An SSH client is a software program which uses the secure shell protocol to connect to a remote computer. This article compares a selection of notable clients.
Name | Developer | Initial release | Platform | Latest release | License | GUI | TUI/CLI | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Version | Date | |||||||
AbsoluteTelnet | Celestial Software (Brian Pence) | 1996 | Windows | 11.24 [1] | 2020-08-13 | Proprietary | ||
Bitvise SSH Client | Bitvise Limited | 2001 | Windows | 9.32 [2] [3] | 2023-12-20 | Proprietary | ||
ConnectBot | Kenny Root Jeffrey Sharkey | 2007-11 [lower-alpha 1] | Android | 1.9.10 [4] | 2023-12-21 | Apache-2.0 | ? | ? |
Dropbear | Matt Johnston | 2003-04-06 | AIX | 2024.84 [5] | 2024-04-04 | MIT | ||
BSD | ||||||||
Cygwin | ||||||||
Linux | ||||||||
HP-UX | ||||||||
iOS | ||||||||
Maemo | ||||||||
macOS | ||||||||
Solaris | ||||||||
eSSH Client | Ecode Software | 2002-07 | BSD | 4.2.0 [6] | 2007-01-15 | Proprietary | ? | ? |
Linux | ||||||||
macOS | ||||||||
Solaris | ||||||||
Windows | ||||||||
lsh | Niels Möller | 1999-05-23 | BSD | 2.1 [7] | 2013-06-26 | GPL-2.0-or-later | ||
Linux | ||||||||
macOS | ||||||||
Solaris | ||||||||
OpenSSH [lower-alpha 2] | The OpenBSD project | 1999-12-01 [lower-alpha 3] | AIX | 9.7 [8] | 2024-03-11 | BSD | ||
Android | ||||||||
BSD | ||||||||
Cygwin | ||||||||
Linux | ||||||||
HP-UX | ||||||||
iOS | ||||||||
Maemo | ||||||||
OpenVMS | ||||||||
macOS | ||||||||
Solaris | ||||||||
Windows | ||||||||
z/OS | ||||||||
PuTTY | Simon Tatham | 1999-01-22 | BSD | 0.81 [9] | 2024-04-15 | MIT | ||
Linux | ||||||||
macOS | ||||||||
Solaris | ||||||||
Windows | ||||||||
SecureCRT | VanDyke Software | 1998-06 | Linux | 9.3.1 [10] | 2022-12-06 | Proprietary | ||
macOS | 9.3.1 [10] | 2022-12-06 | ||||||
iOS | 2.4.3 [11] | 2021-12-13 | ||||||
Windows | 9.3.1 [10] | 2022-12-06 | ||||||
Tera Term | TeraTerm Project | 2004 [lower-alpha 4] | Windows | 5.2 [12] | 2024-02-28 | BSD-3-Clause | ||
TN3270 Plus | SDI USA, Inc. | 2006 | Windows | 4.0.7 [13] | 2019-02 | Proprietary | ||
TtyEmulator | FCS Software | 2002-05 | Windows | 4.6.0.0 [14] | 2021-03-16 | Proprietary | ||
wolfSSH | wolfSSL | 2016-07-20 [lower-alpha 5] | BSD | 1.4.15 [15] | 2023-12-23 | GPL-3.0-or-later [lower-alpha 6] | ||
Cygwin | ||||||||
Linux | ||||||||
macOS | ||||||||
Solaris | ||||||||
Windows | ||||||||
ZOC Terminal | EmTec, Innovative Software | 1995-07-01 | macOS | 8.08.0 [16] | 2024-04-08 | Proprietary | ||
OS/2 | 4.15 [17] | 2004-08-25 | ||||||
Windows | 8.08.0 [16] | 2024-04-08 |
The operating systems or virtual machines the SSH clients are designed to run on without emulation include several possibilities:
The list is not exhaustive, but rather reflects the most common platforms today.
