Gitalchemy vs GitBear: Which GitLab Android App Wins?

This article is part of our Top GitLab Android Clients comparison series.

Gitalchemy vs GitBear: Which GitLab Android App Wins?

GitBear and Gitalchemy aim at different jobs, and the comparison is quick once that is clear. GitBear is a focused app for reviewing and approving merge requests on the go. Gitalchemy is a full GitLab client with a wider feature set.

Verdict: GitBear is worth installing if merge request review is the only GitLab work you do from a phone and you want the smallest app that does it. Gitalchemy is the better choice if you also triage issues, run pipelines, browse repositories, or want an open source app.

GitBear, the focused merge request viewer

GitBear for GitLab is on Google Play, published by hakkasuru, with more than a thousand installs and its listing last updated on 25 July 2026. It is closed source, and it is not on F-Droid.

Its own listing describes it accurately, and narrowly:

• Sign in with OAuth or an access token.
• A dashboard summarising your issues, merge requests and to-dos.
• View and complete your to-dos.
• View, approve and review merge requests.
• View and close issues.

The developer also lists a roadmap: viewing projects and project details, and signing into multiple GitLab accounts and switching between them. Neither had shipped as of the July 2026 update, so if you need either, they are not there yet.

That is a deliberately small product, and it does the small thing well. A dashboard that tells you what is waiting on you, and an approve button, covers a lot of real mobile use.

Pros:

• A narrow, clear purpose. Merge request review and approval, without the rest of GitLab competing for screen space.
• OAuth or access token sign-in. You are not forced into one authentication route.
• A useful dashboard. Issues, merge requests and to-dos summarised in one place.
• Actively updated. The listing was refreshed in July 2026.

Cons:

• Read and approve, mostly. Editing issues, editing merge request metadata and acting on pipelines are outside its scope.
• One GitLab account. Multiple accounts are on the roadmap rather than in the app.
• Closed source and Google Play only. No F-Droid build and no source to audit.

Gitalchemy

Gitalchemy is a native GitLab client for Android, open source under the MIT licence and built with Tauri v2, React and TypeScript. It is on F-Droid, which means installation and updates without a Google account.

Pros:

• Merge request review with a real workflow. Changes, Commits and Pipelines tabs, comment on a line, hold your comments as drafts with Start review, then submit them together.
• Merge readiness and actions. Approve, rebase or merge from the readiness panel, with coverage information and artifacts download.
• Issue editing. Assignees, labels, milestones, due dates, estimates and spent time are editable, and comments support attachments and internal notes.
• Pipelines you operate. Jobs grouped by stage with Retry, Cancel, Play for a manual job and Download artifacts, plus scope tabs and a filter.
• Repository browsing. A repository tree with a Find file filter, the README below the code card, the active branch's last commit and a browsable tag list.
• Multiple accounts. Several GitLab instances at once, each with its own cache, so switching does not mix their data.
• Notifications without Google services. Delivered from polling the GitLab Todos API rather than a push service.

Cons:

• Bigger than GitBear. More surface area to learn, and a larger install.
• No biometric lock. Something its sibling competitor LabNex offers and Gitalchemy does not.

Head to head

Which should you install?

Install GitBear if you want a small app that answers one question, "what needs my approval", and you are happy to do everything else somewhere else. It is free, it is updated, and there is nothing wrong with a client that refuses to grow.

Install Gitalchemy if the phone is where you work rather than where you glance. Reviewing a merge request properly, editing an issue, checking that the pipeline passed and pushing the whole thing to your laptop screen when you get home is one workflow, and it needs one client. Start with the merge request review guide or the F-Droid install steps.

If neither is quite right, the Android client comparison covers LabNex, LabCoat and Lab+ as well.