Tess AlternativesTerminal Emulators and other similar apps like Tess

Tess is described as 'Terminal emulator. It lets you have a full access to your computer, use command line based programs and many more' and is a terminal emulator in the os & utilities category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Tess for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Mac, Windows, BSD and iPad apps. The best Tess alternative is Tabby Terminal, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Tess are ConEmu, Termux, Windows Terminal and Cmder.

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Tess alternatives are mainly Terminal Emulators but may also be Shells or SSH Clients.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Tess.
Tess iconTess
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Tess is a terminal emulator. It lets you have a full access to your computer, use command line based programs and many more.

More about Tess
Tess alternatives page was last updated Nov 5, 2024
  1. Tabby Terminal icon
     95 likes

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

    97 Tabby Terminal alternatives
    Tabby Terminal screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Customizable
    2.  Support for Themes
    3.  Works Offline
    4.  Ad-free

    Features

    1.  SSH
    2.  Command line interface
    3.  Support for SFTP
    4.  Multiple Servers
    5.  Dark Mode
    6.  Serial-port
    7.  Portable
    8.  Electron based
    9.  Syntax Highlighting
    10.  Tabbed interface
    11.  Persistent History
    12.  Autocompletion
    13.  Support for scripting
    Tabby Terminal iconTess Icon

    Tabby Terminal VS Tess

    Is Tabby Terminal a good alternative to Tess?
     
    • Tabby Terminal is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Tess.

    • Tabby Terminal is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Tess.

    • Tabby Terminal is Free and Open SourceTess is also Free and Open Source
    • Tabby Terminal is CustomizableTess is not according to our users
  2. ConEmu icon
     383 likes

    Windows console emulator with tabs, which presents multiple consoles and simple GUI applications as one customizable GUI window with various features.

    56 ConEmu alternatives
    ConEmu screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows

    Properties

    1.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Tabbed interface
    2.  Shell integration
    3.  Quake-style
    4.  ANSI color support
    5.  Split-screen view
    6.  Multi-tabs
    7.  Portable
    8.  Multiple window layouts
    9.  Command line interface
    10.  Support environment variables
    11.  Remote Debugging
    12.  Kubernetes
    13.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
    14.  Create SSH users
    ConEmu iconTess Icon

    ConEmu VS Tess

    Is ConEmu a good alternative to Tess?
     
  3. Termux icon
     93 likes

    Ready to go. Termux works directly with no rooting or setup required. At first start a minimal base system is installed automatically - you decide what to do next.

    97 Termux alternatives
    htop running natively

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
    • zsh
    • Bash

    Properties

    1.  No registration required
    2.  Ad-free

    Features

    1.  Command line interface
    2.  Support for scripting
    3.  Integrated into iOS
    4.  MD5 signature
    Termux iconTess Icon

    Termux VS Tess

    Is Termux a good alternative to Tess?
     
    • Termux is the most popular Android & Android Tablet alternative to Tess.

    • Termux is Free and Open SourceTess is also Free and Open Source
  4. Windows Terminal icon
     76 likes

    Windows Terminal is a new, modern, feature-rich, productive terminal application for command-line users. It includes many of the features most frequently requested by the Windows command-line community including support for tabs, rich text, globalization, configurability...

    96 Windows Terminal alternatives
    White and dark theme showcase

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Windows

    Properties

    1.  Support for Themes
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Tabbed interface
    2.  Multiple shells
    3.  WSL integreation
    4.  Background transparency
    5.  Configured in JSON
    6.  Command line interface
    7.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
    8.  Multiple window layouts
    9.  Multi-tabs
    10.  Emoji Text support
    11.  Support for scripting
    12.  Dark Mode
    13.  SSH
    Windows Terminal iconTess Icon

    Windows Terminal VS Tess

    Is Windows Terminal a good alternative to Tess?
     
    Comments about Windows Terminal as an Alternative to Tess
     
    Mathemagician

    Just works. My daily terminal emulator of choice.

    Positive commentNov 5, 2024
    0
    Tess Icon
    Windows Terminal icon
    • Windows Terminal is Free and Open SourceTess is also Free and Open Source
    • Windows Terminal is CustomizableTess is not according to our users
  5. Cmder icon
     236 likes

    Cmder is an open-source replacement for the Windows command-line. It relies on ConEmu , extending it with the power of clink and some great looking defaults including a Monokai color scheme and custom prompt...

