Terminal Emulators Comparison

Open Source Terminal Emulators Comparison

Objective comparison of open source terminals sourced from official documentation.

Click column headers to sort.

Quick Comparison

Terminal GPU Ligatures Tabs Splits True Color Images Platform
Alacritty [x] OpenGL [ ] [ ] [ ] [x] [ ] macOS, Linux, Windows, BSD
Foot [ ] CPU [x] [ ] [ ] [x] [x] Sixel Linux (Wayland)
Ghostty [x] Metal/OpenGL [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] Kitty macOS, Linux
GNOME Terminal [ ] [x] [x] [ ] [x] [ ] Linux
Hyper [!] Electron [x] [x] [x] [x] [ ] macOS, Linux, Windows
iTerm2 [x] Metal [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] iTerm2 macOS
Kitty [x] OpenGL [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] Kitty macOS, Linux, BSD
Konsole [ ] [x] [x] [x] [x] [ ] Linux, BSD
Rio [x] WebGPU [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] Sixel macOS, Linux, Windows
st [ ] [x] [ ] [ ] [x] [ ] Linux, BSD
Tabby [x] Electron [x] [x] [x] [x] [ ] macOS, Linux, Windows
Terminator [ ] [x] [x] [x] [x] [ ] Linux
Terminology [!] Optional [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] Images/Video Linux, BSD
Tilix [ ] [x] [x] [x] [x] [ ] Linux
urxvt [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [x] [ ] Linux, BSD
WezTerm [x] WebGPU [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] iTerm2 macOS, Linux, Windows, BSD
Windows Terminal [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] Sixel Windows
xterm [ ] [ ] [x] [ ] [x] [ ] Linux, BSD

Full Comparison

Features & Platform Support

Terminal GPU Accel Ligatures Tabs Splits True Color Images Protocol macOS Linux Windows BSD
Alacritty [x] OpenGL [ ] [ ] [ ] [x] [ ] - [x] [x] [x] [x]
Foot [ ] CPU [x] [ ] [ ] [x] [x] Sixel [ ] [x] [ ] [ ]
Ghostty [x] Metal/OpenGL [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] Kitty [x] [x] [~] [ ]
GNOME Terminal [ ] [x] [x] [ ] [x] [ ] - [ ] [x] [ ] [ ]
Hyper [!] Electron [x] [x] [x] [x] [ ] - [x] [x] [x] [ ]
iTerm2 [x] Metal [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] iTerm2 [x] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Kitty [x] OpenGL [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] Kitty [x] [x] [ ] [x]
Konsole [ ] [x] [x] [x] [x] [ ] - [ ] [x] [ ] [x]
Rio [x] WebGPU [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] Sixel [x] [x] [x] [ ]
st [ ] [x] [ ] [ ] [x] [ ] - [ ] [x] [ ] [x]
Tabby [x] Electron [x] [x] [x] [x] [ ] - [x] [x] [x] [ ]
Terminator [ ] [x] [x] [x] [x] [ ] - [ ] [x] [ ] [ ]
Terminology [!] Optional [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] Images/Video [ ] [x] [ ] [x]
Tilix [ ] [x] [x] [x] [x] [ ] - [ ] [x] [ ] [ ]
urxvt [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [x] [ ] - [ ] [x] [ ] [x]
WezTerm [x] WebGPU [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] iTerm2 [x] [x] [x] [x]
Windows Terminal [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] Sixel [ ] [ ] [x] [ ]
xterm [ ] [ ] [x] [ ] [x] [ ] - [ ] [x] [ ] [x]

Advanced Features

Terminal Scrollback Search Multiplexer Shell Integration Hyperlinks Session Restore Privacy
Alacritty Limited [ ] External [ ] [x] [ ] No telemetry
Foot Limited [x] External [ ] [x] [ ] No telemetry
Ghostty Unlimited [x] External [x] [x] [ ] No telemetry
GNOME Terminal Limited [x] External [ ] [x] [ ] No telemetry
Hyper Limited [x] External [ ] [x] [ ] No telemetry
iTerm2 Unlimited [x] [ ] [x] [x] [x] Optional analytics
Kitty Unlimited [x] External [x] [x] [ ] No telemetry
Konsole Unlimited [x] External [ ] [x] [x] No telemetry
Rio Limited [ ] External [ ] [x] [ ] No telemetry
st Limited [ ] External [ ] [ ] [ ] No telemetry
Tabby Unlimited [x] External [ ] [x] [x] No telemetry
Terminator Limited [x] External [ ] [x] [ ] No telemetry
Terminology Unlimited [x] External [ ] [x] [ ] No telemetry
Tilix Limited [x] External [ ] [x] [x] No telemetry
urxvt Limited [ ] External [ ] [ ] [ ] No telemetry
WezTerm Unlimited [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] No telemetry
Windows Terminal Limited [x] External [ ] [x] [ ] No telemetry
xterm Limited [ ] External [ ] [ ] [ ] No telemetry

