Is Git or JetBrains Rider better?

Neither clearly leads. Git starts at Free and JetBrains Rider at $18.25/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Git or JetBrains Rider?

Git has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Git and $18.25/month for JetBrains Rider.

Does Git or JetBrains Rider run on more platforms?

Git runs on Web. JetBrains Rider runs on windows, mac, linux.

Can I use Git for free?

Yes. Git has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. JetBrains Rider starts at $18.25/month.

What can Git do that JetBrains Rider cannot?

JetBrains Rider covers Cross-platform .NET Development, ReSharper-powered Code Analysis, Integrated Debugger and Profiler, Version Control Integration.

Software · head to head

Git vs JetBrains Rider

Git

Software

A free and open source distributed version control system

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

JetBrains Rider

Software

Cross-platform .NET IDE from JetBrains for C#, F#, VB.NET and Unity

From: $18.25/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Git has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Git licensed under GNU GPL version 2.0 as stated on git-scm.com/about; as open source software it has no paid tier or vendor price to compare; JetBrains Rider requires a paid subscription with no permanently free commercial tier.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Git and JetBrains Rider actually diverge.

Attributes where Git and JetBrains Rider differ
Attribute	Git	JetBrains Rider
Starting price	Free	$18.25/month
Pricing model	open-source	subscription
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Web	windows, mac, linux
Founded	Unknown	2000

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Git

Nothing recorded that JetBrains Rider does not also cover.

Only in JetBrains Rider

Cross-platform .NET Development
ReSharper-powered Code Analysis
Integrated Debugger and Profiler
Version Control Integration
Unity Support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Git

No use cases recorded yet. See the Git review.

JetBrains Rider

Cross-platform .NET and ASP.NET Core developmentnot Git
Unity game development and debuggingnot Git
Large-scale C# refactoring with ReSharper-grade analysisnot Git
Teams standardizing on JetBrains tooling across languagesnot Git

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Git

Licensed under GNU GPL version 2.0 as stated on git-scm.com/about; as open source software it has no paid tier or vendor price to compare
Git is a command line tool by design; graphical workflows and hosted collaboration depend entirely on third party GUIs and hosting services layered on top, per git-scm.com/about

JetBrains Rider

Requires a paid subscription with no permanently free commercial tier.
Heavier resource usage than lightweight editors like VS Code for small projects.
Some advanced features overlap with a separate ReSharper Visual Studio plugin, causing licensing confusion.
First-year pricing increased in late 2025, raising the cost of entry versus prior years.

Pricing, plan by plan

Git

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Git review.

JetBrains Rider

$18.25/month

Individual - Year 1$219/year
- Full Rider IDE license
- Free minor and major updates during subscription
Individual - Year 2$175/year
- Continuity discount after first year
Individual - Year 3+$131/year
- Further continuity discount from third year onward

Which should you pick?

Choose Git if

You want to start without paying.

Git review

Choose JetBrains Rider if

You need cross-platform .net development.
You work on windows, mac, linux.
You also want resharper-powered code analysis.

JetBrains Rider review

Questions people ask

Is Git or JetBrains Rider better?: Neither clearly leads. Git starts at Free and JetBrains Rider at $18.25/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Git or JetBrains Rider?: Git has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Git and $18.25/month for JetBrains Rider.
Does Git or JetBrains Rider run on more platforms?: Git runs on Web. JetBrains Rider runs on windows, mac, linux.
Can I use Git for free?: Yes. Git has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. JetBrains Rider starts at $18.25/month.
What can Git do that JetBrains Rider cannot?: JetBrains Rider covers Cross-platform .NET Development, ReSharper-powered Code Analysis, Integrated Debugger and Profiler, Version Control Integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

JetBrains Rider: Does Rider have a free version?

JetBrains offers a free non-commercial license for Rider for personal, non-commercial use, alongside paid commercial subscriptions with continuity discounts after the first year.

Source

JetBrains Rider: What counts as non-commercial use under the free license?

Learning, open-source contributions without commercial benefit, content creation like monetized tutorials, and hobby projects qualify; any paid work or commercial release does not.

Source

JetBrains Rider: Does the free non-commercial license include all Rider features?

Yes, it is a full-featured IDE identical to the paid version, with one exception: Code With Me is limited to the Community tier instead of the premium tier.

Source

JetBrains Rider: How often does the non-commercial license renew?

It issues a one-year license that renews automatically each year, provided Rider was opened at least once during the preceding six months.

Source

JetBrains Rider: What support do non-commercial license holders get?

Non-commercial users get community forums and public bug trackers rather than private support tickets, which are reserved for paid subscribers.

Source

Git vs JetBrains Rider

Git

JetBrains Rider

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Git

Only in JetBrains Rider

What people use each for

Git

JetBrains Rider

Where each one falls short

Git

JetBrains Rider

Pricing, plan by plan

Git

JetBrains Rider

Which should you pick?

Choose Git if

Choose JetBrains Rider if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Git

More on JetBrains Rider

Keep looking

Other head to heads