It is just different. GIMP is a general image editor. Darktable is for developing, retouching, and organizing photos. GIMP does a lot of things that Darktable doesn’t. But for processing RAW photos, adjusting light, color, contrast, removing spots, it is much easier to do with Darktable.
Darktable is a great photo editor (similar to Lightroom).
What benefits does it over GIMP? I’ve honestly never heard of it before
It is just different. GIMP is a general image editor. Darktable is for developing, retouching, and organizing photos. GIMP does a lot of things that Darktable doesn’t. But for processing RAW photos, adjusting light, color, contrast, removing spots, it is much easier to do with Darktable.