Terminal Alternatives for Linux

Terminal is not available for Linux but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on Linux with similar functionality. The best Linux alternative is PuTTY, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Terminal and many of them are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to Terminal are OpenSSH, Tabby Terminal, PowerShell and GNOME Terminal.

Terminal alternatives are mainly Terminal Emulators but may also be SSH Clients or Shells. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Terminal.

Terminal alternatives page was last updated

Terminal

Free • Proprietary
Terminal Emulator

Terminal (also referred to as Terminal.app) is a terminal emulator included in Apple's Mac OS X operating system. It...

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PuTTY
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
SSH Client
Windows
Linux
BSD
PortableApps.com
ReactOS
105 PuTTY alternatives
PuTTY is a free and open-source terminal emulator, serial console and network file transfer application. It supports several network protocols, including SCP, SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw socket connection. It can also connect to a serial port.
- - PuTTY is the most popular Windows & Linux alternative to Terminal.
- - PuTTY is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Terminal.
Suggest and vote on features
PuTTY Features
1. LightweightPuTTY consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
SSH
Built-in SSH client
Telnet client
Host management
Graphical User Interface
Serial terminal
Support for SFTP
Logging
Session Management
Xterm emulation
OpenSSH
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
SSH Client
Mac
Windows
Linux
iPhone
BSD
Cygwin
Haiku
58 OpenSSH alternatives
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.
- - OpenSSH is the most popular Mac & iPhone alternative to Terminal.
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OpenSSH Features
SSH
Support for SFTP
Cross-Platform
Jailbreak required
Bundled with macOS
Add a screenshot
Tabby Terminal
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
SSH Client
Mac
Windows
Linux
84 Tabby Terminal alternatives
Tabby is an infinitely customizable cross-platform terminal app for local shells, serial, SSH and Telnet connections.
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Tabby Terminal Features
1. Command line interfaceTabby Terminal either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
2. PortableTabby Terminal can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
3. LightweightTabby Terminal consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
4. Support for scriptingTabby Terminal supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
SSH
Support for SFTP
Multiple Servers
Electron based
Customizable
Serial-port
PowerShell
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Shell
Mac
Windows
Linux
61 PowerShell alternatives
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.
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PowerShell Features
1. Support for scriptingPowerShell supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
2. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsPowerShell can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
PowerShell Scripting
Optimized for Windows
GNOME Terminal
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Linux
BSD
GNOME
60 GNOME Terminal alternatives
GNOME Terminal is a terminal emulator for the GNOME desktop environment written by Havoc Pennington and others. Terminal emulators allow users to execute commands using a real UNIX shell while remaining on their graphical desktop.[
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GNOME Terminal Features
1. Command line interfaceGNOME Terminal either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
2. LightweightGNOME Terminal consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Background transparency
Terminator
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Linux
BSD
77 Terminator alternatives
Terminator enables the user to run and manage multiple terminal emulators side-by-side in the same window. The main focus is arranging terminals in a grid. (Tabs is the most common default method, which Terminator also supports.
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Terminator Features
1. Support for ThemesYou can use themes and templates to change the look and feel of Terminator.
2. Support for Multiple MonitorsTerminator supports the use of multiple displays.
3. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsTerminator can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
Split-screen view
Split windows
Multiple Terminal
Configurable
Function Key Shortcuts
Tiling Layouts
Hyper
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Shell
Mac
Windows
Linux
Electron / Atom Shell
81 Hyper alternatives
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.
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Hyper Features
1. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsHyper can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
2. Command line interfaceHyper either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
3. Support for ThemesYou can use themes and templates to change the look and feel of Hyper.
Split-screen view
Clean design
Electron based
Tiling Panes
Uses Packages
Divisible
Skinnable
Customizable
Multiple Font Colors
Plugin API
Opinions about Hyper as a Alternative to Terminal
Almost everyone thinks Hyper is a great Terminal alternative.
Kitty terminal
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Mac
Linux
71 Kitty terminal alternatives
Kitty ( not to be confused with KiTTY ) is a powerful, cross-platform GPU-based terminal emulator. It offloads rendering to the GPU and uses OpenGL for fast, cross-platform performance with built-in tiling layouts as well as graphic, unicode...
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Kitty terminal Features
1. Command line interfaceKitty terminal either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
2. LightweightKitty terminal consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
GPU based
Split-screen view
Font Ligature Support
Tiling Layouts
Keyboard focused
Full keyboard shortcuts
Alacritty
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
70 Alacritty alternatives
Alacritty is a blazing fast, GPU accelerated terminal emulator. It’s written in Rust and uses OpenGL for rendering to be the fastest terminal emulator available. Alacritty is available on GitHub in source form.
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Alacritty Features
1. LightweightAlacritty consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. PortableAlacritty can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
3. Command line interfaceAlacritty either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
GPU Support
Optimal performance
No input delay
Konsole
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Linux
BSD
55 Konsole alternatives
Konsole is a free terminal emulator part of the KDE applications. It features: Tabbed terminals; Tab titles; Translucent backgrounds; Split-view mode; Directory and SSH bookmarking; Customizable color schemes; Customizable key bindings; Notifications about silence or activity in...
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Konsole Features
1. LightweightKonsole consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Support for ThemesYou can use themes and templates to change the look and feel of Konsole.
Multi-tabs
Customizable
Dual Pane Support
Color Palette
Tiling Layouts
Cool Retro Term
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Mac
Linux
45 Cool Retro Term alternatives
Cool Retro Term (CRT) is a terminal emulator which mimics the look and feel of the old cathode tube screens. It has been designed to be eye-candy, customizable, and reasonably lightweight.
Cool Retro Term has no features, suggest some!
Xfce4-Terminal
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Linux
BSD
Xfce
48 Xfce4-Terminal alternatives
Xfce Terminal is a lightweight and easy to use terminal emulator application with many advanced features including drop down, tabs, unlimited scrolling, full colors, fonts, transparent backgrounds, and more.
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Xfce4-Terminal Features
1. LightweightXfce4-Terminal consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Command line interfaceXfce4-Terminal either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
Tabbed interface
Dropdown terminal