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GitHub Desktop vs Google Drive

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
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Google Drive logo

Google Drive

File Storage

Google's consumer cloud storage app, sharing the same 15GB quota as Gmail and Google Photos

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Google Drive free storage is a 15GB pool shared with Gmail and Google Photos, so heavy use of any one of those services reduces what is left for the others.
  • They diverge on capability: GitHub Desktop covers Line-level staging, Google Drive covers Cloud file storage and sync.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GitHub Desktop and Google Drive actually diverge.

Attributes where GitHub Desktop and Google Drive differ
AttributeGitHub DesktopGoogle Drive
Pricing modelfreeFree tier plus paid storage add-on
PlatformsWindows, MacosiOS, Android, Web, Windows, macOS
CategoryTechnologyFile Storage
Founded2008Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Google Drive

  • Cloud file storage and sync
  • Google Docs, Sheets, Slides
  • Shared drives and permissions
  • Offline access
  • Version history
  • Third party format support

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 Google Drive
  • A new engineer's first weeks, where seeing the diff and the branch state visually prevents the common early mistakesnot Google Drive
  • Reviewing a colleague's pull request branch locally with a readable diff before approving itnot Google Drive
  • Small teams standardised entirely on GitHub who want SSO-backed authentication to work without managing personal access tokens by handnot Google Drive

Google Drive

  • Backing up and syncing personal files across a phone, laptop and desktopnot GitHub Desktop
  • Collaborating on a document, spreadsheet or presentation in real time with othersnot GitHub Desktop
  • Sharing a folder of files with specific permission levels with a defined groupnot GitHub Desktop
  • Storing large attachments to send by link instead of email attachment size limitsnot 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.

Google Drive

  • Free storage is a 15GB pool shared with Gmail and Google Photos, so heavy use of any one of those services reduces what is left for the others.
  • Version history and recovery for accidentally deleted files has limits, and permanently deleted items are unrecoverable after a set retention period passes.
  • Sharing links can be misconfigured to be more open than intended, and Google's permission model has been a source of accidental oversharing for organisations and individuals alike.
  • Native Google Docs format files do not export perfectly to Microsoft Office formats in all cases, and complex formatting can shift on conversion.
  • This is the consumer product with consumer-grade support; organisations needing admin controls, audit logs and larger storage pools need the separate paid Google Workspace product instead.

Pricing, plan by plan

GitHub Desktop

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

Google Drive

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 15GB shared across Gmail, Drive and Photos
  • Google One 100GB$1.99/month
    • 100GB shared storage across the same Google services
  • Google One 2TB$9.99/month
    • 2TB shared storage

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 Google Drive if

  • You need cloud file storage and sync.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want google docs, sheets, slides.
Google Drive review

Questions people ask

Is GitHub Desktop or Google Drive better?
Neither clearly leads. GitHub Desktop starts at Free and Google Drive at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GitHub Desktop or Google Drive?
GitHub Desktop starts at Free and Google Drive at Free.
Does GitHub Desktop or Google Drive run on more platforms?
GitHub Desktop runs on Windows, Macos. Google Drive runs on iOS, Android, Web, Windows, macOS.
Can I use GitHub Desktop for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Google Drive is typically brought in for.
What can GitHub Desktop do that Google Drive cannot?
GitHub Desktop covers Line-level staging, Branch and merge UI, Pull request integration, Enterprise authentication. Google Drive covers Cloud file storage and sync, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Shared drives and permissions, Offline access.

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.

Google Drive: Is Google Drive free?

Yes, up to a 15GB storage pool shared with Gmail and Google Photos; more storage requires a paid Google One subscription.

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.

Google Drive: Is this the same as the Save to Google Drive browser extension?

No, that is a separate browser extension for saving web pages directly into Drive; this entry covers the storage and document app itself.

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.

Google Drive: Do I need Google Workspace for business use?

For individual or informal use the free or Google One consumer tiers work, but organisations wanting admin controls and larger pooled storage need Google Workspace.

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.

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Related pages

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