Name | macOS | Windows | Cygwin | BSD | Linux | Solaris | OpenVMS | z/OS | AIX | HP-UX | iOS | Android | Maemo | Windows Phone |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AbsoluteTelnet | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
Bitvise SSH Client | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
ConnectBot | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Dropbear | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 1] | No | Yes | ? |
eSSH Client | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
lsh | Yes | No | No | Partial [lower-alpha 2] | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
OpenSSH [lower-alpha 3] | Included | Included [lower-alpha 4] | Included | Included | Included [lower-alpha 5] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 1] | Yes | Yes | ? |
PuTTY | Partial | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | No | No | No | Beta |
SecureCRT | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | ? |
SmartFTP | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
Tera Term | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
TN3270 Plus | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
TtyEmulator | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
WinSCP | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes [lower-alpha 1] | No | No | ? |
wolfSSH | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
ZOC Terminal | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
Name | macOS | Windows | Cygwin | BSD | Linux | Solaris | OpenVMS | z/OS | AIX | HP-UX | iOS | Android | Maemo | Windows Phone |
Name | SSH1 (insecure) | SSH2 | Additional protocols | Port forwarding and Tunneling | Session multiplexing [lower-alpha 1] | Kerberos | IPv6 | Terminal | SFTP/SCP | Proxy client [lower-alpha 2] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TELNET | rlogin | Port forwarding | SOCKS [lower-alpha 3] | VPN [lower-alpha 4] | |||||||||
AbsoluteTelnet | yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | SOCKS 4, 5; HTTP |
Bitvise SSH Client | no | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | SOCKS 4, 5 |
Dropbear | no | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
lsh | no | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
OpenSSH [lower-alpha 5] | no [lower-alpha 6] | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ProxyCommand |
PuTTY | yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 7] | Yes | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 8] | SOCKS 4, 5; HTTP; Telnet; Local |
SecureCRT | yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | SOCKS 4, 5; HTTP; Telnet; Generic |
SmartFTP | no | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | SOCKS 4, 5; HTTP |
Tera Term | yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | SCP | SOCKS 4, 5; HTTP; Telnet |
TN3270 Plus | yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | SOCKS 4 |
TtyEmulator | yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | SOCKS 4,4a, 5; HTTP Local |
WinSCP [lower-alpha 9] | no [lower-alpha 10] | Yes | No | No | limited [lower-alpha 11] | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | simple | Yes | SOCKS 4, 5; HTTP; Telnet; Local |
wolfSSH | no | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | simple | Yes | No |
ZOC Terminal | yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes [lower-alpha 12] [lower-alpha 13] | SOCKS 4; 5; HTTP; Jumpserver |
Name | SSH1 (insecure) | SSH2 | Additional protocols | Tunneling | Session multiplexing [lower-alpha 1] | Kerberos | IPv6 | Terminal | SFTP/SCP | Proxy client [lower-alpha 2] | |||
TELNET | rlogin | Port forwarding | SOCKS [lower-alpha 3] | VPN [lower-alpha 4] |
Name | Keyboard mapping | Session tabs | ZMODEM transfers | Find text in buffer | Mouse input support [lower-alpha 1] | Unicode support | URL hyperlinking | Public key authentication | Smart card support | Hardware encryption | FIPS 140-2 validation | Scripting | Shared Database | Auto-reconnect | CA Certificates |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AbsoluteTelnet | full | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Bitvise SSH Client | ? | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | ? | Partial | Yes | No | Yes | No |
OpenSSH [lower-alpha 2] | ? | No | No | ? | Yes [lower-alpha 3] | Yes | not native [lower-alpha 4] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial [lower-alpha 5] | No | No | ? | Yes [lower-alpha 6] |
PuTTY | No | No [lower-alpha 7] | No | No | Yes | Yes | No [lower-alpha 8] | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No [lower-alpha 9] |
SecureCRT | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ? | ? |
SmartFTP | Partial | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | AES-NI | Yes | No | ? | ? | ? |
Tera Term | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | ? | ? |
TN3270 Plus | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
TtyEmulator | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
wolfSSH | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
ZOC Terminal | full | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
This table lists standard authentication key algorithms implemented by SSH clients. Some SSH implementations include both server and client implementations and support custom non-standard authentication algorithms not listed in this table.
Name | ssh-dss [lower-alpha 1] | ssh-rsa | RSA with SHA-2 | ECDSA with SHA-2 | EdDSA | Security keys | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
rsa-sha2-256 | rsa-sha2-512 | ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 | ecdsa-sha2-nistp384 | ecdsa-sha2-nistp521 | ssh-ed25519 | ssh-ed448 | sk-ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 | sk-ssh-ed25519 | |||
AbsoluteTelnet | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Bitvise SSH Client | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
Dropbear | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ||
lsh | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
OpenSSH [lower-alpha 2] | Yes [lower-alpha 3] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
PuTTY | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No [lower-alpha 4] | No [lower-alpha 4] |
SecureCRT | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ||
SmartFTP | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Tera Term | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
TN3270 Plus | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
TtyEmulator | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
WinSCP | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ||
wolfSSH | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
ZOC Terminal [lower-alpha 5] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
Name | ssh-dss | ssh-rsa | rsa-sha2-256 | rsa-sha2-512 | ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 | ecdsa-sha2-nistp384 | ecdsa-sha2-nistp521 | ssh-ed25519 | ssh-ed448 | sk-ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 | sk-ssh-ed25519 |
RSA with SHA-2 | ECDSA with SHA-2 | EdDSA | Security keys |
ssh-dss
is based on Digital Signature Algorithm which is sensitive to entropy, secrecy, and uniqueness of its random signature value.The Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) is a cryptographic network protocol for operating network services securely over an unsecured network. Its most notable applications are remote login and command-line execution.
