I use both GitHub and BitBucket. When I first researched using Bitbucket, I came to the conclusion that even though they are in the same business, they have different revenue models.
The problem with GitHub is that if you want something for free you have to open-source it. Works well for the large projects. Private repository costs you $84/year if you choose 5 private repository.
However, Bitbucket works almost in an opposite way, because they kinda say that small teams can host projects for free, but as the team /collaborators increases, so does the need to start paying arise. Only reason I choose Bitbucket for my person projects is:
BitBucket supports unlimited number of
private repositories for freewhile it comes under a paid plan with GitHub.
Well, in my experience, the number of collaborators is usually positively correlated with whether the project is open-source or not.
Another must read:
- SmartGit Setup Guide: My Favorite Client for Git and Mercurial
- How to Configure BitBucket Git Repository in you Eclipse?
From cloning your project to checkin and commit, there is no difference in functionality as both relies on internal git. As you may have notice in other tutorials, I love Smartgit client for all my personal development work.
Once you finish developing your project, just use Smartgit to checkin, push and commit your changes and you will see nice history under bitbucket admin panel.
Update on 01/08/2019: We moved to Github Private repository as Github announced free unlimited private repositories too. Cheers!!