When comparing Git for Windows vs TortoiseGit, the Slant community recommends TortoiseGit for most people. In the question“What are the best Git clients for Windows?” TortoiseGit is ranked 9th while Git for Windows is ranked 15th. The most important reason people chose TortoiseGit is:
Licensed under GPL.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro The most powerful way to use git
By using the CLI, one is given access to every single git function available, thus providing complete flexibility in managing git.
Pro Offers three kinds of interfaces
Git for Windows includes a command-line interface in the form of Git BASH, a graphical interface in the form of Git GUI and a context menu interface.
Git BASH offers the complete power of git, Git GUI aims to cover all git functionality (though it falls a bit short) in a graphical way and the context menu enables quick access to simple commands.
Pro Great community support
Since most devs invoke git via CLI, there's a higher chance of getting an answer to a CLI-based git problem than that which is GUI-based.
Pro Can generate an RSA key pair
It's possible to generate an RSA key pair using Git BASH. Instructions on how to do so can be found here.
Pro Gives a better overview of how git functions
By using the git from the command line, it's possible to learn how it functions and how best to get the desired result.
Pro Visual representation of commit-history is possible
Even a visual representation of various branches and how they're merged is possible.
To visualize history:
git log --graph
Pro Open source
Licensed under GPL.
Pro Windows context menu integration
Context menu enables access to common commands quickly.
Pro Can parse and provide a pretty log of all commits or filter by branch
Pro Convinient blaming tool
Very friendly blame tool. Easy to walk in the history of a file.
Cons
Con Terrible UI
Although it does most of what needs to be done, the actions are not obvious. It is definitely not user-friendly.
Con Windows only
No Linux or OSX versions available.
Con Renames git commands
Makes things hard to find for people used to the git CLI.
Con Buggy file status icons
The file icons are also often buggy and do not reflect its true status. Often times the icon is missing and makes you think a file or folder is untracked, when it is already staged, or sometimes even already committed and pushed.
Con May clutter your Windows Explorer
If you have synced your dev folder to a cloud service, TortoiseGit's git status file icons will override your cloud provider's icons.
Con No support for staging
It does not support staging in any way. You'll never guess that this feature is exist in git.