpod): What happened to Gitpod Classic?

Pay-as-you-go Classic was switched off on 15 October 2025. Migration required converting gitpod.yml to devcontainer.json, moving secrets by hand, downloading workspace data before the cutoff and creating a new account.

Microsoft Edge: Do Chrome extensions work?

Yes. Edge installs extensions from the Chrome Web Store as well as its own store. Manifest V3 restrictions apply identically, so extensions that Chrome no longer supports do not work here either.

Ona (formerly Gitpod): What does it cost?

Core starts at 20 US dollars a month and includes a monthly allowance of Ona Compute Units, with more from 10 dollars per 40 units. Subscription credits expire monthly. Enterprise is quoted.

Microsoft Edge: Is it worth deploying if we are not a Microsoft 365 organisation?

Usually not for the management features, which depend on Entra ID, Intune and Purview. Without that stack it is Chromium with a different interface and additional Microsoft promotion.

Microsoft Edge: Does it run on Linux?

Yes, there are official Linux builds. Some Windows-specific features, including IE mode, are not available there.

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