Beginners to programming keep hearing terms like Git, Github and often ask this question. Since we have just begun the tutorial series, we thought to get the topic – Git vs Github – clear, once-and-for-all.
Actually they are two completely different things in terms of functionality. Perhaps, people get confused because they both contain the keyword Git.
Git is a Version Control System. A tool using which you track changes made to the source code files.
WHEREAS
Github is a hosting service where you store Git repositories.
If you come from a front-end development background, here is a good analogy.
You use HTML and CSS languages files to create your site locally on your machine but you would need some kind of web-hosting to share it with the world. You can choose between tons of web hosting services available on the internet.
Similarly, you use Git as a Version Control System and create local repositories but you would need a place to host these repositories to work in collaboration with other team members. One of the most popular Git hosts is Github.
Other hosts in the Git hosting industry include Gitlab, BitBucket etc. These Git hosts provide additional services like bug tracking, task management, feature requests etc.
An important point to note here is that; You DO NOT need Github (or a Git host) to use Git. You would do just fine using Git, if you are developing locally, and do not need to collaborate with others.
If Google trends is any indication, Github far outperforms its competitors in terms of search interest.
Click the picture below to enlarge.
Github vs BitBucket vs Gitlab market share