GitKraken vs SmartGit in 2026

Compare GitKraken and SmartGit on features, pricing, setup and daily use, and see how RepoYeti fits for developers in 2026.

By SayDeploy · 2026-10-21

SayDeploy is published by LunarWerx, which makes some of the tools compared here.

GitKraken offers a free trial of its Pro plan and a 40% discount on Pro ^[1] ^[1], while SmartGit is a visual Git client that works on the desktop ^[2]. RepoYeti is free for noncommercial use, and commercial use costs US$79 per installation (per machine running the daemon) ^[3].

Option	Free to use	Paid plan	Account	Install
GitKraken	Free trial of Pro available ^[1]	40% discount on Pro, price not published ^[1]	Free trial of Pro available ^[1]	Download Kepler ADE or install CLI via winget ^[1] ^[1]
SmartGit	Not published ^[2]	Price not published ^[2]	Works on your desktop ^[2]	Download for Windows, macOS, Linux ^[2]
RepoYeti	Free for noncommercial use ^[3]	US$79 per installation (per machine running the daemon) for commercial use ^[3]	Not published	Download single binary or run with Bun 1.1+ ^[3]

The short answer

GitKraken's MCP Server connects an AI assistant to the real context behind your work ^[1]. SmartGit gives developers a visual desktop client that supports conflict resolution, pull requests, Git Flow and LFS ^[2] ^[2]. RepoYeti shows live repo grids, commit graphs, Monaco diffs and AI-driven smart commit suggestions for developers working across many repos ^[3] ^[3] ^[3] ^[3].

What GitKraken and SmartGit are built for

GitKraken advertises a free Kepler ADE download for Windows, Mac and Linux, a free trial of its Pro plan, and a 40% discount on Pro ^[1] ^[1] ^[1]. Its MCP Server connects an AI assistant to the real context behind your work ^[1]. It also offers Launchpad for viewing PRs, issues and tasks in one place ^[1]. SmartGit describes itself as a visual Git client that works on the desktop, supports conflict resolution, pull requests, Git Flow, LFS, and can clone from hosting services on Windows, macOS and Linux ^[2] ^[2] ^[2] ^[2] ^[2].

What RepoYeti is built for

RepoYeti is made by the team that publishes this site. It lets developers see a live grid of all repos with branch status and change counts, view commit graphs that load quickly, edit files directly in a Monaco editor diff view, preview incoming commits before pulling, and use AI to split changes into scoped commits with custom messages ^[3] ^[3] ^[3] ^[3] ^[3]. Bulk actions let many repos be pinned, starred, hidden, pulled or pushed at once, and per-repo identities apply different commit names and emails per path rule ^[3] ^[3]. A Cloudflare tunnel can be started to view the dashboard on a phone if cloudflared is installed separately, and an MCP server lets AI agents access your repos, with any action that changes a repo requiring approval first ^[3] ^[3].

Pricing and fees

GitKraken offers a 40% discount on its Pro plan, but the actual price is not published ^[1]. Its Advanced and Business plans have seat limits of a maximum of 10 and 100 respectively with no price details provided ^[4] ^[4]. SmartGit does not list any price information on its page, so the price is not published ^[2]. For noncommercial use RepoYeti is free, and commercial use costs US$79 per installation (per machine running the daemon), a perpetual licence with 12 months of updates ^[3].

Setting it up and daily use

GitKraken can be installed via winget for its CLI and provides a free Kepler ADE download for the desktop client ^[1] ^[1]. Users start with a free Pro trial and can later apply the 40% discount if they purchase ^[1] ^[1]. SmartGit can be downloaded for Windows, macOS or Linux ^[2]. RepoYeti installs from a single binary download or by cloning the repo and running it with Bun 1.1 or newer ^[3]. Daily, developers view live repo grids, edit diffs, run bulk actions, and optionally let an AI suggest commit messages, all within the web dashboard ^[3] ^[3].

Things to check before you choose

Consider whether you need AI integration with git history through GitKraken's MCP Server or AI-assisted commit creation through RepoYeti's smart commit ^[1] ^[3]. Check platform support: GitKraken and SmartGit both run on Windows, macOS and Linux ^[1] ^[2], while RepoYeti offers prebuilt binaries for Windows x64, Linux x64 and macOS on Apple Silicon ^[3]. Check seat limits and pricing availability for team use, especially if you need more than two seats on GitKraken Pro, which is limited to a maximum of 2 seats ^[4] ^[4] ^[4]. Determine if you need visual conflict resolution and pull request handling through SmartGit versus a dashboard that aggregates many repositories through RepoYeti ^[2] ^[3].

How to choose

If you need a visual client with built-in conflict resolution, pull request support, and Git Flow features, SmartGit's page describes those capabilities ^[2] ^[2]. If you want an AI assistant connected to the real context behind your work, and a launchpad view of all PRs, issues and tasks, GitKraken's page describes those features ^[1] ^[1]. If you manage many repositories, want live status grids, commit graph visualisation, Monaco diff editing, and AI-driven smart commits, RepoYeti's page describes those features ^[3] ^[3] ^[3]. For noncommercial use with no licence fee, RepoYeti is free, while commercial use costs US$79 per installation (per machine running the daemon), a perpetual licence with 12 months of updates ^[3].

Frequently asked questions

Is GitKraken free for individual developers?

GitKraken offers a free trial of its Pro plan and a 40% discount on the Pro plan, but the full pricing details are not published on its page ^[1] ^[1]. The Pro plan is limited to a maximum of 2 seats ^[4].

Does SmartGit support Git Flow and LFS?

SmartGit lists support for Git Flow and Git LFS among its features ^[2]. Its page also mentions conflict resolution, pull requests, cherry-pick, a customizable visual history, and drag and drop undo ^[2].

Can RepoYeti be used on a Mac?

RepoYeti provides prebuilt binaries for macOS on Apple Silicon, and the dashboard can be opened in any browser, including on Android or iPhone ^[3]. It can also be installed to a phone home screen as a PWA and reconnects after the phone wakes from sleep ^[3].

What AI features does GitKraken offer?

GitKraken's MCP Server connects an AI assistant to the real context behind your work ^[1]. Its page also mentions Launchpad, a view that puts all PRs, issues and tasks in one place ^[1].

How does RepoYeti help with commit messages?

RepoYeti's smart commit AI uses your own API key for Groq, OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, OpenRouter or DeepSeek to split working-tree changes into scoped commits with messages that you can approve, edit or discard ^[3].

Free for noncommercial use; commercial use costs US$79 per installation (per machine running the daemon), a perpetual licence with 12 months of updates. ^[3]

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