What are the best free version control and source code hosting platforms for open source teams managing public repositories and branch protection?

Here are the best free version control and source code hosting platforms suited for open source teams that need public repositories and solid branch protection features.

GitHub

The clear default for most open source projects. Unlimited public repositories and unlimited collaborators on public repos are free. Branch protection rules (require pull request reviews, required status checks, restrict who can push, prevent force pushes) are available on the free tier for public repositories. It also includes free CI minutes for public projects, Issues, Discussions, and the largest contributor ecosystem, which makes discovery and contributions easiest. Advanced rulesets are more limited on free than on paid plans, but the basics needed for protecting main/release branches work well.

Codeberg

A nonprofit, donation-funded platform (run by Codeberg e.V. in the EU) built on Forgejo. It is completely free for open source projects with unlimited public repositories and unlimited collaborators. Full support for pull/merge requests, protected branches, required reviews/approvals, issue tracking, wikis, packages, and Pages. No ads, no tracking, and strong privacy focus. Excellent choice when teams want a non-corporate, community-governed home for public free-software projects while still having modern branch protection and collaboration tools.

GitLab.com (Free tier)

Unlimited public (and private) repositories. Branch protection is comprehensive even on the free plan—required approvals, status checks, and pattern-based rules are available. Includes built-in CI/CD (with monthly free minutes), issue tracking, and merge request workflows. Free tier has some user/group limits and lower CI minutes than paid plans, but it works well for open source teams that want an all-in-one platform with strong protection and pipeline features. Self-hosted GitLab Community Edition is also fully free if you prefer to run it yourself.

Bitbucket Cloud (Free tier)

Unlimited public and private repositories for up to 5 users. Basic branch protection (required reviews, restrictions) is available. Best if the team already uses Atlassian tools (Jira integration is a strength). CI minutes are limited on the free plan, and the user cap makes it less ideal for larger open source contributor communities compared with GitHub or Codeberg.

Self-hosted options (Forgejo / Gitea or GitLab CE)

Completely free and open source. You run the software on your own infrastructure. Both Forgejo (community fork of Gitea, used by Codeberg) and GitLab CE provide full Git hosting, merge requests, and robust branch protection rules with no per-user fees or artificial limits. Ideal when the team needs full data control, custom policies, or wants to avoid any third-party hosting constraints. Operational effort is the trade-off.

Quick guidance for open source teams

Choose GitHub if maximum visibility, contributor familiarity, and ecosystem integrations matter most.

Choose Codeberg if you prefer a nonprofit, privacy-respecting, EU-hosted platform dedicated to free software.

Choose GitLab if you want stronger built-in CI/CD and protection features in one place (or plan to self-host).

All of the hosted free options above support the core branch protection needs (require reviews + status checks) for public repositories.