Performance

Terminal Startup Memory (Idle) Latency Throughput License
Alacritty ~50ms ~30MB Very Low Highest Apache-2.0 / MIT
Foot Very Fast Very Low Very Low High MIT
Ghostty <100ms ~50MB Low High MIT
GNOME Terminal Moderate Low Moderate Moderate GPL-3.0
Hyper ~150ms+ High Moderate Moderate MIT
iTerm2 Not spec Higher Moderate Moderate GPL-2.0
Kitty ~100ms Not spec Best (Linux) 134.55 MB/s GPL-3.0
Konsole Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate GPL-2.0
Rio Fast Not spec Low Good MIT
st Very Fast Minimal Very Low High MIT
Tabby Moderate High Moderate Good MIT
Terminator Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate GPL-2.0
Terminology Fast Moderate Low Good BSD-2-Clause
Tilix Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate MPL-2.0
urxvt Very Fast Very Low Low High GPL-3.0
WezTerm ~150ms ~80MB Low Good MIT
Windows Terminal Fast Moderate Low Good MIT
xterm Fast Very Low Very Low Good X11 (MIT-style)

Configuration

Terminal Format Themes Custom Hot Reload
Alacritty TOML 234+ ext [x] [x]
Foot INI Minimal [x] [x]
Ghostty key=value 100+ [x] [x]
GNOME Terminal GUI Built-in [x] [ ]
Hyper JS Many [x] [x]
iTerm2 GUI/plist Many [x] [x]
Kitty kitty.conf 300+ [x] [x]
Konsole GUI Many [x] [ ]
Rio TOML Many [x] [x]
st C header Patches [x] [ ]
Tabby GUI/YAML Many [x] [x]
Terminator Config file Built-in [x] [ ]
Terminology Config file Built-in [x] [ ]
Tilix GUI/JSON Built-in [x] [ ]
urxvt .Xresources External [x] [ ]
WezTerm Lua Many [x] [x]
Windows Terminal JSON Many [x] [x]
xterm .Xresources Minimal [x] [ ]

Development

Terminal Language First Release Latest Stars License
Alacritty Rust Jan 2017 0.16.1 High Apache-2.0 / MIT
Foot C 2020 Active Moderate MIT
Ghostty Zig Dec 2024 1.2.3 41.4k MIT
GNOME Terminal C 1999 Active N/A GPL-3.0
Hyper JavaScript 2016 Active 43k+ MIT
iTerm2 Objective-C 2009 Active High GPL-2.0
Kitty Python/C/Go Oct 2017 0.45.0 30.7k GPL-3.0
Konsole C++ 1997 Active N/A GPL-2.0
Rio Rust 2023 0.2.x Active MIT
st C 2009 Active Moderate MIT
Tabby TypeScript 2017 Active 61k+ MIT
Terminator Python 2007 Active Moderate GPL-2.0
Terminology C (EFL) 2012 Active Moderate BSD-2-Clause
Tilix D 2015 Active Moderate MPL-2.0
urxvt C/Perl 1997 Low activity N/A GPL-3.0
WezTerm Rust 2018 Active High MIT
Windows Terminal C++ 2019 Active 95k+ MIT
xterm C 1984 Active N/A X11 (MIT-style)

Unique Features

Terminal Differentiators
Alacritty Performance-first, minimal by design, created vtebench tool
Foot Wayland-native, CPU rendering (no GPU), server/daemon mode, extremely lightweight
Ghostty Native UI (SwiftUI/GTK4), libghostty architecture, Mitchell Hashimoto creation
GNOME Terminal Default GNOME terminal, simple and reliable, VTE-based
Hyper Electron-based, web technologies, highly extensible via plugins
iTerm2 macOS native, most popular Mac terminal, extensive features
Kitty Creator of Kitty Graphics Protocol, best latency on Linux, kittens (plugins)
Konsole KDE integration, embedded in Kate/Dolphin, profiles system
Rio WebGPU rendering, browser support via WebAssembly, RetroArch shaders
st Suckless philosophy, minimal code, configured via C source, extremely lightweight
Tabby SSH/serial client, Zmodem support, connection manager
Terminator GTK-based, tiling/splitting focus, broadcast input to multiple panes
Terminology EFL-based, media support (images/video/music), translucent background
Tilix GTK3 tiling, session management, Quake mode, drag-and-drop layouts
urxvt Perl extensible, client/daemon model, extremely lightweight
WezTerm Multiplexer built-in, Lua scripting, cross-platform consistency
Windows Terminal Microsoft official, WSL integration, GPU text rendering
xterm Classic X11 terminal, VT420 emulation, highly configurable, battle-tested since 1984
Legend: [x] Yes [ ] No [~] Planned [!] Partial

Last updated: 2026-01-14

Coverage: 18 open source terminal emulators compared across features, performance, configuration, and development.

Sources

Terminal Official Documentation Repository
Alacritty alacritty.org github.com/alacritty/alacritty
Foot codeberg.org/dnkl/foot codeberg.org/dnkl/foot
Ghostty ghostty.org/docs github.com/ghostty-org/ghostty
GNOME Terminal help.gnome.org gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-terminal
Hyper hyper.is github.com/vercel/hyper
iTerm2 iterm2.com github.com/gnachman/iTerm2
Kitty sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty
Konsole konsole.kde.org github.com/KDE/konsole
Rio rioterm.com github.com/raphamorim/rio
st st.suckless.org git.suckless.org/st
Tabby tabby.sh github.com/Eugeny/tabby
Terminator gnome-terminator.org github.com/gnome-terminator/terminator
Terminology enlightenment.org github.com/borisfaure/terminology
Tilix gnunn1.github.io/tilix-web github.com/gnunn1/tilix
urxvt wiki.archlinux.org cvs.schmorp.de
WezTerm wezterm.org github.com/wezterm/wezterm
Windows Terminal learn.microsoft.com github.com/microsoft/terminal
xterm invisible-island.net/xterm invisible-island.net/xterm