Softwr

Technology · head to head

GitHub Desktop vs GNAT Pro

GitHub Desktop logo

GitHub Desktop

Technology

A free, open source Git client from GitHub for Windows and macOS that covers common workflows rather than all of Git.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
GNAT Pro logo

GNAT Pro

Developer Tools

Software development environments and toolchains for Ada, C/C++ and Rust

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only GitHub Desktop has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: GitHub Desktop there is no official Linux build; the application ships for Windows and macOS only, and the community fork at shiftkey/desktop that packages it for Linux is maintained separately and lags official releases, so a mixed-OS team cannot standardise on one client.; GNAT Pro no pricing published on website; requires contacting AdaCore directly for quotes
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GitHub Desktop and GNAT Pro actually diverge.

Attributes where GitHub Desktop and GNAT Pro differ
AttributeGitHub DesktopGNAT Pro
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, MacosWeb
CategoryTechnologyDeveloper Tools
Founded2008Unknown

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

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 GitHub Desktop

  • Line-level staging
  • Branch and merge UI
  • Pull request integration
  • Enterprise authentication
  • Squash and reorder
  • Drag cherry-pick
  • Co-author attribution
  • Editor and shell handoff

Only in GNAT Pro

Nothing recorded that GitHub Desktop does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

GitHub Desktop

  • Onboarding designers or technical writers who need to commit to a docs or assets repository without learning the command linenot GNAT Pro
  • A new engineer's first weeks, where seeing the diff and the branch state visually prevents the common early mistakesnot GNAT Pro
  • Reviewing a colleague's pull request branch locally with a readable diff before approving itnot GNAT Pro
  • Small teams standardised entirely on GitHub who want SSO-backed authentication to work without managing personal access tokens by handnot GNAT Pro

GNAT Pro

  • Building certified avionics software meeting DO-178B/C standardsnot GitHub Desktop
  • Developing automotive embedded systems with ISO-26262 compliancenot GitHub Desktop
  • Integrating Ada, C/C++, and Rust components in single codebasenot GitHub Desktop
  • Managing software supply chain vulnerabilities and SBOMsnot GitHub Desktop
  • Supporting long-lived software systems spanning decadesnot GitHub Desktop

Where each one falls short

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

GitHub Desktop

  • There is no official Linux build; the application ships for Windows and macOS only, and the community fork at shiftkey/desktop that packages it for Linux is maintained separately and lags official releases, so a mixed-OS team cannot standardise on one client.
  • Submodules are effectively unsupported: the app shows a submodule change as an opaque single line and gives you no way to initialise, update or navigate into it, so any repository using them needs the terminal anyway.
  • History rewriting is limited to squashing and reordering local commits by drag and drop; interactive rebase, fixup chains, editing an old commit's contents and bisect are all absent, which is exactly the set of operations a beginner needs help with most.
  • Pull request features only exist for GitHub remotes, so a team on GitLab or Bitbucket gets a plain Git client with an empty pull request pane and no review or checks view at all.
  • Commit signing with a key that requires a passphrase generally fails, because the app cannot surface the pinentry prompt, and the resulting error message does not say that is the cause.
  • GitHub staffs it lightly compared with its web and CI products, so long-standing feature requests and bugs sit open for years; if you file an issue you should plan around it rather than expect a fix.

GNAT Pro

  • No pricing published on website; requires contacting AdaCore directly for quotes
  • Vendor indicates per-user, per-year subscription model but does not disclose specific costs

Pricing, plan by plan

GitHub Desktop

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Git repository management
    • GitHub integration
    • Visual diff tools

GNAT Pro

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the GNAT Pro review.

Which should you pick?

Choose GitHub Desktop if

  • You need line-level staging.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Macos.
  • You also want branch and merge ui.
GitHub Desktop review

Choose GNAT Pro if

Nothing in the data separates GNAT Pro from GitHub Desktop on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

GNAT Pro review

Questions people ask

Is GitHub Desktop or GNAT Pro better?
Neither clearly leads. GitHub Desktop starts at Free and GNAT Pro at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GitHub Desktop or GNAT Pro?
GitHub Desktop has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for GitHub Desktop and On request for GNAT Pro.
Does GitHub Desktop or GNAT Pro run on more platforms?
GitHub Desktop runs on Windows, Macos. GNAT Pro runs on Web.
Can I use GitHub Desktop for free?
Yes. GitHub Desktop has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. GNAT Pro starts at On request.
What is GitHub Desktop best used for?
GitHub Desktop is most often used for onboarding designers or technical writers who need to commit to a docs or assets repository without learning the command line, a new engineer's first weeks, where seeing the diff and the branch state visually prevents the common early mistakes, reviewing a colleague's pull request branch locally with a readable diff before approving it, small teams standardised entirely on github who want sso-backed authentication to work without managing personal access tokens by hand. Of those, onboarding designers or technical writers who need to commit to a docs or assets repository without learning the command line and a new engineer's first weeks, where seeing the diff and the branch state visually prevents the common early mistakes are not what GNAT Pro is typically brought in for.
What can GitHub Desktop do that GNAT Pro cannot?
GitHub Desktop covers Line-level staging, Branch and merge UI, Pull request integration, Enterprise authentication.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

GitHub Desktop: Is there a Linux version?

Not an official one. GitHub ships Windows and macOS builds only. A community fork, shiftkey/desktop, produces Linux packages, but it is maintained by volunteers and trails the official releases.

GNAT Pro: How much does GNAT Pro cost?

GNAT Pro pricing is not published on the website. Customers must request a pricing quote by contacting AdaCore directly or speaking with a GNAT Pro expert.

Source
GitHub Desktop: Does it work with GitLab or Bitbucket?

For plain Git operations, yes: you can clone, commit, push and pull against any remote. The pull request, review and checks features only work against GitHub.com and GitHub Enterprise.

GNAT Pro: What is GNAT Pro licensing model?

GNAT Pro is sold on a per-user, per-year basis with no license locks. Customers can request pricing for their specific needs.

Source
GitHub Desktop: What does it cost?

Nothing. It is free and the source is published under the MIT licence, and it is separate from any GitHub plan you may or may not pay for.

GitHub Desktop: Will it handle submodules?

No. Submodule changes appear as an unreadable single-line diff and there are no controls for initialising or updating them. Repositories that use submodules need the command line.

GitHub Desktop: Do I still need to learn Git?

For everyday work, no. For recovery, yes. Anything beyond the curated set of operations, including interactive rebase and reflog recovery, happens in the terminal, so a team using it should have at least one person who knows Git properly.

GitHub Desktop: Does it work with GitHub Enterprise Server?

Yes. It signs in to GitHub Enterprise Server and GitHub Enterprise Cloud as well as GitHub.com, and it honours organisations that enforce SAML single sign-on.

Share

Related pages

More on GitHub Desktop

More on GNAT Pro

Keep looking

Other head to heads