GitLab licensing across Africa: the 6,437 km region rule and how to structure pan-African deals

GitLab licences may only be used within 4,000 miles (6,437 km) of the Sold To address on the GitLab quote, unless GitLab agrees otherwise in writing. For a group billed from Johannesburg, that comfortably covers Southern, East and Central Africa and most of West Africa, but not Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia or Senegal, and Egypt is close to the edge. The billing entity you put on the quote therefore matters as much as the number of seats.

This guide explains the rule, gives approximate distances for common African cities and sets out practical ways to structure a pan-African GitLab deal. It is general guidance, not legal advice. Always confirm your specific case with GitLab or your partner before you buy.

What GitLab’s licensing policy says

GitLab’s published licensing policy (checked 13 October 2026) makes four points that matter for multi-country groups:

1. The region. The Geographical Region is within 4,000 miles, or 6,437 km, of the Sold To address in the GitLab quote.
2. Use outside it is prohibited unless GitLab approves it in writing.
3. Region-specific pricing. GitLab may use region-specific pricing. If licences are deployed outside the region where they were bought, including to an affiliate, GitLab may require alternate pricing and conditions.
4. Affiliates. Customers may deploy licences to affiliates, with some exceptions, provided the affiliates’ procurement and billing requirements are communicated before purchase.

GitLab’s own example: a customer that bought licences in India cannot deploy some of them to a team in California, because California is outside India’s region.

Two related rules from the same policy are worth knowing:

• GitLab.com, GitLab Dedicated and Self-Managed each need their own subscription.
• Tiers cannot be mixed. Using Ultimate features with code developed in a Premium instance counts as prohibited commingling.

Approximate distances from Johannesburg

We calculated these as great-circle (shortest surface) distances between city centres. They are approximate, and GitLab’s policy does not say exactly how distance is measured, so treat anything within a few hundred kilometres of 6,437 km as a question for GitLab.

Approximate great-circle distances calculated by Spreeze on 13 October 2026 from city-centre coordinates.

The Sold To address changes the answer

The radius is measured from the Sold To address, not from wherever your head office happens to be. A few examples, again approximate:

• From Cape Town, Cairo is about 7,240 km away and falls outside the region, even though it is inside from Johannesburg.
• From Cape Town, Dakar is about 6,610 km and Casablanca about 7,980 km, both outside.
• From Nairobi, Cairo is about 3,530 km and Casablanca about 6,050 km, both inside.
• From Lagos, Casablanca is about 3,210 km and Cairo about 3,910 km, both inside.

So a group with a large North African presence might be better served by a Sold To entity further north, or by separate subscriptions.

Ways to structure a pan-African deal

Option 1: one South African contract for in-region countries

If all your users are within the radius of your South African Sold To address, a single subscription is usually the simplest:

• one renewal date and one invoice;
• affiliates declared before purchase, with their procurement and billing requirements;
• one Self-Managed instance or one GitLab.com top-level group.

This suits groups whose operations are in SADC, East Africa and most of West Africa.

Option 2: separate subscriptions by region

Where some subsidiaries are outside the radius, for example in Morocco or Tunisia, buy a separate subscription with a local Sold To address for them. Points to consider:

• Each subscription needs its own deployment (a separate Self-Managed instance or GitLab.com group), because each subscription is separate.
• You can align renewal dates to simplify administration.
• North Africa has its own GitLab partners. GitLab’s Partner Locator lists partners in Egypt and Morocco.

Option 3: ask GitLab for written approval

If a small team sits just outside the radius and a separate subscription would be impractical, ask GitLab, through your partner, for written approval before you buy. Expect GitLab to apply region-specific pricing or conditions. Do not assume approval. Get it in writing and keep it with the contract.

Option 4: choose the billing entity deliberately

If your group already has a regional hub (for example in Nairobi or Lagos) with legal capacity to contract, using it as the Sold To entity may bring all your countries inside one radius. This also has tax, exchange control and transfer-pricing implications, so involve your finance and tax advisers.

Practical checklist

1. Map users by country, including contractors and auditors who will log in.
2. Pick the Sold To entity and check every country against the radius from that address.
3. Flag borderline cases (such as Cairo from Johannesburg) and confirm them with GitLab.
4. Declare affiliates and their procurement requirements before the quote is finalised.
5. Decide the deployment model per subscription. Our guide to GitLab.com vs Self-Managed vs Dedicated helps.
6. Plan renewals. Quarterly reconciliation applies to added users, so keep your user count tidy in every subscription.

For pricing, currency and VAT, see how GitLab licensing and pricing works in South Africa.

How Spreeze can help

Spreeze is an authorised GitLab partner (Open track) based in Midrand. We can map your users against the region rule, raise approval questions with GitLab before you commit, and quote in USD or ZAR (your choice). For implementation across several countries, see our GitLab services and Self-Managed GitLab offer, or request a quote.

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