Comparison
Branchive as a Diversion alternative
Diversion is a genuinely capable, cloud-native VCS for Unreal teams — with exclusive hard locks we don't match yet. If what you want most is required review that's actually enforced today, plus simple, transparent free-now pricing, Branchive is a Diversion alternative worth a look.
Windows only today — macOS and Linux are in development.
Back to BranchiveEnforced review vs. roadmap-only
Required review, actually required today.
Diversion's Reviews feature exists, but per Diversion's own documentation, required review is on the roadmap and not yet enforced. Branchive Cloud's required review is enforced now: a pull request cannot merge until the required approvals are in.
Enforced permissions vs. a bypassable stock server
Protected branches, enforced by Branchive Cloud.
Core Lore already blocks a direct push to a protected branch, even the owner's. Branchive Cloud forks the server to enforce role by level and gate unprotect to admins only, so protection actually holds.
Transparent, free right now
No per-seat tiers to track.
Diversion is free only up to 5 users (Indie), then $25–35/user/month. Branchive Desktop is free, full stop, and Branchive Cloud is free during early access — no per-seat ladder.
QUIC-native big binaries, still
Native transport, measured, not promised.
The lore:// protocol runs over
QUIC and is built for large files — a real 6.05 GiB Unreal
project, 3,637 files, fully cloned in 78 seconds from Branchive Cloud
(measured, one command, not a benchmark rig).
Honesty
When Diversion is still the better choice.
You need locks that go read-only on your local disk
Diversion's Hard Locks are exclusive and enforced — the server stops a competing write, and the file also goes read-only on your local disk. Branchive Cloud's locking now stops both a second lock and a competing write server-side (the server rejects a direct commit, push, force-push, or rename over the locked file), but it doesn't go read-only on your local disk the way Diversion does.
You want native desktop clients beyond Windows
Diversion targets Unreal Engine and game teams like we do, with desktop clients on Windows and macOS (and a CLI on Linux). Branchive Desktop is Windows-only today.
Deep existing Diversion investment
If your team already has projects, workflows, and cloud storage set up in Diversion, migrating carries real cost — the same honesty caveat we'd give for any version-control switch.
Full feature comparison
Full feature comparison.
Competitor wins are shown honestly — green leads the row, red loses it, gold marks a caveat in between. Where we couldn't verify a competitor's number, like Unity Version Control's pricing, we say so instead of guessing.
| Feature | Branchive | loregui | GitHub | Perforce Helix Core | Diversion | Unity Version Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native large-binary handling | Yes — native QUIC lore:// | Yes — binds Lore's native API in-process | No — bolt-on Git LFS | Yes — native | Yes — native | Yes — native |
| File locking | Yes — enforced on Branchive Cloud; self-hosted Lore doesn't block the write | Exclusive claim only — no server, so it can't block the write | Git LFS locking — best-effort, not hard-enforced | Exclusive, write-blocking | Exclusive — "Hard Locks" | Exclusive — "Smart Locks" |
| Code review / merge-request workflow | Yes — native pull requests | No — local GUI, no server | Yes — native pull requests | Yes — needs the Helix Swarm add-on | Yes — Reviews | Yes — Code Reviews |
| Required review enforced before merge | Yes | No — nothing to enforce it | Yes | Yes — Swarm enforce | ⚠️ Not enforced — on Diversion's roadmap, per their docs | Yes |
| Protected branches (server-enforced) | Yes — core Lore blocks natively; our fork adds level-enforcement and admin-gated unprotect | No — no hosted server | Yes | Yes — protections table | Yes | Yes |
| Permission levels (read/write/admin) enforced | Yes | No — no access-control layer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Web UI (browse / diff / review) | Yes | No web UI — full native desktop GUI instead | Yes | Needs the Helix Swarm add-on | Yes | Yes |
| Self-host option | Core is self-hostable; the enforcement layer is Branchive Cloud-only | Yes — 100% local, any backend (local/S3/MinIO/Garage) | Yes — Enterprise Server | Yes | Enterprise tier only | Yes |
| Desktop platforms | Windows only today — macOS/Linux in development | Windows, macOS (Apple Silicon), Linux | Windows, macOS (GitHub Desktop) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS (Linux via CLI) | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| CI / automation | Via webhooks → your CI | No — local GUI only | Yes — Actions | Yes — via Jenkins | Yes — CI integrations | Unity DevOps |
| Pricing / free tier | Free during early access | Free — open source (MIT) | Free tier + paid; Git LFS metered ~$0.07/GB storage + ~$0.0875/GB egress | Free ≤5 users; Cloud $39/user/mo | Free ≤5 users (Indie); Pro $25/user/mo, Studio $35/user/mo | — see Unity's site |
| Target audience | Unreal Engine / game teams, Windows-first | Lore users who want a free local GUI, any platform | General development | AAA game / VFX, enterprise | Unreal Engine / game teams, cloud-native | Game development, real-time 3D |
The GitHub column reflects Git + Git LFS — the same metered-storage and best-effort-locking model applies to self-hosted Git + LFS on GitLab, Gitea, or Bitbucket. The loregui column is Biloxi Studios' free, open-source local GUI for Lore — genuinely free and cross-platform today, with no hosted server, review pipeline, or access-control layer. Unity Version Control's pricing isn't published anywhere we could verify, so we don't quote a number here — check Unity's site directly.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
Is Diversion's review feature enforced?
Not today. Diversion's own documentation describes required review as on the roadmap and not yet enforced — a reviewer can be bypassed. Branchive Cloud's required review is enforced now: a pull request cannot merge until the required approvals are in.
Does Diversion have file locking like Branchive?
Yes, and Diversion's still a step ahead: Hard Locks are exclusive and enforced, including making the file read-only on your local disk. Branchive Cloud's locking now stops the same second-lock case and also rejects anyone else's direct commit, push, force-push, or rename over a locked file — but it doesn't make the file read-only on disk the way Diversion does. Approved PR merges on Branchive aren't lock-gated, and repo owners/admins can force-release a lock.
Is Branchive free like Diversion's Indie tier?
Branchive Desktop is free, full stop. Branchive Cloud collaboration features are free during early access, with no per-seat tiers. Diversion's Indie tier is free only up to 5 users, then Pro is $25/user/month and Studio is $35/user/month.
Does Branchive enforce protected branches and roles, or is that just a UI setting?
Core Lore already blocks a direct push to a protected branch, even the owner's — that's native. What stock Lore lacks: protection isn't gated (anyone holding a grant can unprotect, push, and reprotect) and roles are checked by presence, not level, so a read-only grant can still push to an unprotected branch. Branchive Cloud forks the server to close both gaps — role enforced by level, and unprotect admin-gated — so protection actually holds, on the lore CLI and Branchive Desktop too, not just the web UI. A self-hosted, stock loreserver gives you the Lore core, not this enforcement layer.
Try it
See if Branchive fits your team's workflow.
Windows only today — macOS and Linux are in development.
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