Terminal emulators
Terminal emulators that run your shell and `ssh` command, some with SSH features of their own. Speed, config style and platform support compared.
12 tools · facts checked 2026-10-20 · how we check
| name | platforms | price | source | SSH | SFTP | Port forwarding | AI agents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alacritty Users who want a lean terminal and already handle layouts with tmux or a tiling window manager. | macOSWindowsLinux | Free | Open source | – no | – no | – no | ? not verified |
| Ghostty Mac or Linux users who want a fast native terminal with sensible defaults and little configuration. | macOSLinux | Free | Open source | – no | – no | – no | ? not verified |
| Hyper Web developers who want a themeable, JavaScript-extensible local terminal. | macOSWindowsLinux | Free | Open source | ? not verified | ? not verified | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| iTerm2 Mac users who live in tmux over SSH and want scripting and per-host profiles. | macOS | Free | Open source | ✓ yes | ? not verified | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| Kitty Linux or macOS users who want a scriptable GPU terminal with built-in layouts instead of tmux locally. | macOSLinux | Free | Open source | ✓ yes | – no | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Tabby Users who want one desktop app for local shells, SSH and serial ports with split panes. | macOSWindowsLinuxWeb | Free | Open source | ✓ yes | ? not verified | ✓ yes | ? not verified |
| Warp Developers who want an AI-agent-centric terminal with shared workflows and optional team plans. | macOSWindowsLinux | Freemium | Open source | ✓ yes | ? not verified | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| Wave Terminal Developers who want a graphical, widget-based terminal with remote file editing and AI over SSH. | macOSWindowsLinux | Free | Open source | ✓ yes | ? not verified | ? not verified | ✓ yes |
| WezTerm Users who want one Lua-scripted terminal with built-in multiplexing and SSH on Windows, macOS and Linux. | macOSWindowsLinux | Free | Open source | ✓ yes | ? not verified | ? not verified | ? not verified |
| Windows Terminal Windows developers who switch between PowerShell, cmd and WSL shells in one tabbed window. | Windows | Free | Open source | – no | – no | – no | ? not verified |
| WindTerm Individuals who want a free multi-protocol terminal with built-in SFTP and tmux support across desktop OSes. | WindowsmacOSLinux | Free | ? | ✓ yes | ✓ yes | ✓ yes | ? not verified |
| Zellij Developers who want a modern, configurable multiplexer with layouts and plugins on macOS, Linux or Windows. | macOSLinuxWindows | Free | Open source | ? not verified | ? not verified | ? not verified | ? not verified |
~/notes
- Alacritty best for: Users who want a lean terminal and already handle layouts with tmux or a tiling window manager. look elsewhere if: Anyone who wants built-in tabs, splits, saved SSH hosts or a GUI settings screen.
- Ghostty best for: Mac or Linux users who want a fast native terminal with sensible defaults and little configuration. look elsewhere if: Windows users, or anyone who wants saved SSH hosts, SFTP or tunnels built into the terminal.
- Hyper best for: Web developers who want a themeable, JavaScript-extensible local terminal. look elsewhere if: Users who need a built-in SSH/SFTP session manager, serial or port-forwarding UI.
- iTerm2 best for: Mac users who live in tmux over SSH and want scripting and per-host profiles. look elsewhere if: Anyone needing Windows or Linux, or a dedicated SSH client with a connection manager and file browser.
- Kitty best for: Linux or macOS users who want a scriptable GPU terminal with built-in layouts instead of tmux locally. look elsewhere if: Windows users, or anyone wanting a saved-host SSH manager with SFTP and tunnels.
- Tabby best for: Users who want one desktop app for local shells, SSH and serial ports with split panes. look elsewhere if: Users who need built-in desktop SFTP file browsing or first-party cloud sync of connections.
- Warp best for: Developers who want an AI-agent-centric terminal with shared workflows and optional team plans. look elsewhere if: Users who want a classic SSH/serial/port-forwarding client or a terminal with no AI or paid-tier surface.
- Wave Terminal best for: Developers who want a graphical, widget-based terminal with remote file editing and AI over SSH. look elsewhere if: Users who need serial, Telnet, X11 or documented tunnel/SFTP management.
- WezTerm best for: Users who want one Lua-scripted terminal with built-in multiplexing and SSH on Windows, macOS and Linux. look elsewhere if: People who want a GUI host manager, SFTP browser or tunnel manager.
- Windows Terminal best for: Windows developers who switch between PowerShell, cmd and WSL shells in one tabbed window. look elsewhere if: Anyone who wants a saved-host SSH manager or file transfer UI, or who works on macOS/Linux.
- WindTerm best for: Individuals who want a free multi-protocol terminal with built-in SFTP and tmux support across desktop OSes. look elsewhere if: Users who need Mosh, scripting, sync or active vendor support, or who require fully open source.
- Zellij best for: Developers who want a modern, configurable multiplexer with layouts and plugins on macOS, Linux or Windows. look elsewhere if: Users who want a standalone terminal app, an SSH connection manager, or file transfer.