Best Terminal Emulators in 2026
Updated
In short: Tabby is ranked #1 of 38 as of 3 October 2026, ahead of Warp and Contour. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Warp. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Warp at $20/mo.
A terminal emulator can shape how you organize command-line work, connect to remote systems and move between sessions. Tabby, Warp and Contour are among the first entries in this ranking. Compared on supported platforms and SSH support, the options also include split panes and session sync as criteria for managing your everyday environment. GPU acceleration and a scripting API offer further points to assess against your workload and automation needs. Check free-plan availability and paid-from pricing as well, then weigh the listed features against the operating systems and terminal habits already in your development stack.
38 terminal emulators 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 platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tabby | 7.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Windows, macOS, Linux | View |
| 2 | Warp | 7.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $20/mo | Yes | 18 /mo | macOS, Windows, Linux | View |
| 3 | Contour | 7.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Windows | View |
| 4 | WezTerm | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | Windows, macOS, Linux | View |
| 5 |  Windows Terminal | 7.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | — | — | — | View |
| 6 | MobaXterm | 7.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Windows | View |
| 7 | iTerm2 | 7.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | macos | View |
| 8 |  Ghostty | 6.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | macOS, Linux | View |
| 9 | Tabby (formerly Terminus) | 6.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
| 10 | Alacritty | 6.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Linux, macOS, Windows, BSD | View |
| 11 |  PuTTY | 6.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
| 12 | Rio | 6.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | macOS, Windows, Linux | View |
| 13 | ConEmu | 6.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Windows | View |
| 14 | Hyper | 6.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | macos, windows, linux | View |
| 15 | Cmder | 6.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Windows | View |
| 16 |  Terminator | 6.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Linux | View |
| 17 |  Tilix | 6.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | linux | View |
| 18 |  Macterm | 6.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | macOS | View |
| 19 |  Tera Term | 6.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | windows | View |
| 20 | Konsole | 6.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Linux, Windows, macOS | View |
| 21 |  ZOC | 6.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $79.99/mo | No | — | Windows, macOS | View |
| 22 |  foot | 6.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | linux | View |
| 23 | Ptyxis | 5.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Linux | View |
| 24 |  xterm | 5.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | linux, macos, windows | View |
| 25 |  QTerminal | 5.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | linux, macos | 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 terminal emulator is ranked first on Inferse?
Tabby is ranked #1 of 38 with a score of 7.5. Warp is second and Contour third.
How many of these have a free plan?
8 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Warp has the lowest first paid tier we found: $20/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.