Atlassian SourceTree vs GitHub comparison

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Atlassian SourceTree

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

GitHub and Atlassian SourceTree compete in the version control and collaboration category for software development. GitHub may have the upper hand due to its broader community engagement and versatile integration capabilities.

Features: GitHub provides seamless integration with multiple developer tools, extensive collaboration functionalities, and a robust version control system, making it ideal for distributed teams. Atlassian SourceTree focuses on ease of management with a visual representation of code branches, intuitive navigation, and a user-friendly interface, simplifying Git workflows.

Room for Improvement: GitHub could enhance by providing more visual management tools for non-technical users, simplifying complex workflows, and offering more beginner-friendly resources. SourceTree might benefit from expanded integration options, a more streamlined user interface for advanced users, and improved documentation for troubleshooting complex issues.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: GitHub offers a straightforward web-based deployment model with comprehensive documentation, enhancing setup and deployment efficiency. Its online support excels due to widespread community use. SourceTree, with its visually oriented desktop client, simplifies deployment for those preferring graphical interfaces and connects users with Atlassian's support network for direct assistance.

Pricing and ROI: GitHub presents tiered pricing, appealing to a range of budgets while delivering significant ROI through enhanced collaboration tools. Atlassian SourceTree is free, offering excellent value with no setup costs, providing immediate ROI particularly beneficial for small teams seeking cost-effective solutions.

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

Atlassian SourceTree vs. GitHub

July 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 865,295 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

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (6th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Version Control category, the mindshare of Atlassian SourceTree is 6.2%, down from 6.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GitHub is 7.6%, up from 6.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

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

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

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"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 tool's UI is good."

"Atlassian SourceTree is a very stable product."

"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."

"I use this solution to store my code in a repository so we can manage version control which is useful."

"It provides Draft Pull Requests for review purposes without needing immediate merging and GitHub Actions for CI/CD implementation."

"GitHub is good for collaboration because everyone can access it or we can restrict access to a few users. If I upload a file and share the URL, it's not restricted to a set number of users. Everyone with the link can download the files."

"Has great integration with third-party tools."

"The most valuable feature is help offered by the community for open-source projects."

"The tool also helps organize collaboration by allowing users to share a repository with other developers."

"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."

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

More GitHub pros

Cons

"The product's UI needs improvement."

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

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

"There is nothing that I find that needs improvement in GitHub."

"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."

"The descriptions within Github could be more user-friendly to show the trees of Gitflow."

"The project management sector really needs some improvement for GitHub. I don't know if GitHub made sense for me as a project manager."

"There is room for improvement in terms of interface."

"GitHub needs to improve its UI."

"I faced one or two breakdowns. That said, they lasted only for a few seconds or a minute."

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 private repositories are free, which is very good."

"GitHub is an open-source product, but when using the free-to-use version, anyone can see the code we're working on."

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

"The basic licensing model is free, and if you need to have technical support and such things, then it does cost something. You only need to pay extra if you need technical support."

"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."

"The tool offers a free program. As you go, you can upgrade from the community version to the professional one. I believe it costs about ten dollars per person, per month."

"I haven't had to pay anything for GitHub, I use the free version."

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

More GitHub pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

19%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

14%

University

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

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?

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 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 am not aware about the pricing, so I will not be able to give feedback.

What needs improvement with GitHub?

Sometimes we do not get the exact solution, and the suggested solution does not work, so GitHub could improve in that area. We have used GitHub mainly for the code generation part. That is the only...

Bitbucket vs Atlassian SourceTree

Comparisons

Compared 32% of the time

Bitbucket Server vs Atlassian SourceTree

Compared 23% of the time

Git vs Atlassian SourceTree

Compared 17% of the time

AWS CodeCommit vs Atlassian SourceTree

Compared 7% of the time

More Atlassian SourceTree Competitors

Bitbucket vs GitHub

Compared 15% of the time

Snyk vs GitHub

Compared 11% of the time

OpenText Core Application Security vs GitHub

Compared 8% of the time

AWS CodeCommit vs GitHub

Compared 6% of the time

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs GitHub

Compared 5% of the time

More GitHub Competitors

Product Reports

Download Atlassian SourceTree product report

Version Control

August 2025

Download GitHub product report

August 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