Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GitLab Pages VS Cloudflare Pages

Compare GitLab Pages VS Cloudflare Pages and see what are their differences

GitLab Pages logo GitLab Pages

GitLab Pages you can create static websites for your GitLab projects, groups, or user accounts. 

Cloudflare Pages logo Cloudflare Pages

Deploy blazing fast static sites and serverless functions.
  • GitLab Pages Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-01
  • Cloudflare Pages Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-19

GitLab Pages features and specs

  • Integration with GitLab CI/CD
    GitLab Pages integrates seamlessly with GitLab's CI/CD pipelines, allowing for automated deployment of static sites directly from your repositories. This streamlines the development workflow by enabling continuous delivery and integration.
  • Custom Domain Support
    It offers the ability to use custom domains for your GitLab Pages, enhancing your site's professionalism and brand consistency. Setting up custom domains is straightforward and well-documented.
  • HTTPS by Default
    GitLab Pages provides free Let's Encrypt SSL certificates for custom domains, ensuring that all sites are served over HTTPS by default. This adds a layer of security without any additional cost or configuration complexity.
  • Access Control
    GitLab Pages allows you to set access controls for your static site. You can make your site public, private, or limit access to specific users, making it versatile for different use cases, from personal blogs to private documentation.
  • Free Hosting
    GitLab offers free hosting for static sites with GitLab Pages, providing an economical solution for developers and small businesses to deploy their static websites without incurring additional costs.

Possible disadvantages of GitLab Pages

  • Limited to Static Sites
    GitLab Pages is designed to host only static sites. Dynamic features like server-side processing, databases, and real-time interactions are not supported, limiting the type of applications you can deploy.
  • Learning Curve
    Setting up GitLab Pages and configuring GitLab CI/CD pipelines can be complex for new users who are not familiar with GitLab's ecosystem. This can be a barrier to entry for beginners or those looking for a simpler setup process.
  • Dependency on GitLab Infrastructure
    GitLab Pages is directly tied to GitLab's infrastructure. Any downtime or performance issues with GitLab itself can affect the availability and reliability of your deployed static site.
  • Limited Customization Options
    Customization options for the build and deployment environments are somewhat limited compared to other static site hosting solutions. Advanced users may find these limitations restrictive when trying to tailor the deployment environment to specific needs.
  • No Built-in Analytics
    GitLab Pages does not offer built-in analytics or visitor tracking. Users need to integrate third-party analytics services, which requires additional setup and may not be as tightly integrated as native solutions.

Cloudflare Pages features and specs

  • Speed and Performance
    Cloudflare Pages automatically optimizes content delivery using Cloudflare's global CDN, ensuring fast page load times regardless of user location.
  • Security
    Built-in security features like DDoS protection, SSL/TLS encryption, and firewall rules ensure that your applications are secure from common web threats.
  • Developer-Friendly
    Supports modern web development frameworks and seamless integration with Git repositories for continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD).
  • Scalability
    Automatically scales to handle varying levels of web traffic without the necessity for manual intervention.
  • Ease of Use
    Offers a straightforward setup process and an intuitive dashboard, making it accessible even for developers with limited experience in deploying web applications.
  • Free Tier
    Provides a free tier with generous limits, making it a cost-effective option for startups and small projects.
  • Integrations
    Easily integrates with other Cloudflare services, such as Workers, for building and deploying full-stack applications.

Possible disadvantages of Cloudflare Pages

  • Vendor Lock-In
    Reliance on Cloudflare's specific ecosystem can make migrating to another service complex and costly.
  • Limited Server-Side Capabilities
    Primarily geared towards static site hosting with limited options for server-side processing compared to traditional hosting solutions.
  • Learning Curve
    Although user-friendly, there's still a learning curve for those unfamiliar with concepts like CDNs, DNS settings, and CI/CD pipelines.
  • Customization Constraints
    Some advanced use-cases may require workarounds or custom solutions not natively supported by the platform.
  • Pricing for High Traffic
    While the free tier is generous, costs can quickly escalate for high-traffic websites requiring extended features and bandwidth.

