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GitHub Desktop vs Greenhouse

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
Greenhouse logo

Greenhouse

Technology

Hiring software for growing companies

From
On request
Rated
-
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.; Greenhouse core plan lacks talent discovery and contact lookups
  • They diverge on capability: GitHub Desktop covers Line-level staging, Greenhouse covers Applicant tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GitHub Desktop and Greenhouse actually diverge.

Attributes where GitHub Desktop and Greenhouse differ
AttributeGitHub DesktopGreenhouse
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, MacosWeb, Ios, Android, Api
Founded20082012

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

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 Greenhouse

  • Applicant tracking
  • Interview scheduling
  • Scorecard system
  • Job board posting
  • Candidate CRM
  • Reporting & analytics
  • Offer management
  • EEO compliance

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

Greenhouse

  • Enterprise hiring and recruiting automationnot GitHub Desktop
  • Multi-location and multi-team talent acquisitionnot GitHub Desktop
  • Structured interview process managementnot 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.

Greenhouse

  • Core plan lacks talent discovery and contact lookups
  • Core plan lacks email automation and applicant texting
  • Plus plan lacks resume anonymisation and application limits
  • Plus plan lacks audit logging and developer tools
  • Pricing customised by hiring volume and company size, not published
  • Only Pro tier offers audit logs and developer sandbox

Pricing, plan by plan

GitHub Desktop

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

Greenhouse

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Greenhouse 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 Greenhouse if

  • You need applicant tracking.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want interview scheduling.
Greenhouse review

Questions people ask

Is GitHub Desktop or Greenhouse better?
Neither clearly leads. GitHub Desktop starts at Free and Greenhouse at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GitHub Desktop or Greenhouse?
GitHub Desktop has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for GitHub Desktop and On request for Greenhouse.
Does GitHub Desktop or Greenhouse run on more platforms?
GitHub Desktop runs on Windows, Macos. Greenhouse runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
Can I use GitHub Desktop for free?
Yes. GitHub Desktop has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Greenhouse 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 Greenhouse is typically brought in for.
What can GitHub Desktop do that Greenhouse cannot?
GitHub Desktop covers Line-level staging, Branch and merge UI, Pull request integration, Enterprise authentication. Greenhouse covers Applicant tracking, Interview scheduling, Scorecard system, Job board posting.

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.

Greenhouse: How much does Greenhouse cost?

Greenhouse does not publish specific pricing. The company states that pricing is customized based on your hiring needs, hiring volume, organizational complexity, and required features.

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.

Greenhouse: What are the Greenhouse pricing tiers?

Greenhouse offers three plan levels: Core (basic hiring structure), Plus (multi-location optimization), and Pro (complex enterprise hiring). Exact pricing requires contacting Greenhouse for a custom quote.

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.

Greenhouse: Do all Greenhouse tiers include the same features?

No. Core includes sourcing and scheduling, Plus adds automation and texting, and Pro adds enterprise data configuration and audit logs. All tiers can be customized.

Source
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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