Git client · GitKraken

GitKraken Desktop

Closed-source Git client for Windows, macOS and Linux; private repositories need a paid plan.

74/100

#1 of 11 Git clients
Facts checked 8 Oct 2026

In short

Pro costs $120 a year ($10 a month), billed yearly, and adds private repository access^1,2.
The free Community plan covers only local repositories and public remotes^1,3.
Connects to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps for pull requests^14,15.
Docs describe one Undo command for checkout, commit, discard, branch deletion, reset and rebase⁵.
Builds exist for Windows, macOS and Linux; release notes list version 12.5.0 dated 15 September 2026 and a newer 12.6.0^3,19.

GitKraken Desktop suits developers who use several Git hosts and want undo, worktrees, Gitflow and a merge tool in one app^5,6,8,11,15. Pro at $10 a month is the entry price for private work². The catch: the free plan covers only local and public repositories, and the source code is proprietary^1,20.

Best for: Developers who work across several Git hosts and will pay for private repositories.

Where the points come from

Git features29 of 29

Hosts and review26 of 26

Systems and upkeep16 of 16

Licence0 of 15

Price3 of 14

Git features 29 of 29 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Core Git features	Interactive rebase, Git LFS, Submodules, Visual merge conflict editor, Stage single lines or hunksDocs cover rebase⁷, LFS⁹ (needs separate install), submodules¹⁰, in-app Merge Tool (paid)^11,4, line staging¹². Docs name no plan limits.	15 / 15
Undo for Git actions	YesUndo lists checkout, commit, discard, delete branch, reset and rebase actions; Ctrl+Z reverses the latest⁵.	6 / 6
Worktrees	YesCreate, switch, lock and remove worktrees in the app, from version 10.5.0; no plan limit is stated⁶.	4 / 4
Git-flow built in	YesBuilt-in Gitflow with start and finish for feature, release and hotfix branches; no plan limit is stated⁸.	4 / 4

Hosts and review 26 of 26 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Hosts with built-in sign-in	GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOpsConnect by browser sign-in or token under Integrations; GitHub²², GitLab¹⁸, Bitbucket¹⁷, Azure DevOps¹⁶; Community covers public repositories only¹⁵.	12 / 12
Pull requests in the app	YesCreate, view and merge pull requests in the app for four hosts; in-app review is described for GitHub¹⁴.	8 / 8
Signed commits	YesDocs cover commit and tag signing with GPG or SSH keys; SSH signing needs an experimental setting¹³.	6 / 6

Systems and upkeep 16 of 16 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Other systems	macOS, LinuxDownload page lists macOS builds and Linux .deb, .rpm and tar packages³.	8 / 8
Release in the last 12 months	YesRelease notes show version 12.5.0 dated 15 September 2026; none is marked beta¹⁹.	8 / 8

Licence 0 of 15 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Open source	NoThe licence says GitKraken keeps all rights and bars deriving source code; open-source parts are excluded²⁰.	0 / 7
Free for commercial work on private repos	NoCommunity is limited to local repositories and public remotes; Pro adds private repository access¹.	0 / 8

Price 3 of 14 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Cheapest way to use it for work	$10/moPro, $120 a year billed yearly, is the cheapest plan with private repository access^1,2.	3 / 14

The rule behind each line: how we score Git clients.

Plans and prices

As the vendor lists them, before tax. Prices are in US dollars unless the plan shows euros; the points use US dollars, with euros converted at the ECB rate.

Plan	Price as listed	Per month	Notes
Community1 person	Free^1,3	$0	Local repositories and public remotes only
ProUp to 2 seats	$120/year^1,2	$10	Adds private repositories
AdvancedUp to 10 seats	$168/year^1,2	$14	Adds self-hosted integrations and single sign-on

Prices are the regular yearly rates in the pricing page's own plan data. The page also shows a limited-time discount on the first year, which we do not count^1,2.

Strengths

One Undo command reverses checkout, commit, discard, branch deletion, reset and rebase actions⁵.
Pull requests work with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps¹⁴.
Has worktrees, Gitflow, interactive rebase, submodules, LFS and commit signing with GPG or SSH^{6,7,8,9,10,13}.
Official downloads for Windows, macOS and Linux³.
Line and hunk staging in the diff view¹².

Limits

The free Community plan allows only local repositories and public remotes¹.
The in-app conflict output editor needs a paid licence¹¹.
The licence forbids deriving the source code, so the app is not open source²⁰.
Git LFS must be installed separately before the app can use it⁹.

Concerns on record

Microsoft's Azure DevOps team wrote on 11 October 2021 that a flaw in a dependency of GitKraken, reported to it on 28 September 2021, made the client generate weak SSH keys; it revoked the keys of a small set of users that day²¹.

Other Git clients

2
SmartGitDevelopers who use several Git hosts and want a free licence for personal projects
72/100
$5/mocheapest way to use it for work
3
TowerDevelopers who want one undo command and pull requests inside a paid client
71/100
$5.75/mocheapest way to use it for work
4
SourcetreeDevelopers on Windows or Mac who want a free client with Git-flow and Bitbucket support
70/100
$0cheapest way to use it for work
5
GitHub DesktopDevelopers who host their code on GitHub and want a free client
68/100
$0cheapest way to use it for work

GitKraken Desktop vs SmartGit · GitKraken Desktop vs Tower · All 11 Git clients

Sources

GitKraken pricing, GitKraken. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
GitKraken plan prices (data loaded by the pricing page), GitKraken. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Download GitKraken Desktop, GitKraken. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
GitKraken Desktop Git client, GitKraken. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Undo and Redo Git Actions, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Worktrees, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Interactive Rebase, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Gitflow, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Git LFS, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Submodules, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Branch, Merge, and Rebase, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Stage, Unstage, and Ignore Files, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Sign Commits with GPG or SSH in GitKraken Desktop, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Pull Requests, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Integrations, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Azure DevOps, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Bitbucket, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
GitLab, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
GitKraken Desktop release notes, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
GitKraken end-user licence agreement, GitKraken. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Azure DevOps response to GitKraken SSH bug, Microsoft DevBlogs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
GitHub, GitKraken Help Center. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.

Website: www.gitkraken.com · Markdown version · We are not affiliated with GitKraken.