GitLab Pages videos

How to Publish a Website with GitLab Pages

More videos:

  • Review - Commit London 2019: Front page of Hacker News with GitLab Pages
  • Review - Froont + GitLab Pages

Cloudflare Pages videos

A First Look at Cloudflare Pages

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Cloudflare Pages Tutorial - Deploy Your Static Site in ~90 Seconds
  • Review - CLOUDFLARE PAGES: First look at Cloudflare's JAMstack deployment platform

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GitLab Pages and Cloudflare Pages)
Cloud Computing
22 22%
78% 78
Static Site Generators
17 17%
83% 83
Developer Tools
21 21%
79% 79
Website Builder
21 21%
79% 79

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GitLab Pages and Cloudflare Pages

GitLab Pages Reviews

Top 10 Netlify Alternatives
GitLab Pages doesn’t own any specific pricing model. Many premium properties could only be accessed under GitLab pricing. With monthly 10 GB transfer and 5 GB storage, it is free to use GitLab. However, Premium and Ultimate plans of GitLab bill $19/user and $99/user per month, respectively.

Cloudflare Pages Reviews

Exploring alternatives to Vercel: A guide for web developers
Cloudflare Pages is a relatively new entrant in the space, but it has quickly gained traction due to Cloudflare’s reputation for performance and security. Cloudflare Pages offers a simple, fast, and scalable platform for deploying static websites.
Source: fleek.xyz

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Cloudflare Pages seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 142 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GitLab Pages mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of GitLab Pages yet. Tracking of GitLab Pages recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Cloudflare Pages mentions (142)

  • Show HN: A pure WebGL image editor with filters, crop and perspective correction
    Did you considered using WebGPU, or creating a bridge between WebGPU / WebGL for this? Also, have you considered deploying on Cloudflare Pages [1] (unlimited bandwidth) instead of netlify? [1] - https://pages.cloudflare.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 5 days ago
  • How to build a personal blog without paying a single euro
    In my case, I compared all the previous options and I chose Cloudflare pages, which it seems to me like the best option. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Front-End Deployment Insights: Experiences and Metric Evaluations of Leading Cloud Platforms
    The test subjects include Vercel, Cloudflare Pages, GitHub Pages, and the newly discovered EdgeOne Pages from Tencent Cloud. The measurement indicators include global access latency, Google Lighthouse metrics and the smoothness of the deployment process. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • How to host Browser.application projects
    Browser.application is used when you want to support client-side routing. However, it requires you to be able to configure your web server to redirect requests to your index.html file. Since GitHub Pages doesn't allow you to customize their web server, you're forced to switch to another hosting service like Netlify, Render, or Cloudflare Pages. Thankfully, they all make it easy to do the configuration that's needed. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • How I host Elm web applications with GitHub Pages
    The good news is that the deploy process doesn't get more complicated than what I've shown you above. The core concept remains the same. You have branches (say a master branch and several feature branches) in which you use to implement your web application and you have branches (say a staging and production branch) you use for deployment. Then, you have to tell your hosting provider, be it GitHub Pages, Netlify,... - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing GitLab Pages and Cloudflare Pages, you can also consider the following products

GitHub Pages - A free, static web host for open-source projects on GitHub

Netlify - Build, deploy and host your static site or app with a drag and drop interface and automatic delpoys from GitHub or Bitbucket

Vercel - Vercel is the platform for frontend developers, providing the speed and reliability innovators need to create at the moment of inspiration.

surge.sh - Static website hosting for front-end developers.

Render - Render is a unified platform to build and run all your apps and websites with free SSL, a global CDN, private networks and auto deploys from Git.

Hugo - Hugo is a general-purpose website framework for generating static web pages.