Tabby vs Termius
A side-by-side of two tools that overlap but start from different places. Facts come from each vendor's own pages, checked 2026-10-21.
| Tabby | Termius | |
|---|---|---|
| platforms | macOSWindowsLinuxWeb | macOSWindowsLinuxiOSAndroid |
| price | FreeFree (seen 2026-10-20); no paid tier found on GitHub README or releases page | FreemiumStarter free (local vault, SSH, SFTP, port forwarding, AI autocomplete); Pro $10/month billed annually; Team $20/seat/month billed annually; Business $30/seat/month billed annually; Enterprise custom (seen 2026-10-20) |
| source | Open source | Proprietary |
| SSH | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Tabs | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Split panes | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| SFTP | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Port forwarding | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Scripting / API | ✓ yes | ? not verified |
| AI agents | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| MCP | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Cloud sync | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Jump host | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| X11 | ✓ yes | ? not verified |
| Serial | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Telnet | ✓ yes | ✓ yes |
| Mosh | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| Team sharing | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| Phone control | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Mobile app | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
Termius is stronger at
- Same app family on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android, with host data synced across them on Pro and above
- Host chains (jump hosts), SSH agent forwarding and serial connections moved to the free tier in desktop 10.1.0 (2026-09-21)
- Team and Business plans offer shared vaults, shared session logs and, on Business, granular vault access control
Tabby is stronger at
- SSH client includes X11 forwarding, port forwarding, agent forwarding, jump host management and login scripts in one app
- Serial terminal with saved connections, hex input/output and automatic reconnection, alongside SSH and Telnet
- Plugin and theme installation from the Settings view; encrypted container for SSH secrets and settings; portable mode on Windows
which to pick
- pick Termius if
- People who manage the same set of servers from a laptop and a phone and are willing to pay for sync.
- pick Tabby if
- Users who want one desktop app for local shells, SSH and serial ports with split panes.
- skip Termius if
- Anyone who wants a no-account, fully offline, self-hosted tool or needs documented X11 forwarding.
- skip Tabby if
- Users who need built-in desktop SFTP file browsing or first-party cloud sync of connections.