GitKraken alternative with no subscription
GitKraken Desktop is a capable Git client, but it is built on Electron, asks you to sign in, keeps private repositories behind a paid tier and bills every year. BranchBay is a native Git GUI that opens your private repositories from day one, never asks for an account and costs a single payment.
No account. No card. No renewal. macOS, Windows and Linux.
GitKraken bills you again next year. BranchBay never does.
A subscription stops working the day you stop paying. BranchBay is $20 once for 2 computers, with updates delivered inside the app and nothing to renew.
$20 once for 2 computers, updates forever
Subscription for private repositories, billed annually; the free tier covers local and public repositories only
BranchBay and GitKraken compared
What each client is built with, what it costs and what it does in the app. Facts about the other client come from its own website and may change.
| Feature | BranchBay | GitKraken |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Better: Pay once: $20 for 2 computers, no renewal | Worse: Subscription for private repositories, billed annually; the free tier covers local and public repositories only |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Built with | Better: Rust, drawn on the GPU | Worse: Electron |
| Account to use it | Better: None | Worse: GitKraken account |
| Private repositories | Better: Included | Worse: Paid tiers |
| All repositories in one view | Launchpad with groups | Launchpad and Workspaces |
| Work and personal profiles | Better: Yes, with their own accounts | Worse: Paid tiers |
| Integrated terminal | Yes, docked per repository | Yes |
| Interactive rebase | Yes, visual | Yes |
| Merge conflict resolver | Three-way, with automatic solving | Yes |
| Pull requests | Created and listed in the app | Yes |
| Self-hosted GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket | Better: Yes, plus Azure DevOps | Worse: Paid tiers |
The better side The worse side No colour: the same on both
Why developers pick BranchBay over GitKraken
No sign-in, no cloud
BranchBay has no account to create and no telemetry. It talks to your repositories and to the hosting services you connect, nothing else.
Private repositories are not an upsell
Every repository, public or private, works during the trial and after. There is no tier to unlock.
Native speed
Written in Rust and drawn on the GPU rather than inside a bundled browser, so big graphs scroll like a list and the app starts in a blink.
One payment instead of a yearly bill
$20 covers 2 computers for good. Updates arrive inside the app and never renew the price.
What GitKraken does that BranchBay does not
- AI commit messages, AI merge resolution and the other GitKraken AI features
- The Jira, Trello and issue tracker integrations
- Cloud Patches, Code Suggest and the team collaboration services
- GitLens for VS Code and the GitKraken CLI
If one of these is part of your day, keep GitKraken. The rest of the time, BranchBay is lighter on your machine and on your wallet.
Is BranchBay a free GitKraken alternative?
Does BranchBay have a Launchpad like GitKraken?
Does BranchBay work with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps like GitKraken?
Can I try BranchBay before leaving GitKraken?
What does BranchBay cost?
Try it next to GitKraken.
Open the repositories you already have checked out. Nothing to sign up for, nothing to renew and nothing to uninstall until you are sure.