xterm Alternatives for Linux

There are many alternatives to xterm for Linux if you are looking for a replacement. The best Linux alternative is Ghostty, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to xterm and many of them are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to xterm are Tabby, Kitty terminal, Alacritty and Konsole.

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Alternatives list

  1. Ghostty icon

    Ghostty

     54 likes
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    Cross-platform terminal emulator balancing speed, platform-native UI, and modern features. Designed for an enhanced interactive CLI environment, offering full standards compliance for seamless integration with shells and CLI tools.

    58 Ghostty alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Nix Package Manager
    • Homebrew
    Ghostty screenshot 1
     

    • Ghostty is the most popular Mac & Linux alternative to xterm.

    • Ghostty is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to xterm.

    • Ghostty is Free and Open Sourcexterm is also Free and Open Source
    • Ghostty is Customizable, Lightweight and Privacy focusedxterm is not according to our users
  2. Tabby icon

    Tabby

     117 likes
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    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

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Tabby screenshot 1
     

    • Tabby is the most popular Windows alternative to xterm.

    • Tabby is Free and Open Sourcexterm is also Free and Open Source
    • Tabby is Customizable and Lightweightxterm is not according to our users
  4. Kitty terminal icon

    Kitty terminal

     56 likes
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    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...

    84 Kitty terminal alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    Kitty terminal screenshot 1
     
  5. Alacritty icon

    Alacritty

     70 likes
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    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.

    84 Alacritty alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Alacritty screenshot 1
     
  6. Konsole icon

    Konsole

     74 likes
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    Konsole is a terminal to run a command shell. It provides a command line interface for directly controlling your computer.

    71 Konsole alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • KDE
    Konsole screenshot 1
     
  7. Terminator icon

    Terminator

     165 likes
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    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.

    89 Terminator alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • GNOME
    Terminator is running Vim, Bash, and Python side by side.
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Terminator as an Alternative to xterm
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Split windows and broadcasting commands across all windows.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    xterm Icon
    Terminator icon
    • Terminator is Free and Open Sourcexterm is also Free and Open Source
    • Terminator is Lightweightxterm is not according to our users
  9. Tess icon

    Tess

     16 likes
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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.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Tess screenshot 1
     
  10. GNOME Terminal icon

    GNOME Terminal

     160 likes
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    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.

    72 GNOME Terminal alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • GNOME
    GNOME Terminal screenshot 1
     
  11. Wave Terminal icon

    Wave Terminal

     15 likes
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    Wave is an open-source, AI-native terminal built for seamless developer workflows with inline rendering, a modern UI, and persistent sessions.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Windows
    Render images inline with Wave plugins.
     
  12. Hyper icon

    Hyper

     81 likes
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    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

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Electron / Atom Shell
    Splitting terminals
     
  13. WezTerm icon

    WezTerm

     20 likes
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    A GPU-accelerated cross-platform terminal emulator and multiplexer written by @wez and implemented in Rust

    101 WezTerm alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    WezTerm screenshot 1
     
  14. Termius icon

    Termius

     36 likes
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    Termius is more than a mere SSH client – it’s a complete command-line solution that’s redefining remote access for sysadmins and network engineers. Securely access Linux or IoT devices and quickly fix issues from the comfort of your couch via laptop or phone.

    56 Termius alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • iPad
    • Flathub
    Termius screenshot 1
     

    • Termius is the most popular iPhone & iPad alternative to xterm.

    • Termius is Freemium and Proprietaryxterm is Free and Open Source
    • Termius is Security-focusedxterm is not according to our users
12 of 48 xterm alternatives