Chainguard
Mid (~350)
GitLab
Large (~2,500)
Best For
Chainguard
Best for: Security-minded engineers who want remote-first open-source work with strong comp
GitLab
Best for: Engineers who want a fully remote, async-first culture with radical transparency
Ratings
ChainguardGitLab
4.5
3.9
Overall
4.2
3.9
Work-Life Balance
4.3
4.0
Culture & Values
4.2
3.8
Comp & Benefits
4.1
3.5
Senior Mgmt
4.0
3.7
Career Opps
👍 88% Recommend
👤 90% CEO Approval (Dan Lorenc)
👍 75% Recommend
👤 70% CEO Approval (Sid Sijbrandij)
Culture Values
Chainguard only
⚙️ Engineering-Driven💎 Strong Comp & Equity
GitLab only
📡 Async-First🪟 Transparent
Shared
🌐 Remote-Friendly🔓 Open Source⚖️ Work-Life Balance
Pros & Cons
Chainguard
- Fully remote with outstanding benefits — 100% employer-paid insurance for employees and families
- Founders are practitioners who understand what engineers and security teams need
- Growing so fast that some inefficiencies exist, though improving
- Fully remote means you miss in-person interactions with teammates
GitLab
- Best-in-class all-remote culture — truly async-first with genuine flexibility
- Radically transparent company with a public handbook and open processes
- Revenue organization has seen quota chaos and low morale
- Some leadership instability at the C-suite level
Bottom Line
Chainguard
Choose Chainguard if you want to build supply chain security tools in a remote, open-source-first culture with strong equity — but expect a fast-moving startup pace.
GitLab
Choose GitLab if you want the gold standard of all-remote work with public handbook and async processes — but expect bureaucracy at scale and comp below top-tier.
Open Roles
Chainguard — 63 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
27
💻 Engineering
24
📣 Marketing
3
📋 Product
2
🎨 Design
1
GitLab — 195 jobs
💻 Engineering
79
💼 Sales / GTM
67
📋 Product
10
⚖️ Legal
5
📊 Data
4
🎨 Design
4
📣 Marketing
4
👤 HR / People
2
⚙️ Operations
2
Summary
Chainguard scores 4.5/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 4.2 work-life balance rating. GitLab scores 3.9/5.0 overall with a 3.9 WLB. That’s a 0.6-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Remote-Friendly, Open Source, Work-Life Balance. Chainguard also emphasizes Engineering-Driven, Strong Comp & Equity. GitLab also emphasizes Async-First, Transparent.
On the hiring front, Chainguard has 63 open roles and GitLab has 195 open roles.