Free and open first
Best Command-Line Shells in 2026
- 27 apps
- Research read 9 Oct 2026
- How the order is worked out
- 1
Avidemux
Free plan Open source LinuxMacWeb+1 - 2
Elvish
Free plan LinuxMacWindows - 3
4DOS
Free plan Windows - 4
Fish
Free plan LinuxMacWindows - 5
Bash
Free plan Linux - 6
BusyBox ash
Free plan Linux - 7
Hilbish
Free plan LinuxMacWindows - 8
KornShell (ksh93u+m)
Free plan AndroidLinuxMac - 9
Nushell
Free plan LinuxMacWindows - 10
Dash
Free plan Linux - 11
MirBSD Korn Shell (mksh)
Free plan AndroidLinuxMac - 12
Murex
Free plan LinuxMacWindows - 13
PowerShell
Free plan LinuxMacWindows - 14
Es shell
Free plan - 15
FreeCOM
Free plan - 16
Ion Shell
Free plan Linux - 17
loksh
Free plan Linux - 18
scsh (Scheme Shell)
Free plan LinuxMacWindows - 19
Smoosh
Free plan LinuxMacWeb - 20
Yash
Free plan LinuxMacWindows - 21
Zsh
Free plan LinuxMacWindows - 22
Oil Shell
Free plan Linux - 23
OpenBSD KornShell (ksh)
Free plan - 24
rc shell
Free plan - 25
tcsh
Free plan Linux
#1Places #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 on this list can be bought by the makers of the software on it. See the price