From 4015dd4046ce93c784717f51acb03340f17a3e2f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Matteo Delucchi <matteo.delucchi@lustat.ch>
Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2026 14:47:57 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] added Comparison and Quick decision guide

---
 README.md | 72 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--
 1 file changed, 70 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 66b14d0..073e5d4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,4 +1,73 @@
-That's a simple README file for the project.
+# Internal Forge Comparison
+
+## Quick decision guide
+
+| If we want…                                                                                                                | Choose      |
+| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- |
+| A **complete DevOps platform** with integrated CI/CD, package registry, security scanning, and enterprise features         | **GitLab**  |
+| A **lightweight, easy-to-operate Git server** with minimal resource usage                                                  | **Gitea**   |
+| A **community-driven forge** similar to Gitea but with **built-in CI (Forgejo Actions)** and future **federation support** | **Forgejo** |
+
+# Comparison
+## Pricing
+| Feature                                   | GitLab | Gitea | Forgejo |
+|-------------------------------------------|:------------------:|:-----------------:|:-------------------:|
+| Free tier                                 | ✅  | ✅  | ✅  |
+| Paid tier (per user/month)                 | **premium**: 29\$<br>**ultimate**: on request | **enterprise**: 19\$ |  ❌ (donation-based) |
+| Information on pricing                       | [**info**](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/?deployment=self-managed-deployment) | [**info**](https://about.gitea.com/pricing/) | [**info**](https://liberapay.com/forgejo) |
+
+## Core Git Features
+
+| Feature                    | GitLab | Gitea | Forgejo |
+|---------------------------|:------:|:-----:|:-------:|
+| Git repositories          |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅  |
+| Git LFS support           |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅  |
+| Git tags for releases     |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅  |
+| Protected branches        |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅  |
+| Repository mirroring      |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅  |
+| Webhooks                  |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅  |
+
+## Collaboration and Project Management
+| Feature                           | GitLab | Gitea | Forgejo |
+|----------------------------------|:------:|:-----:|:-------:|
+| Issues                           |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅  |
+| Pull / merge requests            |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅  |
+| Pull request reviewer assignment |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅  |
+| Pull request inline comments     |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅  |
+| Wiki (per repository)            |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅  |
+| Snippets / gists                 |  ✅  | ⚠️ limited | ⚠️ limited |
+| Project management                        | **free**: simple kanban<br>**premium**: [roadmap](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/group/roadmap/) | [simple kanban](https://forum.gitea.com/t/gantt-diagrams-for-issues/788/3) | [simple kanban](https://forgejo.org/docs/next/user/project/) |
+| Organization / group hierarchy   |  ✅  | ⚠️ simpler model | ⚠️ simpler model |
+| Code search (global)             |  ✅  | ⚠️ limited | ⚠️ limited |
+| Repository mirroring (push/pull)         |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅  |
+
+## CI/CD and Automation
+| Feature                         | GitLab | Gitea | Forgejo |
+|--------------------------------|:------:|:-----:|:-------:|
+| Built-in CI/CD                          | ✅built-in Gitlab CI/CD |️ ❌ external CI (woodpecker/Drone) | ✅Forgejo Actions (Github-Actions compatible)  |
+| Automated workflows            |  ✅  | ⚠️ external CI required |  ✅ |
+| Workflow triggers              |  ✅  | ⚠️ depends on CI integration |  ✅ |
+| External CI integration        |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅ |
+
+## Artifacts & Registries
+| Feature                    | GitLab | Gitea | Forgejo |
+|---------------------------|:------:|:-----:|:-------:|
+| Package registry          |  ✅  | ⚠️ limited ecosystem support |  ✅ |
+| Container registry        |  ✅  | ⚠️ plugin / external registry | ⚠️ evolving support |
+
+## Authentication and Access Control
+| Feature                       | GitLab | Gitea | Forgejo |
+|------------------------------|:------:|:-----:|:-------:|
+| Access control               |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅ |
+| LDAP / Active Directory      |  ✅  |  ✅  |  ✅ |
+| SAML / enterprise SSO        | ⚠️ enterprise tier | ❌ not supported | ❌ not supported |
+| Federation between instances | ❌ not supported | ❌ not supported | ⚠️ planned (ForgeFed) |
+
+## Operations / Self-Hosting
+| Feature                | GitLab | Gitea | Forgejo |
+|-----------------------|:------:|:-----:|:-------:|
+| Resource footprint    | ❌ heavy (many services) |  ✅ light |  ✅ light |
+| Deployment complexity | ❌ complex |  ✅ simple |  ✅ simple |
 
 # Notes on the test project setup:
 
@@ -14,4 +83,3 @@ That's a simple README file for the project.
 ## Gitlab
 - SSH is active by default. But the port is wrongly configured and probably already used by the host...
 - HTTPS: works well.
-