Best Terminal Emulators in 2026
Updated
40 terminal emulators ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
40ranked
1free plans on this page
$169.99/molowest paid tier
7 Oct 2026last checked
Terminal Emulators, one module each. A lit port is something its maker publishes; 0 of the 15 on this page have a public API.
- 26 mintty API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.2
- 27 Tera Term API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.2
- 28 Terminator API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.2
- 29 xterm API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.2
- 30 HyperACCESS API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1$169.99/mo
- 31 LXTerminal API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 32 Mousepad API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 33 Ptyxis API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 34 QTerminal API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 35 Terminology API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 36 Tilda API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 37 Yakuake API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.1
- 38 Cool Retro Term API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.0Free
- 39 GNOME Console API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.0
- 40 Sakura API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 5.0
Compare all 15 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Supported platforms | Split panes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | mintty | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | Windows | No |
| 27 | Tera Term | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | windows | — |
| 28 | Terminator | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux | Yes |
| 29 | xterm | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | linux, macos, windows | No |
| 30 | HyperACCESS | 5.1 | No | $169.99/mo | No | — | Windows | — |
| 31 | LXTerminal | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | linux | No |
| 32 | Mousepad | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | linux | — |
| 33 | Ptyxis | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux | — |
| 34 | QTerminal | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | linux, macos | Yes |
| 35 | Terminology | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux | Yes |
| 36 | Tilda | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux | — |
| 37 | Yakuake | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux | Yes |
| 38 | Cool Retro Term | 5.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | linux, macos | — |
| 39 | GNOME Console | 5.0 | No | — | Yes | — | linux | — |
| 40 | Sakura | 5.0 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux | — |
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