Windows Command Prompt Alternatives

Windows Command Prompt is described as 'Command Prompt, also known as cmd.exe or cmd (after its executable file name), is the command-line interpreter on Windows NT, Windows CE, OS/2 and eComStation operating systems. It is the counterpart of COMMAND' and is a popular terminal emulator in the os & utilities category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Windows Command Prompt for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, BSD and clink apps. The best Windows Command Prompt alternative is ConEmu, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Windows Command Prompt are cmder, Tabby Terminal, PowerShell and MobaXterm.

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

Windows Command Prompt alternatives page was last updated

Windows Command Prompt

Paid • Proprietary
Terminal Emulator

Command Prompt, also known as cmd.exe or cmd (after its executable file name), is the command-line interpreter on Windows...

More about Windows Command Prompt

ConEmu
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Windows
51 ConEmu alternatives
Windows console emulator with tabs, which presents multiple consoles and simple GUI applications as one customizable GUI window with various features.
- - ConEmu is the most popular Windows alternative to Windows Command Prompt.
- - ConEmu is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Windows Command Prompt.
Suggest and vote on features
ConEmu Features
1. PortableConEmu can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
2. Command line interfaceConEmu either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
Tabbed interface
Shell integration
Quake-style
ANSI color support
Customizable
Split-screen view
Multi-tabs
Multiple window layouts
Remote Debugging
Kubernetes
Comments about ConEmu as a Alternative to Windows Command Prompt
Almost everyone thinks ConEmu is a great Windows Command Prompt alternative.
Guest
ComEmu is the easiest one to handle commands
Positive comment•
2

Guest
tabbed console with dynamic resizing, global shortcuts, window split, etc etc
Positive comment•
2
cmder
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Windows
clink
ConEmu
Windows Command Prompt
PowerShell
37 cmder alternatives
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...
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cmder Features
1. Lightweightcmder consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Portablecmder can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
3. Windows Explorer Extensioncmder can extend Windows Explorer in various ways, for example add context menu options, etc..
4. Extensible by Plugins/Extensionscmder can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
5. Command line interfacecmder either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
Customizable
Command line/bash
Tabbed interface
ANSI color support
Built-in SSH client
Comments about cmder as a Alternative to Windows Command Prompt
Almost everyone thinks cmder is a great Windows Command Prompt alternative.
Guest
yes it is because I use it all the time and it's better then CMD
Positive comment•
-1

Guest
Based on ConEmu with sane defaults and some bells and whistles.
Positive comment•
0
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.
- - Tabby Terminal is the most popular Mac & Linux alternative to Windows Command Prompt.
Suggest and vote on features
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
Comments about PowerShell as a Alternative to Windows Command Prompt
Most users think PowerShell is a great Windows Command Prompt alternative.
Guest
Powershell has more features than command prompt. One of its biggest ups is that it allows scripting.
Positive comment•
-1
MobaXterm
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Proprietary
Terminal Emulator
SSH Client
Windows
98 MobaXterm alternatives
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.
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MobaXterm Features
1. PortableMobaXterm can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
2. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsMobaXterm can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
3. Windows Explorer ExtensionMobaXterm can extend Windows Explorer in various ways, for example add context menu options, etc..
Support for SFTP
SSH
X server
Tabbed interface
Embedded Xserver
RDP Functionality
Multiple Terminal
Support for Multiple protocols
Built-in SSH client
Built-in File Manager
Comments about MobaXterm as a Alternative to Windows Command Prompt
pros, cons and recent comments
Guest
It works independently of it
Positive comment•
0
Windows Terminal
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
Windows
88 Windows Terminal alternatives
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...
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Windows Terminal Features
1. Command line interfaceWindows Terminal either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
2. Support for scriptingWindows Terminal supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
3. Support for ThemesYou can use themes and templates to change the look and feel of Windows Terminal.
Tabbed interface
Multiple shells
WSL integreation
Background transparency
Configured in JSON
Customizable
Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
Emoji Text support
Multiple window layouts
Multi-tabs
KiTTY
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Terminal Emulator
SSH Client
Windows
81 KiTTY alternatives
KiTTY is an opensource terminal emulator, forked from PuTTY , that adds many extra features to the original software.
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KiTTY Features
1. PortableKiTTY can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
2. Command line interfaceKiTTY either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
SSH
Session Management
Ssh tunnel
Multiple Browser Tabs
Auto-login
VPS
Auto-saving
Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
Built-in editor
Comments about KiTTY as a Alternative to Windows Command Prompt
pros, cons and recent comments
Guest
Putty is remote console to a remote Linux/Unix machine. Cmd is local WIndows conssole.
Negative comment•
0
Cygwin
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Shell
Windows
31 Cygwin alternatives
Cygwin is a Unix-like environment and command-line interface for Microsoft Windows. Cygwin provides native integration of Windows-based applications, data, and other system resources with applications, software tools, and data of the Unix-like environment.
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Cygwin Features
1. Command line interfaceCygwin either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
Linux on Windows
SSH
POSIX-compatible
ANSI color support
Runtime environment
Opinions about Cygwin as a Alternative to Windows Command Prompt
Some users think Cygwin is a great Windows Command Prompt alternative, some don't.
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
MinGW
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Windows
Linux
BSD
24 MinGW alternatives
MinGW ("Minimalistic GNU for Windows") is a port of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and GNU Binutils. It provides a complete Open Source programming toolset which is suitable for the development of native MS-Windows (x86) applications, which do not depend on any...
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MinGW Features
1. PortableMinGW can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
C++
Cross Compiler
C support
GNU/linux-libre
Native application compiler