Git Cola vs SmartGit

Git Cola is a graphical interface for Git, available on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It brings common repository operations into one application, including fetch, pull, push, merge, interactive rebase, stash, tags, branches, diff, search, and grep. For browsing history, git-dag displays git log features in a graphical visualizer; an included sequence editor handles interactive rebases. The interface lets you hide, rearrange, or detach tools, and remembers window layouts for later sessions. Before staging, it can inspect unmerged files for conflict markers to help avoid staging unresolved conflicts. Git Cola is free software powered by Python and PyQt, distributed under the GNU General Public License version 2. Its documented runtime needs are Git 2.2.0 or newer, Python 3.9 or newer, QtPy 2.0.0 or newer, and a supported Python Qt library. The latest stable release is v4.19.0, released 2026-07-12. It supports Git LFS, submodules, offline use, and FIPS security mode on FIPS-enabled Python.

SmartGit is a graphical Git client for Windows, macOS, and Linux, covering work from cloning through deployment. Users can clone repositories from GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps. Its tools include visual history, conflict resolution, pull requests, Git Flow, cherry-pick, Git LFS, interactive rebase, and drag-and-drop. It also supports large files, file locking, submodules, and offline mode. Eligible users can register for a free license for personal, non-commercial use, while separate free-use options are listed for students and employees of public educational institutions and qualifying non-commercial projects; those options have eligibility requirements. The hobby license excludes enterprise integrations, which cover self-hosted GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps features. Commercial licensing starts at $5 a month, and perpetual licenses are also available. Each user may use a license on up to five physical or virtual machines. Support is by email, usually on workdays from 9 AM to 5 PM CET/CEST; phone support is not offered.