GitHub alternative for EU teams
Your code is stored and served. Not scanned, not trained on, not tracked. Codebahn has no AI training infrastructure, no telemetry, and no third-party tracking (details).
Your code also needs to stay in the EU. A client asked, or regulation requires it (NIS2, DORA), or you want an all-European stack without the compliance paperwork. Codebahn is Git hosting from a Swedish company on EU-only infrastructure, with no US entity in the chain. All sub-processors are EU-incorporated.
GitHub is a full development platform: Marketplace, Copilot, code scanning, security advisories, project boards, mobile apps. If your team uses those, it is the right choice. If all you need is hosted repos, CI, and EU jurisdiction, Codebahn covers that at a lower price without the platform overhead.
When to stay on GitHub
- Your workflows depend on the GitHub Marketplace, Copilot, code scanning, or Dependabot. Forgejo has no equivalent for these.
- Your procurement requires SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 today. GitHub has both. We're not your vendor yet.
- You need macOS or Windows hosted runners. Codebahn runs Linux only.
- You need SAML SSO on a self-serve plan. Codebahn offers SSO on Custom plans; if you need it today on a standard tier, GitHub Enterprise covers that scope.
- You need audit log streaming or IP allow lists. Codebahn does not have these.
You can use both. Git is Git; the remote is the only thing that changes.
Side by side
| Codebahn | GitHub | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Hackerman AB (Sweden) | GitHub, Inc. (USA), owned by Microsoft |
| Governing law | Swedish / EU | Ireland for EU customers (GitHub Customer Agreement); California otherwise |
| CLOUD Act exposure | None. No US entity, parent, or sub-processor | Yes. US company, subject to US law |
| Agent performance (EU) | 3% of a session waiting on the platform over MCP, in an EU benchmark (measurements) | 8-33% of a session waiting on the platform |
| Pricing model | €9/seat + €10/mo team, CI included | Per seat ($4/user/month on Team) |
| 5-person team | €55/mo (5,000 CI min included) | $20/mo (3,000 CI min shared) |
| 10-person team | €100/mo (10,000 CI min included) | $40/mo (3,000 CI min shared) |
| 25-person team | €235/mo (25,000 CI min) | $100/mo (3,000 CI min shared) |
| CI included | 1,000 CI minutes per seat | 3,000-50,000 min/mo by plan |
| Hosted runners | Linux (EU, Paris). BYO runners for custom hardware | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| Interfaces | Web, SSH, CLI, MCP server | Web, SSH, CLI, MCP server, mobile apps, desktop app, VS Code, Copilot |
| Data residency | EU-only. All sub-processors EU-incorporated | US default. Enterprise Cloud only ($21/user/mo, ghe.com domain) |
| Code privacy | No AI training infrastructure. No telemetry. No third-party tracking. Details | Copilot interaction data trains models by default on Free/Pro/Pro+ (April 2026). Business/Enterprise exempt. Telemetry collected |
| Export | One-click org export, standard format, any time | Org-level via the Migrations API, up to 20 GB. Archives expire after 7 days |
| Open source | Private repos only. Not a home for open source | Free for public repos |
| NIS2 supplier assessment | Published, no NDA required | None |
| Certifications | None yet. SOC 2 on the roadmap | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 |
Codebahn Crew is €9/seat + €10/mo for the team, more than GitHub Team ($4/user/month). The difference buys 1,000 CI minutes per seat (GitHub Team shares 3,000 across the whole org regardless of size), EU sovereignty, and one-click export. A team of five: €55/mo vs $20. Ten: €100/mo vs $40. Full pricing. Side-by-side comparison.
GitHub EU data residency requires Enterprise Cloud ($21/user/month, separate domain). A 25-person team: $525/month. On Codebahn, EU residency is the default on every plan.
Codebahn has no AI training infrastructure, so there is nothing to opt out of; GitHub offers an opt-out toggle that users must find and switch off. The exposure is asymmetric: one developer on a GitHub Free or Pro account sends Copilot interaction data (inputs, outputs, code snippets, file names, repo structure) into the training pipeline by default, whatever the organization's tier. See what private means.
What changes when you move
Import carries code and metadata (issues, PRs, labels, milestones, releases). GitHub App or token, up to 100 repos at once.
.github/workflows/ files work without renaming. Common build and test actions typically need no changes; some GitHub-specific features work differently (compatibility).runs-on: ubuntu-latest routes to EU runners in Paris.
No macOS or Windows runners. Default runner: 3 GB usable memory (GitHub private repos: 8 GB); codebahn-medium for 7 GB. Copilot, code scanning, and Dependabot have no equivalents. Wiki, projects, and boards are disabled; use a docs site, Notion, or Linear. Test before committing.
Team permissions are not migrated. Invite your team, add SSH keys, update remotes. CI that calls the GitHub API directly needs rewriting. Budget a day for a team of five, a week for complex workflows.
Built to be left
One-click export: every repo, issue, PR, release, review. Standard Forgejo format. No ticket, no wait.
On GitHub, export is org-level through the Migrations API or per-repo via the CLI. Archives exclude LFS, discussions, and packages, and expire after seven days.
Use it for 14 days. If it's not right, one email and I refund it. Simon, founder
Need to discuss compliance or data residency? See the Assurance plan or reach out at hello@codebahn.net.
Comparing other options? See Codebahn vs GitLab, Codebahn vs Bitbucket, or Codebahn vs self-hosting. For a CI-specific comparison, see GitHub Actions alternative.
GitHub is a trademark of GitHub, Inc. This is an independent comparison, not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft or GitHub. Competitor data verified 2026-09-17. Sources: GitHub pricing, GitHub-hosted runners, Copilot data usage.