GitKraken Alternatives 2026: 5 Options, 3 Free
GitKraken alternatives: Sourcetree, GitHub Desktop, lazygit, Fork and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 25, 2026.
•3 min read•Code Editors, IDEs & Playgrounds
Verdict:GitKraken is a visual Git client, and its free tier limits you to local repos and public remotes, while private remote repos sit behind Pro, which is billed per seat per month on annual payment only. Leave it if your private repositories are the main work and the seat cost adds up. Sourcetree and GitHub Desktop cover most daily work for free: Sourcetree from Atlassian for Mac and Windows, GitHub Desktop under MIT for GitHub-hosted repos. If you do not need a GUI at all, lazygit gives a fast terminal interface under MIT with no account. Fork and Tower are paid desktop clients; Tower has a clear Basic price of $5.75 per user billed annually, while Fork's $59.99 — check the pricing page for whether that is one-time or annual. The trade-off is simple: GitKraken's graph and boards are the feature you lose with the free tools, so test whether your team really uses them. If the answer is no, a free client is enough. If the answer is yes, compare Tower's Basic price with GitKraken Pro's seat price on the live pricing page, since that figure is not stated here.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sourcetree | Free (Free download; no price or paid plan shown on the page) | macOS, Windows | Free GUI for Mac and Windows | Docs only |
| GitHub Desktop | Free (Open source under MIT; no paid plan) | Windows, macOS | Free GUI for GitHub repos | Docs only |
| lazygit | Free (Open source under MIT; no paid plan) | Linux, macOS, Windows | Terminal-first developers | Docs only |
| Fork | Paid from $59.99 per price per platform; a trial is available; check the site for licence terms | macOS, Windows | Single-purpose desktop Git client | Docs only |
| Tower | Paid from $5.75 per user/month, billed annually (Basic) | macOS, Windows | Teams that want a polished paid Git client | Docs only |
| SmartGit | Free (Free for hobby (non-commercial) use, students and educational staff, and qualifying open source and charity work); paid from $5 per user/month (commercial, listed as From) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Git client | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- Free GUI for GitHub-hosted repos (GitHub Desktop is the pick)
- Free GUI on Mac or Windows from Atlassian (Sourcetree is the pick)
- Terminal-first workflow with no GUI (lazygit is the pick)
- Paid desktop client with a clear per-seat price (Tower is the pick)
- Desktop client with a one-off evaluation (Fork is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on GitKraken features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
GitKraken today: Free (Community (Free): local repos and public remotes only; many features limited to public repos) (GitKraken pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Why people look for GitKraken alternatives
GitKraken's Community plan is limited to local repositories and public remotes. Private repository access starts on Pro, which covers up to 2 seats, and self-hosted Git integrations and single-domain SSO need Advanced, up to 10 seats. Business covers up to 100 seats, so growing teams move through three tiers. Pro is priced per seat after the first, and Enterprise is a custom quote.
Sourcetree
Compared with GitKraken: Free Git client for macOS and Windows from Atlassian, with an enterprise version for managed installs. It has no paid Pro tier, unlike GitKraken, and its license is proprietary.
Price: Free (Free download; no price or paid plan shown on the page) (Sourcetree pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: macOS, Windows. Not stated.
Best for: Free GUI for Mac and Windows.
GitHub Desktop
Compared with GitKraken: Open-source GUI under MIT from GitHub. It is free and simpler than GitKraken, with no boards, graphs or agent features, and it covers only macOS and Windows.
Price: Free (Open source under MIT; no paid plan) (GitHub Desktop pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 22k GitHub stars · latest release release-3.6.7 (Oct 14, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Free GUI for GitHub repos.
Worth knowing: Open-source Git client from GitHub; works with GitHub repos and other remotes.
lazygit
Compared with GitKraken: MIT-licensed terminal UI for Git. Free and fast over SSH; you lose GitKraken's visual graph and point-and-click clarity.
Price: Free (Open source under MIT; no paid plan) (lazygit pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Linux, macOS, Windows. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 83.5k GitHub stars · latest release v0.66.2 (Oct 16, 2026) · last commit Oct 21, 2026
Best for: Terminal-first developers.
Worth knowing: Terminal UI for Git; a keyboard-driven client rather than a desktop window.
Fork
Compared with GitKraken: Desktop Git client for macOS and Windows with a free evaluation and a $59.99 price on its page. Billing period is not stated, so budget it carefully against GitKraken's seat model.
Price: Paid from $59.99 per price per platform; a trial is available; check the site for licence terms (Fork pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: macOS, Windows. Proprietary.
Best for: Single-purpose desktop Git client.
Tower
Compared with GitKraken: Desktop Git client with a 30-day trial and no free plan. Basic is $5.75 per user a month billed annually; check the pricing page for GitKraken Pro's per-seat figure to compare directly.
Price: Paid from $5.75 per user/month, billed annually (Basic) (Tower pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: macOS, Windows. Proprietary.
Best for: Teams that want a polished paid Git client.
Worth knowing: Free for enrolled students, educators and non-profits on application; 30-day free trial.
Other popular options (paid)
SmartGit
Compared with GitKraken: Git client for Windows, macOS and Linux, from $5 per user per month commercially. Free for hobby use, students and open source, whereas GitKraken's free tier limits many features to public repos.
Price: Free (Free for hobby (non-commercial) use, students and educational staff, and qualifying open source and charity work); paid from $5 per user/month (commercial, listed as From) (SmartGit pricing, checked 2026-10-25).
Which one to pick
- Free GUI for GitHub-hosted repos: GitHub Desktop
- Free GUI on Mac or Windows from Atlassian: Sourcetree
- Terminal-first workflow with no GUI: lazygit
- Paid desktop client with a clear per-seat price: Tower
- Desktop client with a one-off evaluation: Fork
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Sourcetree, GitHub Desktop, lazygit, Fork, Tower: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from GitKraken. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-25: GitKraken, Sourcetree, GitHub Desktop, lazygit, Fork, Tower, SmartGit. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.