GitLab
Large (~2,500)
Granola
Small (~50)
Best For
GitLab
Best for: Engineers who want a fully remote, async-first culture with radical transparency
Granola
Best for: Craft-focused generalists who love native macOS development and want to build a consumer-quality AI product people genuinely love
Ratings
GitLabGranola
3.9
4.8
Overall
3.9
4.5
Work-Life Balance
4.0
5.0
Culture & Values
3.8
4.5
Comp & Benefits
3.5
5.0
Senior Mgmt
3.7
4.7
Career Opps
👍 75% Recommend
👤 70% CEO Approval (Sid Sijbrandij)
👍 100% Recommend
👤 100% CEO Approval (Sam Stephenson)
Culture Values
GitLab only
🌐 Remote-Friendly📡 Async-First🪟 Transparent🔓 Open Source⚖️ Work-Life Balance
Granola only
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate💎 Strong Comp & Equity🎯 Direct Product Impact🧩 Wears Many Hats
Shared
None
Pros & Cons
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
Granola
- Users absolutely love the product — everyone at Granola genuinely cares about quality
- Plenty of opportunities to work on things that make a real difference on a small team
- 5 days in office by default (with flexibility for life circumstances)
- Small team, so things can be busy — you'll wear many hats
Bottom Line
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.
Granola
Choose Granola if you want to work on one of the most loved AI products with a small, London-based, in-office team obsessed with craft — but note the 5-days-in-office policy is explicit and non-negotiable.
Open Roles
GitLab — 195 jobs
💻 Engineering
79
💼 Sales / GTM
67
📋 Product
10
⚖️ Legal
5
📊 Data
4
🎨 Design
4
📣 Marketing
4
👤 HR / People
2
⚙️ Operations
2
Granola — 16 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
6
💻 Engineering
4
📣 Marketing
2
🎨 Design
1
👤 HR / People
1
⚖️ Legal
1
⚙️ Operations
1
Summary
GitLab scores 3.9/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.9 work-life balance rating. Granola scores 4.8/5.0 overall with a 4.5 WLB. That’s a 0.9-point gap on overall satisfaction.
On the hiring front, GitLab has 195 open roles and Granola has 16 open roles.