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  1. Stackups
  2. DevOps
  3. Version Control
  4. Source Code Management Desktop Apps
  5. GitUp vs SourceTree vs Tower

GitUp vs SourceTree vs Tower

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

SourceTree
SourceTree
Stacks10.6K
Followers8.1K
Votes727
Tower
Tower
Stacks214
Followers360
Votes80
GitUp
GitUp
Stacks24
Followers49
Votes36

GitUp vs SourceTree vs Tower: What are the differences?

# Introduction

1. **User Interface**: GitUp has a minimalistic interface focused on simplicity, while SourceTree offers a more feature-rich interface with advanced capabilities such as staging and committing directly from the interface. Tower, on the other hand, provides a visually appealing and intuitive interface that caters to both beginners and experienced users.
2. **Platform Compatibility**: GitUp is only available for macOS, while SourceTree is compatible with both Windows and macOS. Tower offers support for macOS and Windows, providing flexibility for users regardless of their operating system.
3. **Offline Access**: GitUp allows users to work offline without any issues, as it does not require internet connectivity for most operations. SourceTree and Tower rely heavily on internet access for various functions like authentication and syncing with remote repositories.
4. **Integration with External Tools**: SourceTree has strong integrations with external tools and services such as JIRA and Bitbucket, enhancing productivity and collaboration within teams. GitUp and Tower also support integrations but may not have the same depth of connectivity with other tools as SourceTree.
5. **Price**: GitUp is a free tool with no pricing plans, making it an attractive option for individual developers and small teams. SourceTree offers a free version but also has a paid subscription model for advanced features. Tower is a premium tool with a one-time purchase fee, which may be a deterrent for some users.
6. **Advanced Features**: SourceTree stands out with its advanced features like interactive rebase and cherry-pick, providing users with more control over their version control processes. GitUp and Tower offer essential functionalities but may lack some of the more advanced capabilities found in SourceTree.

In Summary, the key differences between GitUp, SourceTree, and Tower lie in their user interfaces, platform compatibility, offline access, integration with external tools, pricing models, and advanced features.

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Advice on SourceTree, Tower, GitUp

Stefan
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
SourceTree
Tower
Tower
GitUp
GitUp

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.

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.

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
Highlight a commit and hit the spacebar to quickly see its message and diff.;GitUp gives you full, transparent control over your local checkout, so it's easy to back out from unwanted changes.;GitUp's Snapshot feature builds a Time-Machine-like history of every change made to your repo, allowing you to step backwards to any point in time.;Rewrite, split, delete, and re-order commits, fixup and squash, cherry-pick, merge, rebase—It's all here, and it's lightning-fast.;GitUp puts the power in your fingertips. Surf your repo, make changes, and rewind it all back with a few short keystrokes.
Statistics
Stacks
10.6K
Stacks
214
Stacks
24
Followers
8.1K
Followers
360
Followers
49
Votes
727
Votes
80
Votes
36
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
    Very unstable
  • 5
    No dark theme (Windows)
Pros
  • 19
    Git
  • 16
    Just works
  • 10
    Version control
  • 6
    Simple layout
  • 6
    Awesome
Cons
  • 5
    Expensive
  • 4
    Subscription based
  • 1
    No side by side diff
  • 0
    Merge conflict resolution impossible/unclear
Pros
  • 6
    Can edit commit messages
  • 6
    Fast
  • 5
    Native OSX App
  • 5
    Simple interface
  • 3
    Easy rebase
Integrations
GitHub
GitHub
Git
Git
Bitbucket
Bitbucket
Windows
Windows
macOS
macOS
Mercurial
Mercurial
Bitbucket
Bitbucket
TextMate
TextMate
Visual Studio
Visual Studio
GitHub
GitHub
GitLab
GitLab
Git
Git
Xcode
Xcode
Gerrit Code Review
Gerrit Code Review
Beanstalk
Beanstalk
Git
Git

What are some alternatives to SourceTree, Tower, GitUp?

GitKraken

GitKraken

The downright luxurious Git client for Windows, Mac and Linux. Cross-platform, 100% standalone, and free.

Fork

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

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.

SmartGit

SmartGit

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

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