GitKraken vs SourceTree vs Tower

Overview

SourceTree

Stacks10.6K

Followers8.1K

Votes727

Tower

Stacks214

Followers360

Votes80

GitKraken

Stacks725

Followers909

Votes290

GitKraken vs SourceTree vs Tower: What are the differences?

Introduction:

GitKraken, SourceTree, and Tower are all popular Git clients that provide user-friendly interfaces for working with Git repositories. While they have similar basic functionalities, there are key differences between them.

Integration with Version Control Platforms: GitKraken is not only compatible with Git, but also with GitHub, Bitbucket, and GitLab. It provides seamless integration with these version control platforms, allowing users to easily manage their repositories. In contrast, SourceTree primarily focuses on Git and Bitbucket, while Tower supports Git and Subversion.
User Interface: GitKraken boasts a sleek and intuitive user interface, with a graph-like visualization of the repository tree. This visual representation makes it easier to understand branches, merges, and commits. SourceTree also offers a user-friendly interface, but it lacks the same level of visual clarity. Tower, on the other hand, provides a powerful interface with a clean and organized layout, emphasizing efficiency and productivity.
Pricing Model: GitKraken follows a subscription-based pricing model, with different plans available for individuals, teams, and enterprises. It also offers a free version with limited features. SourceTree, on the other hand, is completely free to use for both personal and commercial purposes. Tower offers a one-time purchase license, with separate pricing for individuals and teams.
Platform Compatibility: GitKraken is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of operating systems. SourceTree is primarily designed for macOS and Windows, with limited support for Linux. Tower, likewise, supports macOS and Windows, but it does not have native Linux support.
Advanced Features: GitKraken provides advanced features such as Git history, code review, pull request management, and built-in merge conflict resolution. SourceTree also offers pull request management and merge conflict resolution, but it does not include Git history or code review functionality. Tower, on the other hand, provides an extensive set of features including Git history, visual conflict resolution, and a powerful interactive rebase tool.

In summary, GitKraken offers seamless integration with popular version control platforms, a visually appealing interface, and advanced features. SourceTree is free to use, works well with Git and Bitbucket, and provides basic features. Tower emphasizes productivity and efficiency with a powerful interface and a comprehensive set of features.

Why do developers choose SourceTree vs GitKraken vs Tower?

Fans of SourceTree love its visual history and branch view, citing its beautiful UI and easy repository browsing.
GitKraken users love that it works with Linux and Windows as well as Mac, and call it a full featured client that’s very easy to use.
Tower fans say it “just works.” They love its simple layout and GitHub integration.

What are some alternatives to SourceTree, GitKraken, and Tower?

GitUp - The Git interface you've been missing all your life
Fork - Fast and Friendly Git Client for Mac

Share your Stack

Help developers discover the tools you use. Get visibility for your team's tech choices and contribute to the community's knowledge.

View Docs

CLI (Node.js)

Manual

Advice on SourceTree, Tower, GitKraken

Stefan

Jan 19, 2020

Decided

I explored many Git Desktop tools for the Mac and my final decision was to use Fork. What I love about for that it contains three features, I like about a Git Client tool.

It allows

to handle day to day git operations (least important for me as I am cli junkie)
it helps to investigate the history
most important of all, it has a repo manager which many other tools are missing.

198k views198k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

SourceTree	Tower	GitKraken
Use the full capability of Git and Mercurial in the SourceTree desktop app. Manage all your repositories, hosted or local, through SourceTree's simple interface.	Use all of Git's powerful feature set - in a GUI that makes you more productive.	The downright luxurious Git client for Windows, Mac and Linux. Cross-platform, 100% standalone, and free.
Full-powered DVCS;Create, clone, commit, push, pull, merge, and more are all just a click away.;Review your outgoing and incoming changesets, cherry-pick between branches, patch handling, rebase, stash, shelve, and much more.;Use Git-flow and Hg-flow with ease. Keep your repositories cleaner and your development more efficient with SourceTree's intuitive interface to Git and Hg's 'branchy' development model.	Clone & create repos with a click - Manage your GitHub, Bitbucket & Beanstalk accounts from within Tower;Open repos quickly - Tower's "Quick Open" dialog finds and opens repositories in no time;Automate the boring stuff - Fetching and stashing are automatically done for you, if you wish;Clone in the background- Downloading large projects happens in the background, while you work;Multiple windows - Have multiple projects open side-by-side	-
Statistics
Stacks 10.6K	Stacks 214	Stacks 725
Followers 8.1K	Followers 360	Followers 909
Votes 727	Votes 80	Votes 290
Pros & Cons
Pros 205 Visual history and branch view 164 Beautiful UI 134 Easy repository browsing 87 Gitflow support 75 Interactive stage or discard by hunks or lines Cons 12 Crashes often 8 So many bugs 7 Fetching is slow sometimes 5 No dark theme (Windows) 5 Extremely slow	Pros 19 Git 16 Just works 10 Version control 6 Awesome 6 Simple layout Cons 5 Expensive 4 Subscription based 1 No side by side diff 0 Merge conflict resolution impossible/unclear	Pros 60 Dark theme 34 Best linux git client 29 Great overview 21 Full featured client 21 Gitflow support Cons 4 Hangs occasionally (not as bad as sourcetree) 4 No edit/fixup in interactive rebase 4 Extremely slow when working with large repositories 3 Not as many features as sourcetree 3 Do not allow to directly edit staging area
Integrations
GitHub Git Bitbucket Windows macOS Mercurial	Bitbucket TextMate Visual Studio GitHub GitLab Git Xcode Gerrit Code Review Beanstalk	Git

What are some alternatives to SourceTree, Tower, GitKraken?

Fork

Manage your repositories without leaving the application. Organize the repositores into categories. Fork's Diff Viewer provides a clear view to spot the changes in your source code quickly.

Sublime Merge

A snappy UI, three-way merge tool, side-by-side diffs, syntax highlighting, and more. Evaluate for free – no account, tracking, or time limits.

GitUp

GitUp lets you see your entire labyrinth of branches and merges with perfect clarity. Any change you make, large or small, even outside GitUp, is immediately reflected in GitUp's graph. No refreshing, no waiting.

SmartGit

SmartGit is a powerful Git GUI client with support for GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab and Azure DevOps. SmartGit runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.

Related Comparisons