Differences Between GitLab CE and EE

Shared Code Base, Different Licensing Models

Both Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE) use the same code base. Technically, both versions share the same software foundation—the main difference lies in licensing and the activation of additional features.

GitLab EE - Proprietary Features

In the self-managed version, GitLab EE includes additional proprietary features that are not included in the free CE edition for licensing reasons—e.g., spam checking and other features.

Activating Premium or Ultimate Seats

GitLab EE allows you to unlock advanced features through Premium or Ultimate licenses:

• Ultimate offers proprietary SAST and container scanning technology, more sophisticated security reports, governance features, and improved visibility in merge requests.
• Premium offers countless advanced options beyond the free feature set.

EE is essentially identical to CE but offers the option to enable more powerful enterprise features through license tiers.

🔁 Migration Between CE and EE

GitLab Migration from CE → EE

For self-managed instances, there are official guides for migrating from CE to EE—both for self-compiled versions and for Linux package installations.

GitLab Migration from EE → CE

GitLab does not officially support migration from the Enterprise version to the Community version.