Yes, GitHub Projects is free for private repositories. GitHub's pricing page lists "Issues & Projects" on the Free plan, and the same Free plan includes unlimited public and private repositories. This guide gives the limits that still apply on Free, what paid GitHub plans add, and where the free Gitsu Web App and the paid Gitsu desktop app fit on top.
Is GitHub Projects free for private repositories?
Projects costs nothing on GitHub Free, whether the repositories behind it are public or private. GitHub's pricing page lists Issues and Projects among the Free plan's features, and its Free column reads "Unlimited public/private repositories".
GitHub's plans documentation adds a caveat that matters for private repositories. Free gives you "a limited feature set" on private repositories, compared with the full feature set on public ones. The features that documentation names as paid on private repositories are pull request controls such as required reviewers, protected branches and code owners, plus wikis and repository insights. Projects is not in that list.
A free personal account can therefore create a project, add issues from its private repositories and use the table, board and roadmap layouts. An organization on GitHub Free can do the same.
What are the limits of GitHub Projects on the free plan?
The limits below come from GitHub's Projects documentation and apply to every project. The docs do not tie them to a plan.
| Limit | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Items in one project | 50,000, counting active views and the archive | Adding items to your project |
| Fields in one project | 50, including built-in metadata and custom fields | About Projects |
| Layouts | Table, board and roadmap | About Projects |
| Where items come from | Issues and pull requests from any organization, plus draft issues | Adding items to your project |
At 50,000 items you must archive or remove items before adding more, since the cap counts the archive too.
Who can see a private repository's issues on a project?
Only people with access to that repository. GitHub's visibility documentation says a project is public or private, and that this setting affects only the project. To view an item, someone "must have the required permissions for the repository that the item belongs to".
Making a project private narrows who can open the project, but it never grants anyone access to a repository, and making it public never exposes a private repository's issues. Project admins and organization owners control the project's visibility.
What do paid GitHub plans add?
Paid plans add private-repository controls, more included usage and support. They do not unlock Projects. GitHub's plans documentation lists these on GitHub Pro for personal accounts:
- Required and multiple pull request reviewers, protected branches and code owners in private repositories.
- 3,000 GitHub Actions minutes a month, against 2,000 on Free.
- 2 GB of Packages storage, against 500 MB on Free.
- Wikis and repository insights graphs in private repositories.
GitHub Team, the organization plan, is $4 per user per month on the pricing page we checked on 29 October 2026. It adds the same kind of controls plus team pull request reviewers and scheduled reminders. Check the pricing page for the current price before you decide, since GitHub can change it.
If your question is "do I need to upgrade to track private issues on a board", the answer is no. Upgrade for branch protection or Actions minutes, not for Projects.
Is Gitsu free for GitHub Projects on private repos?
The Gitsu Web App is free, and it works on private-repository boards. Gitsu is a client for the same GitHub Projects boards you already have. You sign in with GitHub at dash.gitsu.app, import the boards you want and edit them with filters, keyboard controls and bulk edits. Every change goes back to GitHub, so your teammates keep using github.com.
Two details from Gitsu's code matter for private repositories:
- Gitsu asks GitHub for the
reposcope, which is what its repository picker reads. That scope covers private repositories. Gitsu's getting started guide describes the GitHub approval step as access to your projects and repositories. - Gitsu only sees what your GitHub account can see. A board item from a repository you cannot open stays hidden from you in Gitsu too.
When you sign in without a subscription, Gitsu opens the free Web App rather than asking for payment. The getting started guide walks through the first sign-in and the board import.
What does the paid Gitsu app add?
A Gitsu subscription adds the macOS desktop app, AI features and MCP access for your coding agents. It does not change what GitHub charges you. The pricing page shows the current monthly and yearly price for Pro and Team, built from the same catalog as checkout, so this page does not repeat a number that could drift.
Cancelling a subscription takes effect at the end of the paid period. Your issues stay on GitHub either way, because Gitsu never keeps its own copy of them. After a cancellation the free Web App still opens them.
What does Gitsu not do on the free plan?
Gitsu has limits you should know before you rely on it for a large private board:
- It loads up to 2,000 items per project, against GitHub's 50,000. A bigger project shows a notice such as "Showing 2000 of 2100 items".
- It shows one project at a time.
- It does not copy the saved views you configured on github.com. Gitsu keeps its own saved views.
Keep github.com open for project administration, pull request review and the settings Gitsu leaves to GitHub. The GitHub Projects comparison lists what each interface does better.
Which option should you use?
Use GitHub's own Free plan if you only need a board for private-repository issues. It costs nothing and covers tables, boards and roadmaps.
Open the free Gitsu Web App if the board is your daily workspace and you want faster filtering, keyboard navigation and bulk edits on the same private issues. Add the paid macOS app if you also want your coding agents to read and change the board through MCP. Sign in at dash.gitsu.app with the GitHub account that already has the board, and the first import takes a minute.
How we checked
How the free Gitsu Web App and the paid desktop app sit on top of the GitHub plan you already have, with the OAuth scope and item limit taken from Gitsu's own code.
- https://github.com/pricing
- https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/learning-about-github/githubs-plans
- https://docs.github.com/en/issues/planning-and-tracking-with-projects/learning-about-projects/about-projects
- https://docs.github.com/en/issues/planning-and-tracking-with-projects/managing-items-in-your-project/adding-items-to-your-project
- https://docs.github.com/en/issues/planning-and-tracking-with-projects/managing-your-project/managing-visibility-of-your-projects
- https://docs.github.com/en/apps/oauth-apps/building-oauth-apps/scopes-for-oauth-apps
Frequently asked questions
Is GitHub Projects free for private repositories?
Yes. GitHub's pricing page lists Issues and Projects on the Free plan, and the Free plan includes unlimited public and private repositories. You do not need a paid plan to put private-repository issues on a project board.
How many items can a GitHub project hold?
GitHub's docs give a maximum of 50,000 items across the active views and the archive. A project can have up to 50 fields, counting the built-in ones.
Who can see a private repository issue on a project board?
Only people with access to that repository. A project can be public or private, but project visibility does not widen access to an item: to view an item from a private repository, someone needs permission on that repository.
Is Gitsu free for private repositories?
The Gitsu Web App is free, and it works on the boards you can already open on GitHub. Gitsu asks GitHub for the repo scope, which covers private repositories. The macOS desktop app, AI features and MCP need a paid Seat.
Do I have to pay GitHub to use Gitsu?
No. Gitsu reads and writes your existing GitHub boards through your own GitHub sign-in, so the GitHub plan you already have is the one that applies. Gitsu does not replace it.
Try it on your own boardsGitsu opens your GitHub Projects boards in the browser. Sign in with GitHub and work on the same issues your team already uses.
Open the web app