Terminal AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Shells

The best Shell alternative to Terminal is Tabby, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Terminal and 18 are Shells so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Shell alternatives to Terminal are Termux, PowerShell, ReTerminal and Hyper.

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Terminal alternatives are mainly Shells, but if you're looking for Terminal Emulators or SSH Clients you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Mac and Linux. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Terminal.
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Alternatives list

  1. Tabby icon
     119 likes

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

    106 Tabby alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  2. Termux icon
     116 likes

    Experience a powerful Unix terminal on Android without the need for rooting. Customize with packages via Apt, run command-line tools, SSH, and program in C, Python, and more. Enjoy a full Unix environment with bash, zsh, mouse support, and external display compatibility.

    103 Termux alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
    • zsh
    • GNU Bourne Again SHell
     
  3. 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.

    68 PowerShell alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
     
  4. ReTerminal icon
     19 likes

    ReTerminal is a sleek, Material 3-inspired terminal emulator designed as a modern alternative to the legacy Jackpal Terminal. Built on Termux's robust TerminalView.

    58 ReTerminal alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
     
  5. Hyper icon
     83 likes

    Hyper™ is a beautiful and extensible, cross-platform terminal built on open web standards. It provides an elegant command-line experience that is consistent across all supported platforms which includes macOS, Windows and various Linux distributions like Fedora and Debian.

    96 Hyper alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Electron / Atom Shell
     
  6. ZOC icon
     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.

    74 ZOC alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
     
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    1
    Comments about ZOC as an Alternative to Terminal
    ioramsette
    Positive
    0

    Fantastic terminal software with many code page emulations including DOS437, internal file transfer protocols such as zmodem, excellent ANSI emulation, perfect to access BBS systems via serial/modem, telnet or ssh! Support powerful REXX scripts and detailed logs.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    ZOC icon
    ZOC icon
    • ZOC is Paid and ProprietaryTerminal is Free and Proprietary
    • ZOC is LightweightTerminal is not according to our users
  7. Console icon
     97 likes

    Console is a Windows console window enhancement. Console features include: multiple tabs, text editor-like text selection, different background types, alpha and color-key transparency, configurable font, different window styles.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
     
  8. xterm icon
     30 likes

    The xterm program is a terminal emulator for the X Window System. It provides DEC VT102 and Tektronix 4014 compatible terminals for programs that can't use the window system directly.

    65 xterm alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
     
  9. ConsoleZ icon
     27 likes

    console - This is a modified version of Console 2 for a better experience under Windows Vista/7/8 and a better visual rendering.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  10. upterm icon
     22 likes

    A terminal emulator for the 21st century. (formerly) Black Screen is a terminal emulator and interactive shell with auto-completion.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Electron / Atom Shell
     
  11. MacTerm icon
     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
     
12 of 18 Terminal alternatives