PuTTY Alternatives in 2026: 8 Terminal Clients Compared

PuTTY has been the default answer since 1999 and it is still maintained. But most people looking for an alternative are not looking for something newer — they are looking for something that stops them from opening six windows, and that does not fall over when they plug in a USB-to-serial adapter. Here is an honest comparison of eight options, including what each one gives up.

Where PuTTY actually hurts

• No tabs. Every session is its own window. Twenty devices is twenty windows on the taskbar.
• Sessions in the registry. Saved sessions are not a portable file, so moving machines is a manual chore.
• Serial is functional but bare. No live HEX view, no direction-marked logging, no per-session keyword colouring.
• No file transfer. psftp/pscp are separate executables; ZMODEM is not there at all.
• No scripting story beyond the command line, and no command library.

None of that is a bug — it is a design that has not moved. If it fits you, keep it.

The comparison

Client	SSH / Telnet	Serial	File transfer	Session management	Price
PuTTY	Yes / Yes	Basic	Separate tools	Flat list, registry	Free
KiTTY	Yes / Yes	Basic	Separate tools	Tabs, portable sessions	Free
MobaXterm	Yes / Yes	Yes	SFTP + X server	Tabs, sessions, macros	Free tier + paid
Termius	Yes / Yes	No	SFTP	Cloud-synced, multi-device	Subscription
WindTerm	Yes / Yes	Yes	SFTP + ZMODEM	Tabs, groups	Free / open source
Tabby	Yes / Yes	Plugin	SFTP via plugin	Tabs, splits, themes	Free / open source
SecureCRT	Yes / Yes	Yes	SFTP + ZMODEM	Deep, scriptable	Commercial licence
FlyTerminal	Yes / Yes (+ RLogin, raw TCP)	Yes, with HEX monitor	SFTP + ZMODEM / XMODEM / Kermit	Groups, quick connect, clone	$39 / 1 yr, $99 / 5 yr

Prices and feature sets change. Check each vendor's site before you buy — this table is a starting point, not a procurement document.

Which one should you pick?

• You only ever SSH into three Linux boxes. PuTTY is fine. KiTTY if you want tabs.
• You want a toolbox, not a terminal. MobaXterm — it bundles an X server, RDP and more, at the cost of weight.
• You work across machines and phones. Termius, if a subscription and cloud-synced sessions suit you.
• You want open source and are happy to configure it. WindTerm or Tabby; both are capable, both need tinkering for serial.
• You touch serial consoles and legacy gear regularly. You want ZMODEM, a HEX monitor and grouped sessions without an enterprise quote — that is exactly the shape FlyTerminal was built for.

Moving off PuTTY without pain

1. Export your host keys / known hosts if you care about re-verifying fingerprints.
2. Convert your private keys. PuTTY's .ppk format is not OpenSSH's; most modern clients want OpenSSH keys, so export from PuTTYgen first.
3. Recreate sessions in groups while you still have the old list open — do it once, properly.
4. Re-test serial settings rather than trusting defaults: baud rate, data bits, parity, stop bits and flow control must match the device.

FAQ

Is PuTTY still safe to use?

Yes, it is still maintained. The reasons to move are workflow — tabs, session groups, transfers — not security.

Can I import my PuTTY sessions?

Not directly, because PuTTY keeps them in the Windows registry. Recreate them once in a grouped tree; write down the serial parameters while you are there.

Which alternative supports serial ports best?

For day-to-day console work, look for a live HEX view and direction-marked logging — those are the features that matter when a device is not answering. FlyTerminal, MobaXterm, WindTerm and SecureCRT all do serial; only some show you the raw bytes.

Is there a free option that does everything?

WindTerm and Tabby come closest and cost nothing. The trade-off is configuration time and, for serial, a less polished story.