Alternatives to PuTTY
The small, stubbornly reliable SSH and Telnet client that has been on every Windows admin’s desktop for twenty-five years. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
PuTTY
The small, stubbornly reliable SSH and Telnet client that has been on every Windows admin’s desktop for twenty-five years.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as PuTTY.
KiTTY
A PuTTY fork for Windows that adds session filtering, automatic login scripts and portability.
KiTTY is a Windows-only PuTTY fork adding a session filter, automatic login scripts and a portable build, but it is based on PuTTY 0.76 and lacks newer security fixes.
Tera Term
Long-running Windows terminal emulator for SSH, Telnet and serial connections.
Tera Term is an open-source Windows SSH, Telnet and serial terminal with a macro language for automating sessions, but it is Windows-only with a dated interface.
WindTerm
A fast SSH, SFTP, telnet, serial and tmux client for Windows, macOS and Linux, free for commercial use.
WindTerm is a native SSH, SFTP, telnet, serial and tmux client for Windows, macOS and Linux, free for commercial use but only partly open source.
MobaXterm
A Windows remote-computing toolbox: tabbed SSH, an X11 server, RDP, VNC, FTP and Unix commands in one portable executable.
MobaXterm is a closed-source freemium Windows toolbox adding tabbed SSH, an X11 server, RDP, VNC and an SFTP browser, with the free edition capping saved sessions.
Tabby
A terminal, SSH client and serial console in one window, with a connection manager and an encrypted secret store.
Tabby is an open-source Electron app combining local shells, SSH, Telnet and serial with a connection manager and encrypted secret store, using more memory than PuTTY.
Electerm
Manage terminal and remote-file connections in one application.
Electerm is an MIT-licensed app for Windows, macOS and Linux combining terminal sessions with SFTP file management, with features varying by platform.
Solar-PuTTY
A free tabbed SSH, Telnet, SCP and SFTP session manager for Windows, built on PuTTY.
Solar-PuTTY is a free Windows session manager built on PuTTY that adds tabs, saved credentials and graphical SFTP, but it is closed source and Windows only.
OpenSSH
The standard SSH client and server suite for encrypted remote login, file copying and tunnelling.
OpenSSH is the standard BSD-licensed command-line SSH client and server suite for macOS and Linux, adding a server and tunnelling but no graphical interface.
Also worth comparing
These listings name PuTTY as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Bitvise SSH Client
A Windows SSH client combining a terminal, SFTP file transfer and port forwarding.
PuTTY is an open-source MIT-licensed SSH client for Windows with separate PSCP and PSFTP tools instead of a built-in graphical SFTP window.
SecureCRT
A commercial SSH and Telnet client with session management and scripting for Windows, macOS and Linux.
PuTTY is a free MIT-licensed SSH and Telnet client with PSCP, PSFTP, Plink and Pageant, but its interface is dated and it lacks SecureCRT's tabbed session management.
Xshell
A tabbed SSH, Telnet and serial terminal client for Windows from NetSarang.
PuTTY is a free MIT-licensed SSH and Telnet client with PSCP, PSFTP, Plink and Pageant, runs without installation, but has no tabbed session manager.
ZOC Terminal
A commercial SSH, Telnet and serial terminal emulator for Windows and macOS.
PuTTY is a free, MIT-licensed SSH and Telnet client with file tools and Plink for scripts, but an older interface and no Mac port from the project.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Windows Terminal
Microsoft’s tabbed terminal for Windows, hosting Command Prompt, PowerShell and WSL in one GPU-rendered window.
WinSCP
A Windows file manager for remote servers, covering SFTP, FTP, FTPS, SCP, S3 and WebDAV, with scripting built in.
WezTerm
A GPU-accelerated terminal that is also a multiplexer, configured in Lua and the same on every platform.
assh
Wrapper that adds regex hosts, templates, gateways and hooks to SSH configuration.
Wishlist
Choose SSH destinations from an interactive directory.
tmux
Keeps terminal sessions alive on a server after you disconnect, and splits one window into many.
