Atlassian SourceTree vs GitHub comparison

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Atlassian SourceTree

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 19, 2025

GitHub and Atlassian SourceTree are competing in the version control category. GitHub takes the lead with cloud integration and a strong ecosystem for collaboration, while SourceTree is favored for its intuitive local repository management.

Features: GitHub's key features include pull requests, extensive integrations, and project management tools like GitHub Projects and Actions. SourceTree offers visual repository activity representations, intuitive branch management, and a graphical user interface for ease over command-line operations.

Room for Improvement: GitHub could expand its GUI options and enhance its standalone desktop application capabilities. Integration with more third-party DevOps tools could also improve its offering. SourceTree can benefit from improved cloud capability, expanded collaboration features, and enhanced integrations with other tools to increase its automation and scaling abilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: GitHub's cloud-based deployment streamlines setup without complex installations, while customer support is available via documentation and forums. SourceTree is a desktop application with local installations, supported by detailed documentation and company resources, making deployment straightforward but requiring a manual setup process.

Pricing and ROI: GitHub provides various pricing tiers, including a free option supporting unlimited public repositories, beneficial for open source or small projects. Its ROI is boosted by integrated development tools. SourceTree is free, which might attract budget-conscious teams, but its ROI depends on integration with other Atlassian products.

To learn more, read our detailed Atlassian SourceTree vs. GitHub Report (Updated: September 2025).

Atlassian SourceTree vs. GitHub

September 2025

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Helped 871,829 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Atlassian SourceTree

Ranking in Version Control

6th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

GitHub

Ranking in Version Control

3rd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (5th), Agile and DevOps Services (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Version Control category, the mindshare of Atlassian SourceTree is 6.5%, up from 5.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GitHub is 8.2%, up from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Version Control Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
GitHub	8.2%
Atlassian SourceTree	6.5%
Other	85.3%

Version Control

Featured Reviews

PrinceKumar1

Expert Software Engineer at FIS

Utilize Agile methodologies with efficient project management, yet seek improvements in resolving merge conflicts

SourceTree is one of the best tools from a UI perspective. However, I would prefer if SourceTree could address merge conflicts more easily. Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code, providing a comprehensive tool for both development and code management, is favored because it can serve as both a development tool and a client for pushing or pulling code, resolving conflicts efficiently. It would be beneficial if SourceTree could offer similar integrated functionalities.

Read full review

Kamalanadha Reddy

Senior DevOps Engineer at Simplify3x Software Private Limited

Improved deployment pipeline visibility with generally good support

My primary use case involves working with GitHub for code management. I have extensive experience using it for various tasks, such as creating repositories, managing pull requests, and utilizing GitHub Actions for automating workflows GitHub contributes to efficient project management by…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Atlassian SourceTree is a very stable product."

"The interface is very good and is easy to use. It tells you when you've committed, when you've uploaded, and gives you the differences."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"The solution's initial setup process is straightforward."

"The tool's UI is good."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to fix a broken repository merge."

"For me, the branches ' graph was the most valuable feature of Atlassian SourceTree. I often used the terminal, but during a demo, my boss preferred I not switch to the terminal view. SourceTree's graphical interface for managing branches was handy for that. The demo involved making changes, committing them, pushing to the CI/CD tool, running the pipeline, and seeing the integration, all within about twenty minutes."

"GitHub's source code management is top-notch. It's easy to inspect changes and visualize code and differences. Their action system is comprehensive in terms of making changes and automation."

"It is really simple to set up."

"The best feature is the ability to track the history of all code changes, and it's easy to use. Additionally, as it's open source, anyone can use that feature resulting in distributed development. This opens the door to collaboration with different code and developer, feature, and master branches of development."

"This solution is very easy to use which I like about it. The capacity to own artifacts and share them with others is another good feature. You don't have to write all your code from scratch, you can use available templates and alter the code according to your needs."

"For branching, it works well, especially in an agile environment."

"The control is the most valuable feature as developers can work on a single code."

"Has great integration with third-party tools."

"I recommend using GitHub because it is reliable and helpful for developers."

More GitHub pros

Cons

"The visuals, including the UI and UX, have simple fonts, making it an area where certain enhancements can be done."

"The product's UI needs improvement."

"I have had a food experience with Atlassian SourceTree but it might not be for everyone."

"People think that Visual Studio Code is more intuitive and can serve dual purposes for development and as a client to push or pull code."

"For everyday use, I am more comfortable using the command line interface, rather than using SourceTree."

"Its interface could be easy to understand for a programmer."

"GitHub could improve by being more user-friendly."

"As of now, if I would like to learn about GitHub or its features, I would have to look on YouTube. It would be nice if they were able to send out a newsletter with explanations of new features that they are offering and what features are available."

"GitHub storage is one of the main requirements and it could improve."

"The user interface on GitLab is better."

"The stability can be improved."

"There can be conflict issues when two developers work on the same file or line of code, and it would be great to see that improved, possibly with an AI solution."

"The security point should be addressed in the next release and scaling is also an issue."

"GitHub could expand the limits of the free version."

More GitHub cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a fee for using SourceTree."

"I do not recall the exact pricing details for SourceTree, but generally, Atlassian products are affordable, and SourceTree typically comes as part of a suite."

