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Mercurial alternatives: 6 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rankAll version control systems

Top picks

  • Fo

    Best overall

    Fossil

    Open source

  • Perforce P4 logo

    Best free option

    Perforce P4

    Starting price: $39 per user/month (Cloud, billed monthly)

  • Jujutsu (jj) logo

    Best open source

    Jujutsu (jj)

    Open source

Common reasons people leave Mercurial: gitHub and GitLab.com don't host Mercurial repositories, and far smaller ecosystem of GUIs, integrations and tutorials than Git. We ranked 6 alternatives by how directly each one replaces Mercurial, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. Fossil currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#AppPricingVerified priceOpen sourcePlatformsVerified factsScore
1FoFossilOpen source—YesWindows, macOS, Linux +15 of 579.8
2Perforce P4 logoPerforce P4Free plan + paid$39 per user/month (Cloud, billed monthly)NoWindows, macOS, Linux +16 of 661.8
3Jujutsu (jj) logoJujutsu (jj)Open source—YesWindows, macOS, Linux5 of 542.3
4PiPijulOpen source—YesLinux, macOS, Windows5 of 542.3
5Sapling SCM logoSapling SCMOpen source—YesmacOS, Linux, Windows5 of 542.3
6Darcs logoDarcsOpen source—YesWindows, macOS, Linux5 of 542.3
  1. Fo

    1. FossilTop pick

    Best for: Small teams and solo developers who want code, tickets and wiki in one self-hosted file

    Open sourceSelf-hostableWindows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted

    79.8

    score / 100

    Why switch from Mercurial

    Also distributed and simple, plus a built-in bug tracker, wiki and web interface in one binary.

    Pros

    • Bug tracker, wiki, forum and web UI built into the repository
    • Single executable and SQLite storage make install and backup easy
    • Light enough to self-host on a cheap VPS or Raspberry Pi
    • Permissive 2-clause BSD licence

    Cons

    • Small community and few third-party tools or integrations
    • Mainstream code hosts only support it through a Git mirror
    • Deliberately limits history rewriting, which Git users may miss
    Visit Fossil Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.387
    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 Fossil a good Mercurial alternative?

    Verified facts

    5 of 5 verified
    License
    2-clause BSD
    Checked Nov 8, 2026fossil-scm.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Built-in tools
    Bug tracking, wiki, forum, chat
    Checked Nov 8, 2026fossil-scm.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Install
    Single executable
    Checked Nov 8, 2026fossil-scm.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Storage
    SQLite database
    Checked Nov 8, 2026fossil-scm.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Platforms
    Linux, Mac, Windows
    Checked Nov 8, 2026fossil-scm.org(opens source in a new tab)
  2. Perforce P4 logo

    2. 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

    61.8

    score / 100

    Why switch from Mercurial

    Centralised version control built for huge monorepos and binary assets, with file locking, for teams that outgrew Mercurial at scale.

    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 ×0.377
    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 Mercurial 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)
  3. Jujutsu (jj) logo

    3. Jujutsu (jj)

    Best for: Developers who want a simpler, safer workflow while still pushing to Git hosts

    Open sourceWindows, macOS, Linux

    42.3

    score / 100

    Why switch from Mercurial

    Brings Mercurial-style ideas like revsets and easy history editing to Git-backed repos you can push anywhere.

    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 ×0.312
    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 Mercurial 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)
  4. Pi

    4. Pijul

    Best for: Developers curious about patch-based version control with cleaner merges than three-way merge

    Open sourceLinux, macOS, Windows

    42.3

    score / 100

    Why switch from Mercurial

    Patch-based alternative with commuting changes and more predictable merges.

    Pros

    • Changes commute, so cherry-picks and merges stay consistent
    • Resolved conflicts stay resolved across branches
    • Partial clones of large repositories
    • Free software under GPL 2.0 or later

    Cons

    • Still a 1.0 beta release
    • Small ecosystem: few GUIs, hosts or CI integrations compared with Git
    • No official Windows binaries; installation is mainly through Cargo
    Visit Pijul Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.312
    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 Pijul a good Mercurial alternative?

    Verified facts

    5 of 5 verified
    License
    GPL 2.0 or later
    Checked Nov 8, 2026pijul.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Model
    Patch-based
    Checked Nov 8, 2026pijul.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Partial clones
    Yes
    Checked Nov 8, 2026pijul.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Install
    cargo install (1.0 beta)
    Checked Nov 8, 2026pijul.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Hosting
    The Nest
    Checked Nov 8, 2026pijul.org(opens source in a new tab)
  5. Sapling SCM logo

    5. Sapling SCM

    Best for: Git users who work with stacks of small commits and want easier amend, undo and review flows

    Open sourcemacOS, Linux, Windows

    42.3

    score / 100

    Why switch from Mercurial

    Grew out of Mercurial and adds stacked commits, smartlog and Git interop.

