Comparison

Apache Subversion vs Mercurial

No leader: the top candidate Mercurial has only 0.14 confidence (low), below the 0.35 needed to declare a winner. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Apache Subversion49
Mercurial64
Score
Vioscale score
Apache Subversion49 / 100low · 44%
Mercurial64 / 100low · 14%
Pricing
Free tier
Apache Subversion
Mercurial
Model
Apache Subversioncommercial
Mercurialfree
Price level
Apache Subversionfree
Mercurialfree
Security
Disclosure policy
Apache Subversion
Mercurial
Scorecard
Apache Subversion4.5
Mercurial
Adoption
Github stars
Apache Subversion640
Mercurial
Package downloads weekly
Apache Subversion
Mercurial86,972
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache Subversion69
Mercurial
License
Spdx
Apache SubversionApache-2.0
Mercurial
Language
Primary
Apache SubversionC
MercurialPython
Market
Availability
Apache SubversionAvailable worldwide

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for version control. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Model
VCS model
Apache SubversionCentralized
MercurialDistributed
Underlying VCS supported (Git / Mercurial / SVN / Perforce / multiple)
Apache SubversionSubversion
MercurialMercurial
Deployment
Hosting
Apache SubversionSelf-hosted only
MercurialSelf-hosted only
Review
Code review
Apache SubversionNone (engine only)
MercurialNone (engine only)
Storage
Large-file / binary handling
Apache Subversion-
Mercurial-
Scale
Monorepo scale (partial clone / sparse / VFS)
Apache Subversion
Mercurial-
DevOps
Built-in CI
Apache Subversion
Mercurial
Access
Access control granularity
Apache SubversionPath-level
Mercurial-
Federation
Federation / decentralisation (ActivityPub / email)
Apache Subversion
Mercurial-
Licensing
Open-source core
Apache SubversionOpen-source
MercurialOpen-source
Self-managed license model
Apache SubversionFree
MercurialFree
Integration
API surface (REST / GraphQL / webhooks)
Apache SubversionWebDAV/DeltaV protocol, svnserve protocol, command-line
MercurialCLI
Enterprise
SSO / SAML / SCIM
Apache Subversion
Mercurial
Security
Signed commits / supply-chain (GPG / SSH / sigstore)
Apache Subversion
Mercurial-

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Apache Subversion

A centralized version control system that enables teams to track, manage, and collaborate on code changes. It provides atomic commits, merge tracking, and comprehensive repository history.

Independently observed

Mercurial

Mercurial is an open-source, distributed version control tool designed to efficiently handle projects of any size. It provides each developer with a complete copy of the project history, enabling fast local operations and flexible collaboration workflows.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Apache Subversion

Open sourceFree tier

Free and open source

as of verify ↗

Mercurial

FreeFree tier
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
macOS
Apache Subversion
Mercurial
Windows
Apache Subversion
Mercurial
Linux
Apache Subversion
Mercurial
CLI
Apache Subversion
Mercurial
Deployment
Self-hosted
Apache Subversion
Mercurial
On-premise
Apache Subversion
Mercurial

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.