GitKraken pricing changes in 2026: what changed and 3 cheaper alternatives
GitKraken started in 2014 as a free desktop client for everyone. Over the past decade the pricing has shifted several times, with each iteration narrowing the Free tier and raising what you pay for Pro. This article walks through the timeline factually, explains what you actually get for the increases, and lists three alternatives that cost less in 2026.
Disclosure: this article is published on the GitSquid website. We have tried to stay factual about GitKraken's pricing.
The timeline
| Year | Pro price | Free tier |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-2017 | Free, no Pro tier | Everything |
| 2017 | $49/year | Public repos + commercial use |
| 2019 | $49/year | Same as before |
| 2020 | $59/year | Same as before |
| 2022 | $79/year | No commercial use, no merge editor, single profile |
| 2024 | $96/year | Tightened further (no SSO, no integrations beyond one) |
| 2026 | $96/year | Same as 2024 |
From 2017 to 2024 the Pro price roughly doubled. Over the same period, the Free tier went from "essentially the full app for non-commercial use" to "single profile, single integration, no commercial use, no merge editor, no interactive rebase, no worktrees".
What you get for the price increase
The increases were not unreasonable in isolation — GitKraken added meaningful features each year. The question is whether the new features matched what you, the user, actually needed.
| Year | Notable additions |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Self-hosted GitLab support, in-app Issues |
| 2021 | GitKraken Workspaces, profile management |
| 2022 | Worktrees, full Bitbucket Cloud integration |
| 2023 | GitLens Pro tier integration, AI commit summaries |
| 2024 | Cloud Patches (paid feature), expanded SSO support |
| 2025-2026 | Polish, performance, GitLens deeper integration |
If you are a heavy GitLens user, work in a large team that needs SSO, or rely on Cloud Patches for code review, the price reflects real value delivered. If you are a solo developer or small team that mostly uses the basic Git GUI, you are paying for features you do not use.
Three cheaper alternatives in 2026
1. Fork — $59 one-time
Fork uses a one-time pricing model: $59 buys you the current major version forever. There is no annual fee. When a new major version ships, you can choose to upgrade for another $59 or stay on what you have.
Cost over 5 years: $59-$118 (one or two upgrades) versus GitKraken's $480.
Trade-off: no Linux build, lighter PR / issue integrations, no AI features.
2. Sublime Merge — $99 (3-year license)
Sublime Merge follows Sublime Text's pricing model: pay $99 once, get all updates for 3 years, and keep using the version you have indefinitely after that. After 3 years, you can renew for another $99 or stick with what you have.
Cost over 5 years: $99 (extended) or $198 (renewed once at year 3) versus GitKraken's $480.
Trade-off: spartan UI, minimal PR integration, no AI.
3. GitSquid — 49 EUR/year
GitSquid is half the GitKraken Pro price annually. Built on Tauri / Rust, no account required, no telemetry, native Linux support, modern features (AI commit / explain / PR description, conflict predictor, secrets scan, monorepo scope, file timeline, team activity).
Cost over 5 years: ~250 EUR (~$270) versus GitKraken's $480 — roughly half.
Trade-off: no Jira / Azure DevOps integration, no cloud profile sync, smaller team than GitKraken.
Quick price comparison
| Tool | 5-year cost | Free tier (commercial use?) |
|---|---|---|
| GitKraken Pro | $480 | No commercial use |
| GitSquid Pro | ~$270 | Yes |
| Fork | $59-$118 | Trial |
| Sublime Merge | $99-$198 | Yes (with reminder) |
| SourceTree | $0 | Yes (Atlassian account required) |
| GitHub Desktop | $0 | Yes |
Should you switch?
Pricing alone is not a great reason to switch tools. Workflow disruption costs time, and time is more expensive than $50/year.
Switch if at least one of these is true for you:
- You work on Linux and GitKraken's Linux build does not work for your distro.
- The Free tier restrictions hit you (commercial use blocked, merge editor missing, etc.) and you do not want to pay $96/year for the workaround.
- You need features GitKraken does not have (in-app conflict prediction, monorepo scope, secrets scan).
- Your IT department blocks GitKraken because of telemetry / account requirements.
- You are switching machines often and dislike re-logging into Atlassian on each one.
Stay on GitKraken if:
- You are deep in the Atlassian ecosystem (Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket Server).
- You rely on Cloud Patches for code review.
- You use GitLens Pro features and the GitKraken bundle is good value for you.
- Your team has standardized on GitKraken Workspaces.
The honest pitch
GitKraken raised prices because it can — it is the dominant Git GUI in many teams and switching costs are real. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. But for many developers, the increased price has not been matched by features they personally use, and switching has become a reasonable thing to evaluate every renewal cycle.
If you are evaluating, try GitSquid Free. The Free tier covers most of what GitKraken Free used to do (including commercial use and the merge editor). Pro is 49 EUR/year if you want the AI features, secrets scan, and statistics.