Best SSH Clients in 2026
Updated
In short: WinSCP is ranked #1 of 34 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Royal TS and XPipe. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Royal TS. The lowest first paid tier on this page is XPipe at $3.33/mo.
For remote access to systems, an SSH client’s protocol support and session tools can shape how it fits your workflow. Compared on supported platforms and protocols, session management, port forwarding, SFTP, and team session sharing, the entries cover practical connection and collaboration considerations. WinSCP leads the ranking, followed by electerm and Tabby; XPipe and WindTerm also appear near the top. Check platform and protocol coverage against your environment, then consider whether you need file transfer, forwarding, or shared sessions. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing offer additional ways to weigh the options.
34 SSH clients ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
| # | Platform | Score | Why | From | Free plan | Paid from | Supported protocols | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WinSCP | 6.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | SSH, SFTP, SCP, FTP, FTPS, WebDAV, WebDAVS, S3 | View |
| 2 | Royal TS | 6.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | SSH, Telnet, RS232, Raw, Rlogin, RDP, VNC, HTTP/HTTPS, FTP, SFTP, SCP | View |
| 3 |  XPipe | 6.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $3.33/mo | Yes | — | SSH, SFTP | View |
| 4 | electerm | 5.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | SSH, SFTP, FTP, Telnet, serial, RDP, VNC, SPICE | View |
| 5 | MobaXterm | 5.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | SSH, SFTP, SCP, FTP, FTPS, Telnet, Rlogin, RSH, RDP, VNC, XDMCP, Mosh, Serial | View |
| 6 | Tabby | 5.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 7 | Termius | 5.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $10/mo | Yes | — | SSH, SFTP, Telnet, Mosh, local terminal | View |
| 8 |  Xftp | 5.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | SSH1, SSH2, SFTP, TELNET, RLOGIN, SERIAL, RDP, FTP | View |
| 9 | SecurSSH | 5.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | €9/mo | Yes | — | SSH, SFTP | View |
| 10 | WindTerm | 5.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | SSH, SFTP, SCP, Telnet, Raw TCP, Serial, XModem, YModem, ZModem | View |
| 11 |  agedu | 5.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | SSH, Telnet, Rlogin, SUPDUP, raw, serial, SFTP, SCP | View |
| 12 | Bitvise SSH Client | 5.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | SSH v2, SFTP v3/v4/v6, SOCKS4, SOCKS4A, SOCKS5, HTTP CONNECT, FTP-to-SFTP bridge, VT-100, xterm, bvterm | View |
| 13 |  SolarWinds Free SFTP/SCP Server | 5.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | SSH, Telnet, SCP, SFTP | View |
| 14 |  Tera Term | 5.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 15 |  Xshell | 5.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | SSH1, SSH2, SFTP, TELNET, RLOGIN, SERIAL, RDP | View |
| 16 |  Ásbrú Connection Manager | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | SSH, SFTP, RDP, VNC, Telnet, FTP | View |
| 17 | Bast | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | SSH, SFTP | View |
| 18 | ConnectBot | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | SSH, Telnet | View |
| 19 | Core Shell | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | SSH/OpenSSH, SFTP, serial | View |
| 20 | KiTTY | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | SSH, Telnet | View |
| 21 | mRemoteNG | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | RDP, VNC, SSH, Telnet, HTTP/HTTPS, rlogin, raw sockets, PowerShell remoting, AnyDesk, SFTP, SCP | View |
| 22 | Secure ShellFish | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | SSH, SFTP | View |
| 23 |  SmarTTY | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | SSH, SCP | View |
| 24 |  SuperPuTTY | 5.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | SSH, SCP, RDP | View |
| 25 | Blink Shell | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | SSH, Mosh, SFTP, SCP | View |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which SSH client is ranked first on Inferse?
WinSCP is ranked #1 of 34 with a score of 6.8. Royal TS is second and XPipe third.
How many of these have a free plan?
10 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, XPipe has the lowest first paid tier we found: $3.33/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it. Paid placements never change a rank.