Windows Terminal

Windows

Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.3

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely1 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

Windows Terminal is ranked #14 of 40 in terminal emulators on Freedom251, made by Windows Terminal (Redmond, Washington, United States). It runs on Windows. There is a free plan.

Windows Terminal plans and pricing

All plans

Windows Terminal Free Microsoft Store or GitHub distribution · GitHub installation does not automatically update learn.microsoft.com · 2 Oct 2026

Compared on terminal emulators

Free plan: Yes
Supported platforms: Windows
Split panes: Yes
GPU acceleration: Yes
Scripting API: Yes
SSH support: Yes

Best Windows Terminal alternatives

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Two bars Termalin Free tier No. 1$8/mo6.7 Two bars Contour Free tier No. 2Free6.6 Two bars Warp Free tier No. 3$20/mo6.6 Two bars Alacritty Free tier No. 4Free6.5 Two bars Hyper Free tier No. 5Free6.5 Two bars Konsole Free tier No. 6Free6.5

The record

Purpose: Windows Terminal is a host application for command-line shells such as Command Prompt, PowerShell, and bash through WSL.
Tabs and panes: It supports multiple tabs and panes, including running multiple shells side by side.
Shell profiles: It supports command-line applications including PowerShell, Command Prompt, Azure Cloud Shell, WSL distributions, and Git Bash.
Customization: Users can customize themes, text, colors, backgrounds, and keyboard shortcuts.
Rendering and characters: Windows Terminal supports Unicode and UTF-8 characters and uses the GPU to render text.
Tab management: Users can tear tabs out into new windows and drag tabs into existing windows.
Azure integration: Windows Terminal includes an Azure Cloud Shell profile and can save Azure credentials for quicker Cloud Shell sign-in.
WSL integration: Windows Terminal automatically detects installed WSL distributions and creates profiles for them.
Installation: Windows Terminal is available through the Microsoft Store and GitHub releases, with package-manager options including winget, Chocolatey, and Scoop.
Updates: The packaged distribution installed through the MSIX bundle automatically updates through the Store; GitHub installations do not automatically update.
Portable mode: The unpackaged ZIP distribution supports portable mode, which stores settings and runtime state alongside the application.
System requirements: The project repository states that Windows Terminal requires Windows 10 version 2004, build 19041, or later.
Administrator security limit: Windows Terminal does not support mixing administrator-level and non-administrator shells in tabs within the same window, citing security concerns.
Support and feedback: The installation guide directs users to troubleshooting documentation and the GitHub page for reporting bugs or requesting features.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Terminal Emulators in 2026#14 of 40

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Sources

learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/terminal/· checked 2 Oct 2026
learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/terminal/install· checked 2 Oct 2026
learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/terminal/faq· checked 2 Oct 2026
learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/terminal/distributions· checked 2 Oct 2026
github.com/microsoft/terminal/blob/main/README.md· checked 2 Oct 2026