StackShareStackShare
Follow on
StackShare

Discover and share technology stacks from companies around the world.

Follow on

© 2025 StackShare. All rights reserved.

Product

  • Stacks
  • Tools
  • Feed

Company

  • About
  • Contact

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  1. Stackups
  2. DevOps
  3. Version Control
  4. Source Code Management Desktop Apps
  5. SmartGit vs TortoiseGit

SmartGit vs TortoiseGit

OverviewComparisonAlternatives

Overview

SmartGit
SmartGit
Stacks40
Followers49
Votes2
TortoiseGit
TortoiseGit
Stacks50
Followers90
Votes5

SmartGit vs TortoiseGit: What are the differences?

Introduction: SmartGit and TortoiseGit are both software tools used for version control and managing Git repositories. While they serve a similar purpose, there are several key differences between the two.

  1. Interface and integration: SmartGit provides a cross-platform graphical user interface (GUI) that is consistent across different operating systems, making it easier to use for beginners. On the other hand, TortoiseGit integrates directly with Windows Explorer, allowing users to perform Git operations directly from the Windows context menu. This integration can be advantageous for experienced users who prefer to work within the file explorer.

  2. Feature set: SmartGit offers a comprehensive set of features, including advanced branching and merging capabilities, a built-in SSH client, and support for popular hosting services like GitHub, Bitbucket, and GitLab. TortoiseGit, while also offering essential Git functions, focuses primarily on providing a seamless integration with Windows Explorer. This makes it more suitable for users who prefer a lightweight tool without extensive additional features.

  3. Performance: SmartGit is known for its fast performance, especially when working with large repositories and performing complex operations like searching through commit history. On the other hand, TortoiseGit may experience some performance issues when dealing with large repositories due to its tight integration with Windows Explorer.

  4. Accessibility: SmartGit provides a consistent user experience across different operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. This cross-platform support is beneficial for teams working on different systems. TortoiseGit, however, is available only for Windows, limiting its use to teams or individuals working exclusively on this operating system.

  5. Learning curve: SmartGit offers a more beginner-friendly interface with clear and concise menus and options, making it easier for new users to get started with Git. On the other hand, TortoiseGit may have a steeper learning curve, especially for those who are new to Git, as it relies heavily on integrating with Windows Explorer and requires some familiarity with the file explorer interface.

  6. Customizability: SmartGit provides a highly customizable interface, allowing users to adjust the layout, colors, and behavior according to their preferences. TortoiseGit, while it does offer some customization options, is more limited in terms of interface customization.

In summary, SmartGit provides a cross-platform GUI, extensive features, and fast performance, making it suitable for teams and individuals working on different operating systems and large repositories. TortoiseGit, on the other hand, offers tight integration with Windows Explorer, a lightweight approach, and an interface suited for Windows users comfortable with the file explorer.

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)
or
Manual

Detailed Comparison

SmartGit
SmartGit
TortoiseGit
TortoiseGit

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

It is a Git revision control client, implemented as a Windows shell extension and based on TortoiseSVN. It is free software released under the GNU General Public License.

-
ShellExtension
Statistics
Stacks
40
Stacks
50
Followers
49
Followers
90
Votes
2
Votes
5
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 2
    Dark theme
Cons
  • 1
    Bugs
  • 1
    Non-intuitive actions
Pros
  • 4
    Turns Explorer into a git client
  • 1
    Free
Integrations
No integrations available
Windows
Windows
Git
Git

What are some alternatives to SmartGit, TortoiseGit?

SourceTree

SourceTree

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.

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.

Tower

Tower

Use all of Git's powerful feature set - in a GUI that makes you more productive.

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.

GitUp

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.

Diff So Fancy

Diff So Fancy

diff-so-fancy builds on the good-lookin' output of git contrib's diff-highlight to upgrade your diffs' appearances.

GitUI

GitUI

It is a blazing fast terminal-UI for git written in Rust. You can inspect, commit, and amend changes. It has context-based help (no need to memorize tons of hot-keys).

pre-commit by Yelp

pre-commit by Yelp

If one of your developers doesn’t have node installed but modifies a JavaScript file, pre-commit automatically handles downloading and building node to run jshint without root. Pre-commit is a multi-language package manager for pre-commit hooks. You specify a list of hooks you want and pre-commit manages the installation and execution of any hook written in any language before every commit. pre-commit is specifically designed to not require root access.

ungit

ungit

Clean and intuitive UI that makes it easy to understand git.

Related Comparisons

GitHub
Bitbucket

Bitbucket vs GitHub vs GitLab

GitHub
Bitbucket

AWS CodeCommit vs Bitbucket vs GitHub

Kubernetes
Rancher

Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes vs Rancher

gulp
Grunt

Grunt vs Webpack vs gulp

Graphite
Kibana

Grafana vs Graphite vs Kibana