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Developer Tools · head to head

Ona (formerly Gitpod) vs Zoho Projects

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
Visit Ona (formerly Gitpod)Full review
Zoho Projects logo

Zoho Projects

Project Management

Project management software for smart teams

From
On request
Free plan
No
Visit Zoho ProjectsFull review

The short version

  • Zoho Projects is a cloud-based project management software.
  • Ona (formerly Gitpod) has a free plan, then $20/mo; Zoho Projects starts at $5/mo.
  • Only Ona (formerly Gitpod) lists ephemeral environments; only Zoho Projects lists gantt charts.
  • Where Zoho Projects falls short: the free plan allows 5 users, 3 projects and 5 GB of storage.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ona (formerly Gitpod) and Zoho Projects actually diverge.

Attributes where Ona (formerly Gitpod) and Zoho Projects differ
AttributeOna (formerly Gitpod)Zoho Projects
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer month by compute unitFreemium
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWSWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryDeveloper ToolsProject Management

Not yet recorded: founded for Ona (formerly Gitpod).

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 Zoho Projects

  • Tasks
  • Gantt charts
  • Time tracking
  • Kanban
  • Blueprints
  • Zoho CRM
  • Slack
  • Microsoft Teams

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 Zoho Projects
  • Running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptopnot Zoho Projects
  • Keeping source code off contractor and offshore laptops by moving the whole environment into a controlled accountnot Zoho Projects
  • Reproducing a hard-to-configure toolchain for a short-lived project without polluting anyone machinenot Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects

  • Project planning, task tracking and time logging for teamsnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Running projects alongside other Zoho business applicationsnot 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

Zoho Projects

  • The free plan allows 5 users, 3 projects and 5 GB of storage
  • Custom profiles, roles and fields require the Enterprise plan
  • Read only users are rationed by tier, at 10 on Enterprise and 100 on Ultimate
  • Ultimate allocates storage per user with a 150 GB organisation minimum, so small teams pay for capacity they cannot use
  • The pricing page does not display per user costs for any paid tier

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/mo
    • 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
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Single-tenant deployment in your own AWS or GCP account
    • SAML and OIDC single sign-on
    • Dedicated account management and forward deployed engineers

Zoho Projects

On request
  • FreeFree
    • 3 users
    • 2 projects
    • Basic features
  • Premium$5/mo
    • 50 users
    • Unlimited projects
    • Advanced features

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.
  • You also want agent sessions.
Ona (formerly Gitpod) review

Choose Zoho Projects if

  • You need tasks.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want gantt charts.
Zoho Projects review

Questions people ask

Is Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Zoho Projects better?
Neither clearly leads. Ona (formerly Gitpod) starts at Free and Zoho Projects at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Zoho Projects?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Ona (formerly Gitpod) and On request for Zoho Projects.
Does Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Zoho Projects run on more platforms?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS. Zoho Projects runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Ona (formerly Gitpod) for free?
Yes. Ona (formerly Gitpod) has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Zoho Projects starts at On request.
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 Zoho Projects is typically brought in for.
What can Ona (formerly Gitpod) do that Zoho Projects cannot?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) covers Ephemeral environments, Agent sessions, Bring your own cloud, Devcontainer standard. Zoho Projects covers Tasks, Gantt charts, Time tracking, Kanban.

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.

Zoho Projects: Do I need to provide a credit card to start?

No, Zoho Projects doesn't require credit card information during signup. You begin with the free plan and can upgrade whenever you choose.

Source
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.

Zoho Projects: Are there long-term contracts required?

No, licenses are not contract-based. You may cancel your account at any time.

Source
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.

Zoho Projects: What happens to my data if I downgrade?

Your data remains safe when downgrading. You simply lose access to higher-tier features. Data becomes accessible again if you upgrade later. Downgrading to the free plan limits you to two projects with restricted functionality.

Source
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.

Zoho Projects: What security measures does Zoho use?

Zoho emphasizes 24/7 monitoring, biometric access controls, and the latest encryption and intrusion detection/prevention technologies.

Source
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