GitLab
Large (~2,500)
Writer
Mid (~400)
Best For
GitLab
Best for: Engineers who want a fully remote, async-first culture with radical transparency
Writer
Best for: Professionals interested in Writer
Ratings
GitLabWriter
3.9
3.5
Overall
3.9
2.7
Work-Life Balance
4.0
3.6
Culture & Values
3.8
3.5
Comp & Benefits
3.5
3.3
Senior Mgmt
3.7
3.3
Career Opps
👍 75% Recommend
👤 70% CEO Approval (Sid Sijbrandij)
👍 70% Recommend
👤 74% CEO Approval (CEO)
Culture Values
GitLab only
🌐 Remote-Friendly📡 Async-First🪟 Transparent⚖️ Work-Life Balance
Writer only
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate
Shared
🔓 Open Source
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
Writer
- Real AI engineering with proprietary LLMs — not just wrapping OpenAI APIs
- Strong enterprise traction and visionary product direction
- Intense work culture with very high expectations and limited work-life balance
- Growing management layers creating organizational friction
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.
Writer
Writer — check Glassdoor for detailed reviews.
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
Writer — 49 jobs
💻 Engineering
16
💼 Sales / GTM
12
🎨 Design
1
⚙️ Operations
1
📋 Product
1
Summary
GitLab scores 3.9/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.9 work-life balance rating. Writer scores 3.5/5.0 overall with a 2.7 WLB. That’s a 0.4-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Open Source. GitLab also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Async-First, Transparent, Work-Life Balance. Writer also emphasizes Engineering-Driven, Ship Fast & Iterate.
On the hiring front, GitLab has 195 open roles and Writer has 49 open roles.