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GitHub Desktop vs Numbers

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
Numbers logo

Numbers

Spreadsheets

Apple spreadsheet, free on Apple hardware, now with an optional Apple Creator Studio subscription for AI features

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.; Numbers numbers is not available on Windows or Android as a full application, so any collaborator outside the Apple ecosystem is limited to the basic iCloud.com web version.
  • They diverge on capability: GitHub Desktop covers Line-level staging, Numbers covers Canvas-style layout.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where GitHub Desktop and Numbers differ
AttributeGitHub DesktopNumbers
Pricing modelfreeFree with Apple hardware, optional Apple Creator Studio subscription for AI features
PlatformsWindows, MacosmacOS, iOS, Web
CategoryTechnologySpreadsheets
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 Numbers

  • Canvas-style layout
  • Formulas and categories
  • iCloud collaboration
  • Excel import and export
  • Apple Pencil and touch support
  • Apple Creator Studio AI features

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

Numbers

  • A Mac or iPad user who wants a spreadsheet with no additional software cost beyond the devicenot GitHub Desktop
  • Someone building a visually laid-out document, an invoice or a planner, rather than a dense data tablenot GitHub Desktop
  • A small team already on Apple hardware collaborating through iCloud without adopting Google Workspace or Microsoft 365not GitHub Desktop
  • A user who wants light AI-assisted content generation and is willing to pay for Apple Creator Studio to get itnot 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.

Numbers

  • Numbers is not available on Windows or Android as a full application, so any collaborator outside the Apple ecosystem is limited to the basic iCloud.com web version.
  • Complex Excel formulas, pivot tables and VBA macros do not convert reliably, so heavy Excel users moving files into Numbers risk losing functionality.
  • Its canvas-style layout that is a strength for visual documents becomes a weakness for large, dense datasets, where a fixed grid like Excel or Sheets is easier to navigate.
  • The newest AI features are now gated behind the separate Apple Creator Studio subscription, meaning the previously all-free app now has a paid tier for its most talked-about new capability.
  • Performance and formula depth trail both Excel and Google Sheets for serious financial modelling or statistical analysis.

Pricing, plan by plan

GitHub Desktop

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

Numbers

Free
  • NumbersFree
    • Free with a Mac, iPad or iPhone
    • Core spreadsheet and canvas features
    • iCloud collaboration included
  • Apple Creator Studio$12.99/month
    • AI-assisted features across Numbers, Pages and Keynote
    • Premium templates
    • 129 USD annual option

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 Numbers if

  • You need canvas-style layout.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, iOS, Web.
  • You also want formulas and categories.
Numbers review

Questions people ask

Is GitHub Desktop or Numbers better?
Neither clearly leads. GitHub Desktop starts at Free and Numbers at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GitHub Desktop or Numbers?
GitHub Desktop starts at Free and Numbers at Free.
Does GitHub Desktop or Numbers run on more platforms?
GitHub Desktop runs on Windows, Macos. Numbers runs on macOS, iOS, Web.
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 Numbers is typically brought in for.
What can GitHub Desktop do that Numbers cannot?
GitHub Desktop covers Line-level staging, Branch and merge UI, Pull request integration, Enterprise authentication. Numbers covers Canvas-style layout, Formulas and categories, iCloud collaboration, Excel import and export.

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.

Numbers: Do I have to pay for Numbers?

No, it is free for anyone with a Mac, iPad or iPhone; it does not require a separate purchase.

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.

Numbers: What does Apple Creator Studio add?

AI-assisted content generation and premium templates across Numbers, Pages and Keynote, for around 12.99 USD a month.

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.

Numbers: Can I use Numbers on Windows?

Only through a limited web version at iCloud.com; there is no native Windows application.

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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