"Atlassian SourceTree is a free solution."

"It is open-source. There is no license for GitHub."

"We pay a subscription-based yearly licensing fee for the solution."

"GitHub is an open-source application. It's free to use."

"The licensing model for GitHub is user-based. Whenever the new developer joins we have to get a new license and register their ID. The overall price of the solution is reasonable."

"If there are only 10 people using a particular repository, then GitHub is free. But if we increase the number of users, we need to pay the normal charge for GitHub."

"There are no licensing fees for the features that we use."

"We are currently paying nothing for GitHub."

"I think, in terms of price, GitHub is okay compared to other tools."

More GitHub pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Version Control solutions are best for your needs.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

19%

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	42
Midsize Enterprise	12
Large Enterprise	48

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Atlassian SourceTree?

Both SourceTree and primary alternatives like Visual Studio Code are open-source, so there are no costs involved.

What needs improvement with Atlassian SourceTree?

What is your primary use case for Atlassian SourceTree?

I am currently using Atlassian Jira for project management, and I have been using it for about eight years across two companies. I use it to create design documents for upcoming projects, where all...

What do you like most about GitHub?

The control is the most valuable feature as developers can work on a single code.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for GitHub?

GitHub is very stable for me with no performance issues.

What needs improvement with GitHub?

When working with the CI/CD pipeline and somebody is writing the workflow file, it would be best to include the AI feature so if they write incorrect code, it will notify me about it in the same da...

Bitbucket vs Atlassian SourceTree

Comparisons

Compared 32% of the time

Bitbucket Server vs Atlassian SourceTree

Compared 25% of the time

Git vs Atlassian SourceTree

Compared 21% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

Snyk vs GitHub

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Compared 8% of the time

Mend.io vs GitHub

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Download Atlassian SourceTree product report

Version Control

September 2025

Download GitHub product report

October 2025

Overview

Atlassian SourceTree is a graphical user interface (GUI) desktop client that facilitates user interaction with Git repositories. SourceTree provides a visual interface that is easy to use and intuitive. It allows developers to save a lot of command lines when working with Git.

The tool is free and works as a Git client for Windows and Mac OS. You can visualize and manage your repositories via the simple GUI. The client offers an efficient and consistent development process for Git and Mercurial.

Atlassian SourceTree Key Features

Branch management: Typically, managing branches is a time-consuming and tedious process for project managers and developers. With SourceTree, you can switch working copies with a single click. You can also see where you are compared with the version in the repository, alerting you to push or pull.
Working copy: Developers who work using the command line often lack visibility. Access the “working copy” section to see the difference between your local copy and the version in the Git repository. This feature allows you to see exactly what has changed.
Branch history: the History section displays the full history of the branch, displaying each commit and file change. This feature enables smooth version control.
GitFlow: GitFlow organizes the workflow, streamlining parallel code changes and reducing merge conflicts.

Atlassian SourceTree Benefits

Any level user can use SourceTree: beginners and experts benefit from the visibility and streamlined workflows of SourceTree. Beginners benefit from the simplified version control. Experts can review changesets and stash and pick between branches. Senior programmers can customize changeset and stashes, apply patches, rebase or shelve changesets. The tool offers detailed tutorials to help beginners and experts start quickly. Other benefits for beginners include easy access to commands with one click and simplified distributed version control.
Code visibility: the visualization of the Git process enables users to manage large projects with multiple branches and commits. SourceTree automatically tracks the activity of your code. It also features bookmarks where you can see a summarized view of all projects and repositories. Therefore, you can check a specific branch or commit with a single click. Finally, it features detailed branching diagrams that make it easy to follow the process.
Git and Hg support: the fully-featured GUI supports Git and Mercurial, offering a consistent development process from the start. You can also use SourceTree for a project on Github. Start by creating the project on Github, then connect it to the SourceTree software.
Free: the SourceTree tool is free to use, even for commercial uses, without buying a license.
Supports Git LFS: users can track large assets and submit code from a single dashboard.
Subordinated modules: you can use submodules for hand-picked dependencies and manage and group projects.

Atlassian SourceTree Use Cases

Check-in and check-out code using the client-side application.
You can also use SourceTree to repair broken Git repositories because you can easily detect mistakes at a glance.
The simple and intuitive user interface allows users to search for and clone remote repositories.

Reviews from Real Users

A Program Manager/Engineer at a government says, "The most valuable feature is the ability to fix a broken repository merge… This product has helped because we have been able to fix problems when our code repository breaks."

Atlassian

GitHub is a web-based Git repository hosting service. It offers all of the distributed revision control and source code management (SCM) functionality of Git as well as adding its own features. Unlike Git, which is strictly a command-line tool, GitHub provides a Web-based graphical interface and desktop as well as mobile integration. It also provides access control and several collaboration features such as bug tracking, feature requests, task management, and wikis for every project.

Sample Customers

Facebook, NASA, Cisco, eBay, Redfin, Toyota, Kaiser Permanente, Gilt, CSIRO, Autodesk, The Daily Telegraph, CODE, Illumnia,

Dominion Enterprises, NASA, Braintree, SAP, CyberAgent