# GitLab Container Registry vs Harbor

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Harbor

| Attribute | GitLab Container Registry | Harbor |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 44.9 (74% (medium)) | 65.8 (77% (high)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 58 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 31 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 29,540 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Store, manage, and organize container images for each GitLab project using an integrated registry. Supports multiple deployment models and tiers with web-based management and CLI access. It is indexed under Container Registries.","source":"https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/packages/container_registry/","question":"What is GitLab Container Registry?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"GitLab Container Registry offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans are also available: Free, Premium and Ultimate. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/packages/container_registry/","question":"Is GitLab Container Registry free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"GitLab Container Registry supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/packages/container_registry/","question":"What platforms does GitLab Container Registry support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. GitLab Container Registry can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/packages/container_registry/","question":"Can GitLab Container Registry be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6}]` | `[{"answer":"Harbor is an open source registry that secures artifacts with policies and role-based access control, ensures images are scanned and free from vulnerabilities, and signs images as trusted. It is indexed under Container Registries.","source":"https://goharbor.io","question":"What is Harbor?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Harbor is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://goharbor.io","question":"Is Harbor free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Harbor supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://goharbor.io","question":"What platforms does Harbor support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Harbor can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://goharbor.io","question":"Can Harbor be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 4 integrations for Harbor, including Trivy, Cosign, Redis and Valkey. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://goharbor.io","question":"What does Harbor integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Harbor is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor","question":"Is Harbor open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | GitLab's integrated container registry enables teams to store, manage, and distribute OCI-compliant container images and Helm charts directly within their projects. It supports image signing, private repositories, and multi-architecture image formats. | A self-hosted Docker Distribution extension that provides centralized storage for container images and Helm charts with integrated security features including image signing, vulnerability scanning, user authentication, access control, and cross-registry replication. |
| features.capabilities | `{"web_ui":true,"hosting":"both","image_signing":true,"oci_compliant":true,"private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"images","pull_through_cache":true}` | `{"rbac":true,"web_ui":true,"hosting":"self","image_signing":true,"oci_compliant":true,"private_repos":true,"artifact_types":"images_helm","high_availability":true,"pull_through_cache":true,"replication_mirroring":true,"vulnerability_scanning":true}` |
| integrations.count | 1 | 6 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Docker Hub"},{"name":"CI/CD pipelines"}]` | `[{"name":"Trivy"},{"name":"Cosign"},{"name":"Redis"},{"name":"Valkey"},{"name":"LDAP","native":true,"category":"auth","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Active Directory","native":true,"category":"auth","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Docker","native":true,"direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Helm","native":true,"direction":"outbound"}]` |
| language.primary | - | Go |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true,"linux":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Premium","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Ultimate","contactSales":false}],"summary":"Container Registry included across Free, Premium, and Ultimate GitLab tiers. Free 30-day trial available.","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/packages/container_registry/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-16T21:34:08.326Z","freeTrialDays":30}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://goharbor.io","retrievedAt":"2026-10-13T15:18:28.787Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | low | free |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 3 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.14.6-rc1","date":"2026-10-13T05:53:24Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.14.6-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.4","date":"2026-10-09T03:28:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.15.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.4-rc1","date":"2026-10-08T12:46:11Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.4-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.3","date":"2026-10-06T13:11:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.15.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.14.5","date":"2026-10-06T15:47:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.14.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.13.6","date":"2026-10-06T15:48:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.13.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.3-rc2","date":"2026-09-24T02:31:00Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.3-rc2"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.3-rc1","date":"2026-09-11T02:50:26Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.3-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.2","date":"2026-07-02T10:04:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.15.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.2-rc3","date":"2026-07-02T03:31:08Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.2-rc3"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.2-rc2","date":"2026-06-27T08:03:52Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.2-rc2"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.2-rc1","date":"2026-06-17T07:35:43Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.2-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.14.4","date":"2026-05-11T04:08:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.14.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.14.4-rc1","date":"2026-05-10T03:47:44Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.14.4-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.1","date":"2026-05-06T08:48:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.15.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.1-rc2","date":"2026-05-06T08:24:03Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.1-rc2"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.1-rc1","date":"2026-04-29T08:21:43Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.1-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.0","date":"2026-03-20T04:36:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.15.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.0-rc4","date":"2026-03-19T08:37:39Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.0-rc4"},{"url":"https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v2.15.0-rc3","date":"2026-03-17T06:27:45Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v2.15.0-rc3"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | - | 7.5 |
| security.trust_center | https://docs.gitlab.com/user/gitlab_duo/security/ | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":1,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fgoharbor%2Fharbor%2Fsrc&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Container Registries)

| Capability | GitLab Container Registry | Harbor |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | Self-hosted only |
| **Standards** |  |  |
| OCI Distribution Spec compliant | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Scope** |  |  |
| Artifact types | Container images only | Images + Helm/OCI artifacts |
| **Security** |  |  |
| Built-in vulnerability scanning | - | ✓ |
| Image signing (Cosign/Notation) | ✓ | ✓ |
| SBOM generation / storage | - | - |
| **Access** |  |  |
| Fine-grained RBAC / robot accounts | - | ✓ |
| Private repositories | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Distribution** |  |  |
| Geo-replication / mirroring | - | ✓ |
| Pull-through cache / proxy | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Integration** |  |  |
| Native cloud IAM integration | - | - |
| **Pricing** |  |  |
| Pull-rate limits | - | - |
| **UX** |  |  |
| Web UI / console | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Ops** |  |  |
| High-availability deployment | - | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:51:00.166Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*