GitKraken vs Sourcetree
The first split is money. GitKraken sells a ladder of five plans, billed per seat per month and annually, with a free Community tier that stops at local repositories and public remotes. Sourcetree is a free download for Windows and Mac, and its home page lists no plan or trial. The second split is reach: GitKraken runs on Windows, Mac, Linux and in a browser, while Sourcetree handles Git and Mercurial and gives Bitbucket its own section. Neither page shows a dollar amount for GitKraken's Pro, Advanced or Business plans, and Sourcetree needs none.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderVendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Choose GitKraken ifyou work on Linux as well as Windows and Mac, or want a browser version of the client. You also want Launchpad, Cloud Patches and Jira links bundled, and accept per-seat billing to get them.
Choose Sourcetree ifyou want a client that costs nothing to download and your repositories sit on Bitbucket or still use Mercurial. You are on Windows or Mac and need git-flow and Git LFS built in.
GitKraken and Sourcetree side by side
| GitKraken | Sourcetree | |
|---|---|---|
| Our git client software rank | #12 of 14 | #13 of 14 |
| Established in | Not stated by the vendor | Not stated by the vendor |
| List price, 7 November 2026 | Per seat per month, billed annually: Community free, then Pro (2 seats), Advanced (10), Business (100) and Enterprise (20+, quote); amounts not shown in page text | Free download for Windows and Mac; no plan, price or trial listed |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | Larger teams that want Launchpad, Cloud Patches and Jira links in one suite | Windows and Mac users already on Bitbucket who need Git or Mercurial support |
| Not for | Small teams wanting a listed price or private repos at no cost | Linux users or buyers who want an independent vendor |
Both are reviewed in full in our git client software ranking: GitKraken and Sourcetree.
Where they differ
GitKraken 1 · Sourcetree 2 · open 3- 01
Free tier with a ceiling versus a plain free download
GitKraken's Community plan costs nothing but covers only local repositories and public remotes, and private repository access starts at Pro. The pricing page lists Pro for up to 2 seats, Advanced for up to 10, Business for up to 100 and Enterprise for 20 or more, with a quote for the last. Sourcetree's home page says 'Download Sourcetree for free' and states no plan, price or trial. For a team with private repositories, Sourcetree removes the licence question entirely.
Edge: Sourcetree
- 02
Windows, Mac, Linux or a browser tab
GitKraken's home page states that the desktop client is available on Windows, Mac and Linux, and that a browser version is offered as GitKraken.dev. Sourcetree lists installers for macOS (version 4.2.20) and Windows (version 3.4.33) only, plus an enterprise section on deploying and updating the app across managed Windows environments. A Linux desktop is simply missing from the pages we read for Sourcetree. Teams with mixed operating systems get a single client from GitKraken, while Sourcetree suits uniform Windows fleets.
Edge: GitKraken
- 03
Bitbucket, Jira and the hosting services behind them
Sourcetree gives Bitbucket its own section and tutorial link, and names a remote repository manager to search for and clone remote repositories. GitKraken names Git Integration for Jira and GitLens for VS Code, and says Community works with public remotes. Neither vendor page prints a roster of supported hosting providers, so GitHub, GitLab or Azure DevOps support cannot be confirmed from them. Bitbucket users have the clearest named path with Sourcetree, while GitKraken's named link is to Jira.
Edge: Sourcetree
- 04
Mercurial, git-flow and what the client itself does
Sourcetree supports Git and Mercurial (Hg), and names local commit search, interactive rebase, Git LFS and built-in git-flow branching. GitKraken's home page puts its weight on collaboration features instead: Launchpad for pull requests, issues and tasks in one place, Cloud Patches for early review of work-in-progress pull requests, and a GitKraken MCP Server for AI assistants. If you still keep Mercurial repositories, only Sourcetree names support. For pull request triage in the client, GitKraken's list is longer.
Depends on the buyer
- 05
AI credits, trials and the cost of trying it
GitKraken states trials of 14 days for Pro and Advanced, including a 14-day Advanced trial from Community, and 30 days for Business and Enterprise. It also states weekly AI credits per user, up to 1,000,000 on Pro, 2,000,000 on Advanced, 3,000,000 on Business and 4,000,000 on Enterprise. Sourcetree's home page shows no trial and no AI credit allowance. GitKraken's Pro, Advanced and Business prices are absent from the page text, so a budget needs a quote.
Depends on the buyer
- 06
Axosoft versus Atlassian behind the logo
GitKraken's footer names 'Axosoft, LLC DBA GitKraken' as the legal entity and gives no country or registered address on the pages we read. Sourcetree's footer copyright names Atlassian, again with no country or address stated. Support terms appear on neither home page. The practical difference is scale, since Atlassian also runs Bitbucket, whereas GitKraken's team features rely on secure cloud-backed services of its own. Neither page names a country, so residency questions go to the vendor before you sign.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
If you want a Linux-friendly client without per-seat plans or a hosting-service tilt, neither fits cleanly. Fork is one alternative to compare, and Sublime Merge is another.
GitKraken or Sourcetree: questions
3 answersWill my private repositories work on the free plans?
On Sourcetree the home page lists no restriction, since it is a free download.
On GitKraken, the Community plan is limited to local repositories and public remotes, and private repository access starts at Pro. Check your repository list before you roll either one out to the team.
Do I need to budget for GitKraken before a pilot?
A pilot costs little, because Pro and Advanced each have a 14-day trial and Community is free. A real budget is harder, since Pro, Advanced and Business amounts are absent from the page text. Enterprise is a custom quote for 20 or more seats.
Can a mixed Linux, Mac and Windows team standardise on one of them?
GitKraken alone among the two lists Linux, alongside Windows, Mac and a browser version. Sourcetree lists only macOS and Windows installers. A team with any Linux developers should plan around that gap.
Sources
Checked 7 November 2026- GitKraken pricing page: the five plan names with seat limits, the Community restriction to public remotes, trial lengths and weekly AI credits.
- GitKraken home page: platform list, GitKraken.dev browser version, Launchpad, Cloud Patches, MCP Server, Jira integration and the Axosoft footer.
- Sourcetree home page: the free download, macOS and Windows version numbers, Mercurial, git-flow, Git LFS, Bitbucket section and Atlassian copyright.