Lightweight PuTTY Alternatives for Linux

There are many alternatives to PuTTY for Linux if you are looking for a replacement. The best Linux alternative is Tabby, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to PuTTY and 12 are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to PuTTY are PowerShell, WindTerm, Tempest - SSH and SFTP client and EasySSH.

filter to find the best alternatives

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

  1. Tabby icon
     127 likes

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

    114 Tabby alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
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    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
  2. PowerShell icon
     200 likes

    PowerShell (including Windows PowerShell and PowerShell Core) is a task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and associated scripting language built on the .NET Framework.

    70 PowerShell alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
     
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    6
    PowerShell vs PuTTY Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    3

    Since recently Microsoft has integrates OpenSSH in Windows 10 natively, so PowerShell (and Windows terminal) may now connect to SSH hosts from the command line, as you would do from LINUX or OS/X. PuTTY however has many more functions.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    11

    PuTTY is for remote terminal access, via SSH, Telnet, serial, etc.. Powershell is a shell for scripting not SSH or Telent access.

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

    as stated by others here PuTTY is a TTY/network serial control application, and PowerShell is a local "terminal-like" application with no remote/TTY capabilities. there is no similarity here

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 6 comments
    • PowerShell is Free and Open SourcePuTTY is also Free and Open Source
  3. EasySSH icon
     2 likes

    A complete, efficient and easy-to-use manager. Create and edit connections, groups, customize the terminal, with multiple instances of the same connection.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • elementary OS
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
     
  4. tilda icon
     39 likes

    Tilda is a Linux terminal taking after the likeness of many classic terminals from first person shooter games, Quake, Doom and Half-Life to name a few, where the terminal has no border and is hidden from the desktop till a key or keys is hit.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
     
  5. SSH Pilot icon
     2 likes

    Desktop SSH manager featuring a user-friendly graphical interface, integrated terminal, tabbed sessions, port forwarding, secure credential storage, SCP upload, keypair generation, privacy controls, customizable appearance options, and .ssh/config import support.

    54 SSH Pilot alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
     
  6. Oysape icon
     3 likes

    Oysape is a cutting-edge SSH client and terminal solution, tailor-made for DevOps and CI/CD workflows. It simplifies server management by allowing users to maintain a list of servers, and execute customizable Tasks on selected servers dynamically.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
     
  7. xs icon
     1 like

    Simple alternative to ssh (<5% SLOCC) written from scratch in Go, with support for PQC KEMs (Post-Quantum Cryptography Key-Encapsulation Mechanisms).

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • Cygwin
    • FreeBSD
    • Termux
     
  8.  2 likes

    Based on rxvt. Tabbed interface. Very lightweight. Few dependencies. Only drawback is poor unicode support (theres an SVN branch with working but slightly buggy support)

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
     
  9. All-in-one Enterprise Network Suite: VPN Manager (FortiSSL/IPsec), IP Profile Switcher, and SSH Terminal/Tunneling GUI for Linux & macOS.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Mac
     
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