Free Fossil alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

5 of the 5 Fossil alternatives we track can be used for free (free, open source, or with a free plan). Gitea, Mercurial and Unity Version Control rank highest, with facts last verified Nov 8, 2026.

Quick comparison

#	App	Pricing	Verified price	Open source	Platforms	Verified facts	Score
1	Gitea	Open source	—	Yes	Self-hosted, Web, Linux +2	4 of 4	67.6
2	Mercurial	Open source	—	Yes	Windows, macOS, Linux	4 of 4	64.8
3	Unity Version Control	Free plan + paid	—	No	Windows, macOS, Linux +1	6 of 6	59.4
4	Perforce P4	Free plan + paid	$39 per user/month (Cloud, billed monthly)	No	Windows, macOS, Linux +1	6 of 6	57.5
5	Jujutsu (jj)	Open source	—	Yes	Windows, macOS, Linux	5 of 5	55.9

1. GiteaTop pick
Best for: Teams and individuals who want a GitHub-like forge on their own modest hardware
Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Web, Linux, macOS, Windows
67.6
score / 100
Why switch from Fossil
Self-hosted Git forge that gives you the issue tracker, wiki and web UI Fossil bundles, built on Git instead.
Pros
Single binary that runs on very little hardware
Actions CI compatible with many GitHub workflows
Free with unlimited users
Cons
Smaller ecosystem than GitHub or GitLab
Company-led governance split the community
Some enterprise features are paid
Visit Gitea Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.346
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.15100
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Gitea a good Fossil alternative?
Verified facts
4 of 4 verified
License
MIT
Checked Oct 29, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
Open-source edition
Free, unlimited users and repos
Checked Nov 8, 2026about.gitea.com(opens source in a new tab)
Managed hosting
Gitea Cloud
Checked Nov 8, 2026about.gitea.com(opens source in a new tab)
CI/CD
Gitea Actions
Checked Nov 8, 2026about.gitea.com(opens source in a new tab)
2. Mercurial
Best for: Teams that want distributed version control with a simpler, safer command line than Git
Open sourceWindows, macOS, Linux
64.8
score / 100
Why switch from Fossil
Another simple distributed system with a larger user base and an extension system.
Pros
Consistent, smaller command set that is easier to learn
Powerful features stay opt-in through extensions
Full local history makes most operations fast and offline
Free software under the GPLv2 or later
Cons
GitHub and GitLab.com don't host Mercurial repositories
Far smaller ecosystem of GUIs, integrations and tutorials than Git
Fewer developers already know it, so onboarding takes more effort
Visit Mercurial Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.387
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Mercurial a good Fossil alternative?
Verified facts
4 of 4 verified
License
GPLv2 or later
Checked Nov 8, 2026mercurial-scm.org(opens source in a new tab)
Type
Distributed source control
Checked Nov 8, 2026mercurial-scm.org(opens source in a new tab)
Local history
Every clone has full history
Checked Nov 8, 2026mercurial-scm.org(opens source in a new tab)
Extensions
Yes
Checked Nov 8, 2026mercurial-scm.org(opens source in a new tab)
3. Unity Version Control
Best for: Small and mid-size game studios that want artist-friendly version control for big assets
Free plan + paidWindows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted
59.4
score / 100
Why switch from Fossil
Supports both distributed and centralized workflows plus large binary files, with a visual branch explorer.
Pros
Free tier with three seats to start
Separate workflows for programmers and artists in one repo
Cloud-hosted or on-premises deployment
Cons
Per-seat and storage charges grow as the team grows
Smaller ecosystem and user base than Git outside games
Product direction depends on Unity's wider business
Visit Unity Version Control Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.369
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Unity Version Control a good Fossil alternative?
Verified facts
6 of 6 verified
Free plan
3 seats and 5 GB-hour storage
Checked Nov 8, 2026unity.com(opens source in a new tab)
File locking
Yes
Checked Nov 8, 2026unity.com(opens source in a new tab)
Large files
Yes
Checked Nov 8, 2026unity.com(opens source in a new tab)
Formerly
Plastic SCM
Checked Nov 8, 2026unity.com(opens source in a new tab)
On-prem seats
$38 per seat
Checked Nov 8, 2026unity.com(opens source in a new tab)
Included storage
25 GB a month, then $0.10/GB up to 100 GB
Checked Nov 8, 2026unity.com(opens source in a new tab)
4. Perforce P4
Best for: Game and media studios versioning large binary assets with locking and fine-grained access control
Free plan + paidWindows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted
57.5
score / 100
Why switch from Fossil
Centralized versioning built for huge repositories and binary assets, where a single-file Fossil repo gets unwieldy.
Pros
Handles very large repos and binary files well
Exclusive file locking prevents asset overwrites
Native integrations with Unreal Engine, Unity and Visual Studio
Cons
Paid licences beyond five users, priced through sales
Needs a central server to run or a paid hosted plan
Workflow and tooling differ from the Git ecosystem most developers know
Visit Perforce P4 Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.363
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Perforce P4 a good Fossil alternative?
Verified facts
6 of 6 verified
Free plan
Yes, up to 5 users
Checked Nov 8, 2026perforce.com(opens source in a new tab)
File locking
Yes
Checked Nov 8, 2026perforce.com(opens source in a new tab)
Unreal Engine integration
Yes
Checked Nov 8, 2026perforce.com(opens source in a new tab)
Deployment
On-premises or cloud
Checked Nov 8, 2026perforce.com(opens source in a new tab)
Starting price
$39 per user/month (Cloud, billed monthly)
Checked Nov 8, 2026perforce.com(opens source in a new tab)
Scale plan
Custom quote, billed annually
Checked Nov 8, 2026perforce.com(opens source in a new tab)
5. Jujutsu (jj)
Best for: Developers who want a simpler, safer workflow while still pushing to Git hosts
Open sourceWindows, macOS, Linux
55.9
score / 100
Why switch from Fossil
Modern distributed VCS with an operation log and undo for every command, storing history in plain Git repos.
Pros
Works on existing Git repos, so teammates don't have to switch
Operation log makes any command undoable
Conflicts can be recorded and resolved later instead of blocking a rebase
Free and Apache 2.0 licensed
Cons
Command-line only, with GUI support coming from third-party tools
No Git submodule or Git LFS support yet
New concepts take time to learn for long-time Git users
Visit Jujutsu (jj) Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.357
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Jujutsu (jj) a good Fossil alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
License
Apache-2.0
Checked Nov 2, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
Git compatible
Yes, uses a Git repo backend
Checked Nov 8, 2026jj-vcs.github.io(opens source in a new tab)
Platforms
Windows, Mac, Linux
Checked Nov 8, 2026jj-vcs.github.io(opens source in a new tab)
Git LFS
Not supported
Checked Nov 8, 2026jj-vcs.github.io(opens source in a new tab)
Submodules
Not supported
Checked Nov 8, 2026jj-vcs.github.io(opens source in a new tab)

Quick comparison

1. GiteaTop pick

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

2. Mercurial

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

3. Unity Version Control

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

4. Perforce P4

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

5. Jujutsu (jj)

Pros

Cons

Verified facts