Comparison

Apache Subversion vs Mercurial

No leader: the top candidate Mercurial has only 0.10 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 formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Apache Subversion42
Mercurial54
Score
vioscaleAI score
Apache Subversion42 / 100medium · 59%
Mercurial54 / 100low · 10%
Pricing
Free tier
Apache Subversion✓
Mercurial✓
Model
Apache Subversionopen_source
Mercurialfree
Price level
Apache Subversionfree
Mercurialfree
Integrations
Count
Apache Subversion4
Mercurial–
Security
Disclosure policy
Apache Subversion✓
Mercurial–
Scorecard
Apache Subversion4.5
Mercurial–
Adoption
Dependent repos
Apache Subversion121
Mercurial–
Github stars
Apache Subversion646
Mercurial–
Package downloads weekly
Apache Subversion–
Mercurial86,972
Activity
Commits last 30d
Apache Subversion57
Mercurial–
License
Spdx
Apache SubversionApache-2.0
Mercurial–
Language
Primary
Apache SubversionC
MercurialPython
Market
Availability
Apache SubversionAvailable worldwide
Content
Faq
Apache Subversion5 items
Mercurial4 items

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

An open-source version control system providing centralized code and file management with emphasis on reliability, ease of use, and scalability from individual developers to large enterprises.

Independently observed

Mercurial

Mercurial is a distributed source control management system designed to efficiently handle large repositories with fast performance across teams.

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✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Apache Subversion

4 total
  • TortoiseSVN
  • Eclipse
  • NetBeans
  • SVNKit
Independently observed

Mercurial

Not documented yet.

Still deciding?

Apache Subversion or Mercurial: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

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