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.
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.