Atlassian SourceTree vs GitHub comparison

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Atlassian SourceTree

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 29, 2024

GitHub and Atlassian SourceTree are popular tools for version control and source code repository management. GitHub seems to have the upper hand due to its extensive integrations and user-friendly deployment model.

Features: GitHub is known for its extensive integrations, collaborative tools, and robust version control capabilities. It offers features like issue tracking, code review, and continuous integration. Atlassian SourceTree stands out for its visually intuitive repository management and support for both Git and Mercurial. It provides features such as simple interface for managing repositories, interactive rebase options, and deep integration with Jira and Bitbucket.

Room for Improvement: GitHub users often point out the need for better code search features and more advanced project management tools. Improved integration with third-party project management tools is also desired. Atlassian SourceTree user reviews suggest improvements in performance and stability, especially handling large repositories. Users also mention the need for faster software updates and better user documentation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: GitHub's web-based deployment model is straightforward and complemented by good customer service, frequently mentioned in user reviews. SourceTree's desktop application deployment can be slightly more complex, with some users noting delayed customer support responses. GitHub's deployment model is more user-friendly, and its customer service is more responsive compared to SourceTree.

Pricing and ROI: GitHub offers a range of pricing plans, with a free tier for public repositories and paid plans for private repositories, which users find cost-effective for its feature set. Paid plans start at $4 per user/month. Atlassian SourceTree is free, but users indicate that the potentially additional costs for Jira and Bitbucket integrations may impact ROI. GitHub's pricing plans are valued for their flexibility and feature set, while SourceTree users must evaluate additional integration costs.

To learn more, read our detailed Atlassian SourceTree vs. GitHub Report (Updated: October 2024).

Atlassian SourceTree vs. GitHub

October 2024

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Helped 815,854 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

Atlassian SourceTree

Ranking in Version Control

6th

Average Rating

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

GitHub

Ranking in Version Control

3rd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Version Control category, the mindshare of Atlassian SourceTree is 5.6%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GitHub is 5.5%, down from 7.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Version Control

Featured Reviews

Francisco Castrillo

Coach Agile Architecture & DevOps at Sistemas Humanos

May 23, 2024

Allows fast and effective management of branches and integration

I used Atlassian SourceTree to demo integration with Jira and other tools like GitLab, GitHub, and Bitbucket. It provides visibility on the Jira side by linking issues from Jira For me, the branches graph was the most valuable feature of Atlassian SourceTree. I often used the terminal, but during…

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AjayKrishna

Senior Software Engineer at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees

Sep 11, 2024

Reduces project delivery times and costs

I think one area where GitHub could improve is its search and navigation functionality within repositories. For example, we use IDEs like IntelliJ or Visual Studio Code when developing code. These IDEs allow us to easily navigate from one piece of code to another file where a method is being called. It would be really helpful if the solution could add this navigation feature. It would allow us to move from one class file to another more easily, helping us search quicker and follow the code flow completely within GitHub. This would be more convenient than having to import the code into our local IDE to look at the code flow and navigate through it. Adding this kind of IDE-like navigation within the tool would make the user experience more seamless and efficient.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

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

"The tool's UI is good."

"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 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."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"The version control functionality for this solution has been most valuable, especially when managing projects with multiple versions."

"There are no issues. It's simple, easy, and fully compatible from my perspective with Git."

"The product has a good UI. It's simple and easy to access, and technical help is easily available. The two-factor authentication security is another valuable feature."

"GitHub allows us the option to push files from a non-UA method or directly upload files from the UA. You can integrate GitHub with Jenkins to do CI/CD."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the version control field."

"The product helps our team collaborate across different locations."

"GitHub is very straightforward. I really appreciate the versioning capabilities, ease of use, and the ability to host code."

"The most important feature of GitHub is the maintainability of the versions of the code."

More GitHub pros

Cons

"The product's UI needs improvement."

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

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

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

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

"Scalability is an area with a shortcoming, because of which it has room for improvement."

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

"I think it would be valuable to have more security. Some of the data is very open to everyone."

"GitHub's issue management could be improved a little from an organization standpoint. It would be helpful to have the ability to organize a work board or a backlog more comprehensively. For organizations migrating to GitHub from arbitrary systems, it's a little bit of a headache to move on to that system."

"It would be useful to have tutorial videos within the GitHub dashboard."

"It would be better if the amount of storage were increased."

"The solution could have better support for the Markdown language."

"We want to incorporate management comments within GitHub, making it more like a product management tool. We haven't done that yet. Another change we're considering is migrating from GitHub to Azure DevOps, especially now that Microsoft has introduced it."

More GitHub cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a fee for using SourceTree."

"Atlassian SourceTree is a free solution."

"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."

"The price of this solution is reasonable."

"The licensing model from GitHub is very clear."

"I am using the free version of the solution. However, there are some costs my organization pays."

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

"You don't have to pay for a license if you are using the free version."

"We pay a licensing fee for GitHub, which could be cheaper."

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

"It's cheaper than Bitbucket."

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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815,854 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

11%

University

Manufacturing Company

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Atlassian SourceTree?

The initial setup is straightforward.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Atlassian 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.

What needs improvement with Atlassian SourceTree?

There can be improvements in the way the messages are displayed in the tool. The visuals, including the UI and UX, have simple fonts, making it an area where certain enhancements can be done.

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?

I have not paid for GitHub as I use the free version for personal projects. Organizations may take separate servers from GitHub based on their needs, yet I am unaware of the pricing details.

What needs improvement with GitHub?

GitHub could improve in resolving conflicts when multiple developers modify the same line of code. Introducing a feature to manage and resolve conflicts directly within the application rather than ...

Git vs Atlassian SourceTree

Comparisons

Compared 43% of the time

Bitbucket vs Atlassian SourceTree

Compared 22% of the time

Bitbucket Server vs Atlassian SourceTree

Compared 14% of the time

AWS CodeCommit vs Atlassian SourceTree

Compared 7% of the time

More Atlassian SourceTree Competitors

Snyk vs GitHub

Compared 18% of the time

Fortify on Demand vs GitHub

Compared 18% of the time

AWS CodeCommit vs GitHub

Compared 14% of the time

Bitbucket vs GitHub

Compared 12% of the time

IBM Rational ClearCase vs GitHub

Compared 5% of the time

More GitHub Competitors

Product Reports

Download Atlassian SourceTree product report

Version Control

November 2024

Download GitHub product report

November 2024

Learn More

Atlassian

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."

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