    38 Cmder alternatives
    Cmder screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • clink
    • ConEmu
    • Windows Command Prompt
    • PowerShell

    Properties

    1.  Customizable
    2.  Lightweight
    3.  Support for Themes
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  No registration required
    6.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions

    Features

    1.  Tabbed interface
    2.  Command line/bash
    3.  Portable
    4.  ANSI color support
    5.  Autocompletion
    6.  Windows Explorer Extension
    7.  Command line interface
    8.  Built-in SSH client
    Cmder iconTess Icon

    Cmder VS Tess

    Is Cmder a good alternative to Tess?
     
  6. iTerm2 icon
     166 likes

    iTerm2 is a replacement for Terminal and the successor to iTerm. It works on Macs with macOS 10.10 or newer. iTerm2 brings the terminal into the modern age with features you never knew you always wanted.

    79 iTerm2 alternatives
    By Itself

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  SSH
    2.  Integrated Search
    3.  Key binding
    4.  Supports Python
    5.  Support for scripting
    6.  Notifications
    7.  Multiple Profiles
    8.  Split windows
    9.  Quake-style
    10.  Multiple languages
    iTerm2 iconTess Icon

    iTerm2 VS Tess

    Is iTerm2 a good alternative to Tess?
     
  7. MobaXterm icon
     217 likes

    MobaXterm is an enhanced terminal app that brings the advanced features of a Unix-like command-line to Windows. It takes the power of Cygwin and wraps it in a sleek, visual interface that's super easy to use, lightweight and portable.

    106 MobaXterm alternatives
    MobaXterm tabbed terminal

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows

    Properties

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions

    Features

    1.  X server
    2.  Support for SFTP
    3.  SSH
    4.  Tabbed interface
    5.  Embedded Xserver
    6.  Portable
    7.  RDP Functionality
    8.  Multiple Terminal
    9.  Support for Multiple protocols
    10.  Built-in File Manager
    11.  Windows Explorer Extension
    12.  Secure Copy (SCP)
    13.  Support for FTP
    MobaXterm iconTess Icon

    MobaXterm VS Tess

    Is MobaXterm a good alternative to Tess?
     
  8. Kitty terminal icon
     46 likes

    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...

    79 Kitty terminal alternatives
    Kitty terminal screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Support for Themes
    3.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions

    Features

    1.  GPU based
    2.  Font Ligature Support
    3.  Split-screen view
    4.  Command line interface
    5.  Tiling Layouts
    6.  Full keyboard shortcuts
    7.  Syntax Highlighting
    Kitty terminal iconTess Icon

    Kitty terminal VS Tess

    Is Kitty terminal a good alternative to Tess?
     
  9. Alacritty icon
     56 likes

    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.

    76 Alacritty alternatives
    Alacritty screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Support for Themes
    3.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions

    Features

    1.  GPU Support
    2.  No input delay
    3.  Portable
    4.  Command line interface
    5.  Support for scripting
    Alacritty iconTess Icon

    Alacritty VS Tess

    Is Alacritty a good alternative to Tess?
     
  10. Terminator icon
     162 likes

    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.

    84 Terminator alternatives
    Terminator is running Vim, Bash, and Python side by side.

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • GNOME

    Properties

    1.  Support for Themes
    2.  Lightweight
    3.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions

    Features

    1.  Split-screen view
    2.  Function Key Shortcuts
    3.  Tiling Layouts
    4.  Split windows
    5.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    6.  Multiple Terminal
    Terminator iconTess Icon

    Terminator VS Tess

    Is Terminator a good alternative to Tess?
     
  11. GNOME Terminal icon
     157 likes

    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.

    67 GNOME Terminal alternatives
    GNOME Terminal screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • GNOME

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Command line interface
    2.  Background transparency
    GNOME Terminal iconTess Icon

    GNOME Terminal VS Tess

    Is GNOME Terminal a good alternative to Tess?
     
  12. KiTTY icon
     183 likes

    KiTTY is an opensource terminal emulator, forked from PuTTY , that adds many extra features to the original software.

    88 KiTTY alternatives
    transparency settings

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Windows

    Top KiTTY Features

    1.  SSH
    2.  Session Management
    3.  Portable
    4.  Auto-login
    5.  Ssh tunnel
    6.  Multiple Browser Tabs
    7.  Command line interface
    8.  VPS
    9.  Auto-saving
    10.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
    11.  Built-in editor
    KiTTY iconTess Icon

    KiTTY VS Tess

    Is KiTTY a good alternative to Tess?
     
12 of 55 Tess alternatives