    Pros

    • Works with existing Git repositories and GitHub
    • Stacked commits restack automatically after amends
    • Undo, unamend and hide make mistakes easy to recover from
    • Local web UI with drag-and-drop rebasing

    Cons

    • Server and virtual filesystem for huge repos are not public
    • Git support may still have rough edges, per its own docs
    • Design favours rebase-based, always-online workflows
    Visit Sapling SCM Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.312
    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 Sapling SCM a good Mercurial alternative?

    Verified facts

    5 of 5 verified
    License
    GPL-2.0
    Checked Nov 8, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Git support
    Yes
    Checked Nov 8, 2026sapling-scm.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Developer
    Meta
    Checked Nov 8, 2026sapling-scm.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Install on macOS
    Homebrew
    Checked Nov 8, 2026sapling-scm.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Web UI
    Interactive Smartlog (sl web)
    Checked Nov 8, 2026sapling-scm.com(opens source in a new tab)
  6. Darcs logo

    6. Darcs

    Best for: Developers who want patch-based, cherry-pick-friendly version control with a simple CLI

    Open sourceWindows, macOS, Linux

    42.3

    score / 100

    Why switch from Mercurial

    Distributed and offline like Mercurial, but tracks individual patches you can cherry-pick.

    Pros

    • Interactive commands make picking individual changes easy
    • No central server needed; full offline work
    • Free and open source under a non-profit umbrella

    Cons

    • Small ecosystem: few hosting services and tool integrations compared with Git
    • Prebuilt binaries lag behind; building usually needs Haskell tooling
    • Slow release pace and small contributor base
    Visit Darcs Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.312
    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 Darcs a good Mercurial alternative?

    Verified facts

    5 of 5 verified
    Open source
    Yes
    Checked Nov 8, 2026darcs.net(opens source in a new tab)
    Model
    Change (patch) based
    Checked Nov 8, 2026darcs.net(opens source in a new tab)
    Offline mode
    Yes, no central server
    Checked Nov 8, 2026darcs.net(opens source in a new tab)
    Latest release
    2.18.5 (Jan 2025)
    Checked Nov 8, 2026darcs.net(opens source in a new tab)
    Fiscal host
    Software Freedom Conservancy
    Checked Nov 8, 2026darcs.net(opens source in a new tab)

The best Mercurial alternative for…

The highest-ranked app in this list for each need.

Fo

Best Mercurial alternative for most people

Fossil

Also distributed and simple, plus a built-in bug tracker, wiki and web interface in one binary.

Jujutsu (jj) logo

Best Mercurial alternative for a free option

Jujutsu (jj)

Brings Mercurial-style ideas like revsets and easy history editing to Git-backed repos you can push anywhere.

Perforce P4 logo

Best Mercurial alternative for a free plan you can upgrade

Perforce P4

Centralised version control built for huge monorepos and binary assets, with file locking, for teams that outgrew Mercurial at scale.

Pi

Best Mercurial alternative for open source

Pijul

Patch-based alternative with commuting changes and more predictable merges.

Fo

Best Mercurial alternative for self-hosting

Fossil

Also distributed and simple, plus a built-in bug tracker, wiki and web interface in one binary.

Sapling SCM logo

Best Mercurial alternative for Mac

Sapling SCM

Grew out of Mercurial and adds stacked commits, smartlog and Git interop.

Darcs logo

Best Mercurial alternative for Windows

Darcs

Distributed and offline like Mercurial, but tracks individual patches you can cherry-pick.

Fo

Best Mercurial alternative for Linux

Fossil

Also distributed and simple, plus a built-in bug tracker, wiki and web interface in one binary.

Mercurial alternatives: common questions

What is the best alternative to Mercurial?

Fossil ranks first right now. Also distributed and simple, plus a built-in bug tracker, wiki and web interface in one binary. Perforce P4 and Jujutsu (jj) follow it in our ranking.

Mercurial vs Fossil: what's the difference?

Both Mercurial and Fossil are free and open source. Both run on Windows, macOS and Linux.

Is Mercurial free?

Mercurial is free and open source.

Is there a free alternative to Mercurial?

Yes. Fossil (open source), Perforce P4 (free plan + paid), Jujutsu (jj) (open source) and Pijul (open source) have a free option. Check each app's verified facts for current plan limits.

Is there an open-source alternative to Mercurial?

Yes: Fossil, Jujutsu (jj), Pijul and Sapling SCM, plus 1 more in the list above. Fossil can also be self-hosted.

Which Mercurial alternatives work on Linux?

Fossil, Perforce P4, Jujutsu (jj), Pijul and Sapling SCM run on Linux.

Why do people switch from Mercurial?

The complaints we hear most: 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.

How is this list ranked?

Every app is scored with the same published formula: how directly it replaces Mercurial, reviews (weighted by verification), visits from AppBreakup, how recently its facts were checked against its own website, and reader votes.