Renovate vs Dependabot
Updated November 14, 2026
Choose Dependabot if your code is on GitHub and you want dependency updates with no setup: it's built in and free. Choose Renovate if you're on GitLab, Bitbucket or another platform, or want fewer pull requests through its ready-made groups and Dependency Dashboard. Many teams run both: Renovate for version updates, Dependabot for security alerts. Neither tells you whether a compromised release is already installed on a laptop or CI runner.
Renovate vs Dependabot at a glance
| Renovate | Dependabot | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, Forgejo, Gitea, SCM-Manager and more | GitHub and Azure DevOps |
| Setup | Install the Mend Renovate app, or self-host the CLI, Docker image or GitHub Action | Built into GitHub; version updates need a dependabot.yml file |
| Grouping | Community-provided groups out of the box, or your own | Groups you define; otherwise one pull request per dependency |
| Dependency Dashboard | Yes, an issue listing the updates it found | No |
| Schedule | As often as it's allowed to run, by default | Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semiannually, yearly or cron |
| Waiting on new releases | minimumReleaseAge, per package or through presets such as security:minimumReleaseAgeNpm | cooldown: 3 days by default for version updates, never for security updates |
| Security updates | On GitHub it reads Dependabot alerts (vulnerabilityAlerts); OSV.dev alerts are experimental (osvVulnerabilityAlerts) | Security updates for alerts from the GitHub Advisory Database |
| Malicious packages | With osvVulnerabilityAlerts, no pull request to a version OSV.dev marks malicious (experimental) | Malware alerts, a setting you turn on: npm since March 2026, PyPI and more since July 2026 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Price | Free and open source; Mend's hosted app has a free tier | Free on GitHub |
Facts come from Renovate's bot comparison (opens in a new tab) and configuration options (opens in a new tab), and GitHub's Dependabot options reference (opens in a new tab) and changelog (opens in a new tab), checked on November 14, 2026.
When to choose Dependabot
- Your code is on GitHub. Alerts and security updates are switched on in the repository settings, and version updates need one
dependabot.ymlfile. There is nothing to install or host. - You want security alerts in GitHub's Security tab. Alerts come from the GitHub Advisory Database, and malware alerts can be turned on for npm, PyPI and other ecosystems.
- One pull request per dependency is fine, or you're happy to write the groups yourself.
When to choose Renovate
- Your code isn't only on GitHub. Renovate also supports GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, Forgejo, Gitea and SCM-Manager.
- Pull request noise is the problem. Community-provided groups bundle related updates, common monorepo packages move together, and the Dependency Dashboard lists what's pending in one issue.
- You want one policy across many repositories, through shared config presets.
- You'll install an app or run it yourself. Renovate isn't built into any platform.
Running Renovate and Dependabot together
A common setup on GitHub keeps Dependabot alerts on and hands version updates to Renovate. Renovate's vulnerabilityAlerts reads those Dependabot alerts to open its own security pull requests; that needs the Dependency graph and Dependabot alerts enabled. Leave Dependabot version updates off, or both bots will propose the same update.
Update bots and compromised releases
An update bot proposes new versions as they're published, and its pull requests are routine enough to be merged without a close look. When a maintainer account is taken over and a malicious version goes out, the bot can be the first thing to suggest it. GitGuardian calls the bots the new malware delivery system (opens in a new tab).
Both bots can now wait. Dependabot holds version updates for 3 days by default, and cooldown changes that per update type. Renovate's minimumReleaseAge does the same, and with osvVulnerabilityAlerts it won't open a pull request to a version OSV.dev marks malicious. Dependabot's malware alerts flag a malicious package you already depend on. Turn on what fits, and don't automerge updates that are only a day or two old.
What neither bot covers
Both bots read what a repository declares and change it in a pull request. Neither tells you whether a laptop or CI runner already installed a compromised release before anyone noticed, which secrets were in reach there, or when a vendor you call is breached. Pharon covers that: it matches the packages, images, GitHub Actions and runtimes each repo uses against new incidents, alerts the team that owns the repo, and /pharon:check-incident checks a machine read-only and names the secrets to rotate. Keep an update bot either way; software supply chain security tools covers the rest of the stack.
Questions
- Is Renovate free?
- Yes. Renovate is open source (AGPL-3.0) and can be self-hosted, and Mend's hosted Renovate app has a free tier.
- Does Renovate work with GitLab?
- Yes. GitLab is one of Renovate's officially supported platforms, with Azure DevOps, Bitbucket, Forgejo, Gitea, GitHub and SCM-Manager. Dependabot isn't built into GitLab; the community project dependabot-gitlab brings its engine there.
- Can I use Renovate and Dependabot together?
- Yes. Keep Dependabot alerts on and let Renovate open the update pull requests: on GitHub, Renovate reads Dependabot alerts to create its security pull requests. Turn Dependabot version updates off so the two don't propose the same update.
- Does Dependabot detect malicious packages?
- Yes, once you turn on malware alerts in the Dependabot settings. It started with npm in March 2026 and covers PyPI and more ecosystems since July 2026. It raises alerts; it doesn't open pull requests for them.
- What is Renovate's Dependency Dashboard?
- An issue Renovate keeps in each repository that lists the updates it has found and their state. Dependabot has no equivalent.
- Which is better for monorepos?
- Usually Renovate: its community-provided groups move common monorepo packages together, and the Dependency Dashboard keeps pending updates in one place. Dependabot handles monorepo packages too, but you define its groups yourself.
More options in Dependabot alternatives, or see how Pharon compares with Dependabot.