Windows Command Prompt AlternativesTop Terminal Emulators & Shells like Windows Command Prompt

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 Cmder, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Windows Command Prompt are ConEmu, Tabby Terminal, PowerShell and Windows Terminal.

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Windows Command Prompt 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 Windows Command Prompt.

Windows Command Prompt

Terminal Emulator
Paid • Proprietary

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.

More about Windows Command Prompt

Windows Command Prompt alternatives page was last updated Nov 2, 2021

Cmder
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...
37 Cmder alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- Terminal Emulator
Platforms
- Windows
- clink
- ConEmu
- Windows Command Prompt
- PowerShell
Top Cmder Features
1. Customizable
2. Tabbed interface
3. Lightweight
4. Command line/bash
5. Portable
6. Support for Themes
7. Ad-free
8. No registration required
9. Autocompletion
10. Windows Explorer Extension
11. Command line interface
12. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
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Cmder VS Windows Command Prompt
Is Cmder a good alternative to Windows Command Prompt?
Comments about Cmder as an Alternative to Windows Command Prompt

Guest
yes it is because I use it all the time and it's better then CMD
Positive comment •Jun 20, 2015
-1
Guest
Based on ConEmu with sane defaults and some bells and whistles.
Positive comment •Jun 24, 2015
0
- Almost everyone thinks Cmder is a great Windows Command Prompt alternative.
- Cmder is the most popular Windows alternative to Windows Command Prompt.
- Cmder is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Windows Command Prompt.
- Cmder is Free and Open SourceWindows Command Prompt is Paid and Proprietary
- Cmder is Customizable and LightweightWindows Command Prompt is not according to our users

ConEmu
Windows console emulator with tabs, which presents multiple consoles and simple GUI applications as one customizable GUI window with various features.
54 ConEmu alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- Terminal Emulator
Platforms
- Windows
+2
Top ConEmu Features
1. Tabbed interface
2. Shell integration
3. Customizable
4. Quake-style
5. ANSI color support
6. Split-screen view
7. Multi-tabs
8. Portable
9. Multiple window layouts
10. Command line interface
11. Support environment variables
12. Remote Debugging
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ConEmu VS Windows Command Prompt
Is ConEmu a good alternative to Windows Command Prompt?
Comments about ConEmu as an Alternative to Windows Command Prompt

Guest
ComEmu is the easiest one to handle commands
Positive comment •Aug 23, 2018
2
Guest
tabbed console with dynamic resizing, global shortcuts, window split, etc etc
Positive comment •Mar 1, 2017
2
- Almost everyone thinks ConEmu is a great Windows Command Prompt alternative.
- ConEmu is Free and Open SourceWindows Command Prompt is Paid and Proprietary
- ConEmu is CustomizableWindows Command Prompt is not according to our users

Tabby Terminal
Tabby is an infinitely customizable cross-platform terminal app for local shells, serial, SSH and Telnet connections.
94 Tabby Terminal alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Terminal Emulator
- Shell
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
Top Tabby Terminal Features
1. SSH
2. Command line interface
3. Support for SFTP
4. Multiple Servers
5. Customizable
6. Portable
7. Dark Mode
8. Serial-port
9. Syntax Highlighting
10. Ad-free
11. Support for Themes
12. Works Offline
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Tabby Terminal VS Windows Command Prompt
Is Tabby Terminal a good alternative to Windows Command Prompt?
- Tabby Terminal is the most popular Mac & Linux alternative to Windows Command Prompt.
- Tabby Terminal is Free and Open SourceWindows Command Prompt is Paid and Proprietary
- Tabby Terminal is CustomizableWindows Command Prompt is not according to our users

PowerShell
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.
64 PowerShell alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Terminal Emulator
- Shell
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
PowerShell Features
1. Support for scripting
2. PowerShell Scripting
3. Optimized for Windows
4. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
5. Autocompletion
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PowerShell VS Windows Command Prompt
Is PowerShell a good alternative to Windows Command Prompt?
Comments about PowerShell as an Alternative to Windows Command Prompt

Guest
Powershell has more features than command prompt. One of its biggest ups is that it allows scripting.
Positive comment •Aug 7, 2019
-1
- Most users think PowerShell is a great Windows Command Prompt alternative.
- PowerShell is Free and Open SourceWindows Command Prompt is Paid and Proprietary

Windows Terminal
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...
94 Windows Terminal alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- Terminal Emulator
Platforms
- Windows
+3
Top Windows Terminal Features
1. Tabbed interface
2. Multiple shells
3. WSL integreation
4. Background transparency
5. Configured in JSON
6. Customizable
7. Command line interface
8. Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
9. Multiple window layouts
10. Support for scripting
11. Support for Themes
12. Dark Mode
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Windows Terminal VS Windows Command Prompt
Is Windows Terminal a good alternative to Windows Command Prompt?

Cygwin
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.
29 Cygwin alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- Shell
Platforms
- Windows
Cygwin Features
1. Command line interface
2. Linux on Windows
3. SSH
4. POSIX-compatible
5. ANSI color support
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Cygwin VS Windows Command Prompt
Is Cygwin a good alternative to Windows Command Prompt?

MobaXterm
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.
103 MobaXterm alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application types
- Terminal Emulator
- SSH Client
Platforms
- Windows
+7
Top MobaXterm 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. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
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MobaXterm VS Windows Command Prompt
Is MobaXterm a good alternative to Windows Command Prompt?
Comments about MobaXterm as an Alternative to Windows Command Prompt

Guest
It works independently of it
Positive comment •May 29, 2019
0
- MobaXterm is Freemium and ProprietaryWindows Command Prompt is Paid and Proprietary

KiTTY
KiTTY is an opensource terminal emulator, forked from PuTTY , that adds many extra features to the original software.
87 KiTTY alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Terminal Emulator
- SSH Client
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
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KiTTY VS Windows Command Prompt
Is KiTTY a good alternative to Windows Command Prompt?
Comments about KiTTY as an Alternative to Windows Command Prompt

Guest
Putty is remote console to a remote Linux/Unix machine. Cmd is local WIndows conssole.
Negative comment •May 4, 2020
0
- KiTTY is Free and Open SourceWindows Command Prompt is Paid and Proprietary

Hyper
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.
89 Hyper alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Terminal Emulator
- Shell
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Electron / Atom Shell
+3
Top Hyper Features
1. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
2. Command line interface
3. Support for Themes
4. Electron based
5. Split-screen view
6. Clean design
7. Tiling Panes
8. Uses Packages
9. Plugin API
10. Divisible
11. Skinnable
12. Customizable
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Hyper VS Windows Command Prompt
Is Hyper a good alternative to Windows Command Prompt?

MinGW
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...
26 MinGW alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- Compiler
Platforms
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
MinGW Features
1. Portable
2. C++
3. Cross Compiler
4. Native application compiler
5. C support
6. GNU/linux-libre
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MinGW VS Windows Command Prompt
Is MinGW a good alternative to Windows Command Prompt?