Best Terminal Emulators in 2026
Updated
40ranked
3free plans on this page
$79.99/molowest paid tier
9 Oct 2026last checked
3 of the 15 here have a free tier you can use, 0 have open-source code on record, and 0 have full bars: free, open, on most of your devices and documented.
| # | App | Signal | Free tier | Open code | Devices | From | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | RioWindows · Mac · Linux | Two bars | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.6 |
| 27 | MactermMac · Self-hosted | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 28 | QTerminalMac · Linux | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 5.4 | |
| 29 | GuakeLinux | One bar | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 5.2 | |
| 30 | LXTerminalLinux | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 31 | minttyWindows | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 32 | PtyxisLinux | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 33 | Tera TermWindows | One bar | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 5.2 | |
| 34 | TerminologyLinux | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 35 | TildaLinux | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 36 | YakuakeLinux | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 37 | GNOME ConsoleLinux | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.1 |
| 38 | SakuraLinux | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.1 |
| 39 | ZOCWindows · Mac | One bar | — | — | 2 of 6 | $79.99/mo | 5.0 |
| 40 | HyperACCESSWindows | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | $169.99/mo | 4.8 |
Compare all 15 in a table
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Supported platforms | Split panes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Rio | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | macOS, Windows, Linux | Yes |
| 27 | Macterm | 5.4 | No | — | Yes | — | macOS | Yes |
| 28 | QTerminal | 5.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | linux, macos | Yes |
| 29 | Guake | 5.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | linux | Yes |
| 30 | LXTerminal | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | linux | No |
| 31 | mintty | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | Windows | No |
| 32 | Ptyxis | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux | — |
| 33 | Tera Term | 5.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | windows | — |
| 34 | Terminology | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux | Yes |
| 35 | Tilda | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux | — |
| 36 | Yakuake | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux | Yes |
| 37 | GNOME Console | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | linux | — |
| 38 | Sakura | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | Linux | — |
| 39 | ZOC | 5.0 | No | $79.99/mo | No | — | Windows, macOS | — |
| 40 | HyperACCESS | 4.8 | No | $169.99/mo | No | — | Windows | — |
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