GitHub’s Free Plan: Unlimited Private Repositories
GitHub’s free plan now offers unlimited private repositories for both individual developers and teams. This change, implemented in April 2020, has made GitHub’s core features accessible to everyone at no cost.
Under the new free plan, teams and individual users can create and maintain any number of public or private repositories without limitations. This generous offering allows developers and organizations to collaborate on projects of any scale without worrying about repository constraints.
Additional Benefits of GitHub’s Free Plan
While the unlimited private repositories are a standout feature, GitHub’s free plan also includes:
2,000 Actions minutes per month for private repositories
500MB of Packages storage for private repositories
GitHub Community Support
Unlimited collaborators for public and private repositories
These features provide a robust foundation for developers and small teams to start their projects without initial costs.
Considerations for Growing Teams
As your team or project grows, you may need to consider upgrading to a paid plan for additional features such as:
More Actions minutes and Packages storage
Advanced collaboration tools (e.g., required reviewers, protected branches)
GitHub Support via email
Increased Codespaces usage
However, for many users and small teams, the free plan’s offerings are more than sufficient to get started and maintain ongoing projects.
Making the Most of GitHub’s Free Plan
To maximize the benefits of GitHub’s free plan:
Utilize version control effectively
Collaborate with team members using pull requests and code reviews
Leverage GitHub Actions for continuous integration and deployment
Use GitHub Packages to store and manage your project dependencies
By taking advantage of these features, you can create a professional development workflow without incurring any costs.