PuTTY Alternatives for MacFiltered by 'telnet'

PuTTY is not available for Mac but there are some alternatives that runs on macOS with similar functionality. The best Mac alternative is OpenSSH, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to PuTTY and ten of them are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to PuTTY are Tabby, ZOC, WindTerm and SecureCRT.

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PuTTY alternatives are mainly Terminal Emulators, but if you're looking for SSH Clients or Shells you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Mac, Linux, iPhone, Windows, iPad, Google Chrome and Chrome OS. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to PuTTY.
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Alternatives list

  1. OpenSSH icon

    OpenSSH

     389 likes

    OpenSSH is a free version of the SSH connectivity tools that technical users rely on. OpenSSH encrypts all traffic (including passwords) to effectively eliminate eavesdropping, connection hijacking, and other attacks.

    60 OpenSSH alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • iPhone
    • BSD
    • Cygwin
    • Haiku
     
    |
    10
    OpenSSH vs PuTTY Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Brioni1988
    10

    Up to date. One of the most trustworthy dev teams on the intenet.

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    17

    There is no gui for connection management.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    ntrain5555
    Negative
    0

    It's not terminal emulator, it's a utility to ssh'd to other mechine.

    3 of 10 comments
    • OpenSSH is Free and Open SourcePuTTY is also Free and Open Source
  2. Tabby icon

    Tabby

     124 likes

    Tabby is an infinitely customizable cross-platform terminal app for local shells, serial, SSH and Telnet connections.

    110 Tabby alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Tabby screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    Tabby vs PuTTY Comments
    takavar
    Positive
    0

    I think Tabby is overall easier and more smoother to work with. Specially since you get tabs, themes etc. If you just want to ssh into this than that I don't know why you wouldn't switch to tabby.

    • Tabby is Free and Open SourcePuTTY is also Free and Open Source
    • Tabby is CustomizablePuTTY is not according to our users
  4. ZOC icon

    ZOC

     70 likes

    ZOC is a powerful and well-established terminal emulator and telnet client, well known for its outstanding user interface with tabbed multi session support.

    76 ZOC alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    ZOC screenshot 1
     
    |
    8
    ZOC vs PuTTY Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    hansolo1988
    3

    Just let me say one thing: Try managing 200 hosts for 10+ clients in the host directory of Putty and ZOC.

    Foworax J. Smith
    Positive
    0

    Much nicer user interface.

    grercl
    Positive
    0

    tabs, ease of use, very easy to customize

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 8 comments
    • ZOC is Paid and ProprietaryPuTTY is Free and Open Source
  6. SecureCRT icon

    SecureCRT

     34 likes

    SecureCRT combines rock-solid terminal emulation with the strong encryption, data integrity, and authentication options of the Secure Shell protocol. SecureCRT provides secure remote access, file transfer, and data tunneling for everyone in your organization.

    62 SecureCRT alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
    |
    1
    SecureCRT vs PuTTY Comments
    artcrime
    Positive
    0

    Simply the best telnet/ssh client on the market. Excellent support too!

    • SecureCRT is Paid and ProprietaryPuTTY is Free and Open Source
  7. Shellngn icon

    Shellngn

     3 likes

    Shellngn is a cloud based SSH client with SFTP and Telnet support. Manage your servers anywhere you are, with a professional and feature-rich SSH and SFTP Client.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    Shellngn screenshot 1
     
  9. ShellCraft icon

    ShellCraft

     1 like

    With convenient and powerful user interface, ShellCraft significantly improve your efficiency. ShellCraft implements the standard SSH/Telnet protocol, it can simply connect to various servers. The session management function make you managing sessions easily, connecting to...

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    ShellCraft screenshot 1
     
  10. MacTerm icon

    MacTerm

     7 likes

    MacTerm (was MacTelnet) on OS X is now a complete replacement for Terminal, allowing access to both local and remote applications.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    MacTerm screenshot 1
     
  11. Putty for Mac icon

    Putty for Mac

     2 likes

    Putty is one of the Best Terminal Emulators available today. It Supports different types of Network Protocols such as SSH, FTP, SCP, Telnet etc. In Windows it is used as SSH Client to connect to Your Linux server or for some other purpose.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Putty for Mac screenshot 1
     
  12. lterm icon

    lterm

     2 likes

    lterm is a vte-based terminal emulator for GNU/Linux systems. It is mainly used as ssh/telnet client but can be very easily configured to use any other protocol. Furthermore it can be a usual terminal on local host.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    Editing connection parameters
     
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