GitKraken alternative
Keep the client. Drop the subscription.
Meridian is a native Mac Git client: $29 one-time instead of $4 to $14 per user per month, Tauri instead of Electron, and a rendered preview that draws Markdown, CSV and JSON diffs as documents. macOS only, so if you need Windows or Linux, GitKraken stays your tool.
Free 14-day trial | One licence, three Macs
Why people look
The subscription, the Electron, the gate, the AI
Four reasons come up. The price is per user per month, forever, and it moved up again in July 2026. The app is Electron, which shows on big repositories. The free tier is gated where it hurts: "only local repos and public remotes", GitKraken's own words, which means most people's actual work, private repositories, needs a paid seat. And AI features keep arriving in a client people bought for git; GitKraken's own blog acknowledges the pushback from long-time users.
Meridian runs on your Mac, against your disk. There is no cloud to fund, so there is nothing to subscribe to: one payment, 1 user on 3 machines, 12 months of updates, then the app keeps working as-is.
At a glance
Meridian vs GitKraken
| Meridian | GitKraken | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49 $29, one-time | $4–14 / user / month |
| Native | ✓ Tauri/Rust | ✕ Electron |
| Private repos on the free tier | ✓ the trial is the full app | ✕ "only local repos and public remotes" |
| Terminal launch | ✓ mrd, under a second | ⚠︎ not the primary entry |
| Rendered preview (Markdown / SVG / CSV / JSON) | ✓ old vs new, synced scroll | ✕ line diff; SVG shown as text |
| Worktrees | ✓ a titled window each | ✓ sidebar, inside one window |
| Cancellable sync | ✓ any fetch, pull or push | ✕ can't cancel a running push |
| Commit-message recall | ✓ summary + body | ✕ open request |
| Hunk-to-hunk navigation (n/p) | ✓ | ✕ mouse arrows only |
| Stash a single file | ✓ | ✓ |
| Blame | ✓ | ✓ |
| Rebase | ✓ continue / skip / abort on conflict | ✓ |
| Interactive rebase | ✕ | ✓ |
| Submodules / Git LFS | ✕ | ✓ |
| PR / issue integration | ⚠︎ opens compare URL | ✓ PRs + issues in-client |
| AI features | ✕ none | ✓ AI credits (Advanced) |
| Platform | macOS (Intel + Apple silicon) | macOS + Windows + Linux |
Where Meridian is ahead
Native speed, rendered diffs, terminal first
Meridian shells out to your system git and stays out of its way: on nixpkgs, a 53,000-file checkout, status lands in about 0.8 seconds and the UI never blocks. cd into any repo or worktree, type mrd, and it's open, no account, no "add repository" step. And where GitKraken line-diffs prose and shows SVG as text, Meridian renders Markdown, images, SVG, CSV and JSON as documents, old version beside new. See a rendered Markdown diff
Where GitKraken is ahead
GitKraken is cross-platform and more complete: interactive rebase, submodules, Git LFS, line-level staging, and pull requests and issues inside the client. If your team spans Windows and Linux, or those features are daily drivers, GitKraken is the better fit.
Migration
Nothing to import
Your repos are just git. cd into one, type mrd, and Meridian opens it. SSH keys, credential helpers, hooks and commit signing carry over untouched, because Meridian shells out to the same git your terminal uses. No account to create, no account to close.
Also compared: SourceTree alternative | GitHub Desktop alternative | Best Git client for Mac
FAQ
Switching from GitKraken, answered
Is GitKraken free?
Partly. GitKraken's free Community tier is limited to "only local repos and public remotes", quoted from its own pricing page, so private remote repositories need a paid plan. The 14-day trial runs the Advanced tier, then reverts to Community. Meridian is different: the 14-day trial is the full app, and the licence is one payment, not a plan.
How much does GitKraken cost?
GitKraken Pro is $4 per user per month and Advanced is $14 (it rose from $12 in July 2026). Over a year that is $48 to $168 per user, every year. Meridian is $29 once (launch price, $49 standard), with 12 months of updates included and the app keeps working after.
Does Meridian run on Windows or Linux?
No. Meridian is macOS only, Apple silicon and Intel in one universal binary. If you need Windows or Linux, GitKraken remains the cross-platform option.
Does Meridian have AI features like GitKraken?
No. GitKraken sells AI credits; Meridian ships no AI at all. It is built for the other half of the job: reading what your agents wrote, one titled window per worktree, with Markdown, CSV and JSON diffs rendered as documents, then committing it.