Telnet is a client/server application protocol that provides access to virtual terminals of remote systems on local area networks or the Internet. It is a protocol for bidirectional 8-bit communications. Its main goal was to connect terminal devices and terminal-oriented processes.
rsync is a utility for transferring and synchronizing files between a computer and a storage drive and across networked computers by comparing the modification times and sizes of files. It is commonly found on Unix-like operating systems and is under the GPL-3.0-or-later license.
In computing, the SSH File Transfer Protocol is a network protocol that provides file access, file transfer, and file management over any reliable data stream. It was designed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as an extension of the Secure Shell protocol (SSH) version 2.0 to provide secure file transfer capabilities, and is seen as a replacement of File Transfer Protocol (FTP) due to superior security. The IETF Internet Draft states that, even though this protocol is described in the context of the SSH-2 protocol, it could be used in a number of different applications, such as secure file transfer over Transport Layer Security (TLS) and transfer of management information in VPN applications.
cURL is a computer software project providing a library (libcurl) and command-line tool (curl) for transferring data using various network protocols. The name stands for "Client for URL".
Secure copy protocol (SCP) is a means of securely transferring computer files between a local host and a remote host or between two remote hosts. It is based on the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. "SCP" commonly refers to both the Secure Copy Protocol and the program itself.
PuTTY is a free and open-source terminal emulator, serial console and network file transfer application. It supports several network protocols, including SCP, SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw socket connection. It can also connect to a serial port. The name "PuTTY" has no official meaning.
Far Manager is an orthodox file manager for Microsoft Windows and is a clone of Norton Commander. Far Manager uses the Win32 console and has a keyboard-oriented user interface.
sftp is a command-line interface client program to transfer files using the SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), which runs inside the encrypted Secure Shell connection.
WinSCP is a free and open-source file manager, SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), WebDAV, Amazon S3, and secure copy protocol (SCP) client for Microsoft Windows.
Xming is an X11 display server for Microsoft Windows operating systems, including Windows XP and later.
In computing, SSHFS is a filesystem client to mount and interact with directories and files located on a remote server or workstation over a normal ssh connection. The client interacts with the remote file system via the SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), a network protocol providing file access, file transfer, and file management functionality over any reliable data stream that was designed as an extension of the Secure Shell protocol (SSH) version 2.0.
eSSH Client is a multi task client that supports many different protocols, such as SSH, SFTP, FTP, FTPS, SCP, and RExec. It also supports FTP over SSL. eSSH Client has a rich GUI design that allows multiple access channels at the same time, and has an internal window design that allows all the connections to be viewed from within a main window. It also has a tabbed Secure Shell window with named sessions.
Dropbear is a software package written by Matt Johnston that provides a Secure Shell-compatible server and client. It is designed as a replacement for standard OpenSSH for environments with low memory and processor resources, such as embedded systems. It is a core component of OpenWrt and other router distributions.
AbsoluteTelnet is a software terminal client for Windows that implements Telnet, SSH 1 and 2, SFTP, TAPI Dialup and direct COM port connections. It is commercial software, originally released in 1999 and is still in regular development by Brian Pence of Celestial Software.
ZOC is a popular computer-based terminal emulator and Telnet software client for the Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh macOS operating systems that supports telnet, modem, SSH 1 and 2, ISDN, serial, TAPI, Rlogin and other means of communication. Its terminal emulator supports Xterm emulation with full colors, meta-keys and local printing, VT102, VT220 and several types of ANSI as well as Wyse, TVI, TN3270, and Sun's CDE. It supports full keyboard remapping, scripting in REXX and other languages, and support for named pipes.
SecureCRT is a commercial SSH and Telnet client and terminal emulator by VanDyke Software. Originally a Windows product, VanDyke later added a Mac OS X version in 2010 with release v6.6 and a Linux version in 2011 with release v6.7.
An SSH server is a software program which uses the Secure Shell protocol to accept connections from remote computers. SFTP/SCP file transfers and remote terminal connections are popular use cases for an SSH server.
OpenSSH is a suite of secure networking utilities based on the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol, which provides a secure channel over an unsecured network in a client–server architecture.
Bitvise is a proprietary secure remote access software developed for Windows and available as a client and server. The software is based on the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol, which provides a secure channel over an insecure network in a client-server architecture.