Side by side
mintty vs PuTTY
Both stand on terminal emulators. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan Windows
Choose mintty if you need a Windows terminal for Cygwin, MSYS, MSYS2, related projects, or WSL, with broad text, graphics, and window options. Look elsewhere if you need PuTTY-style networking built into the terminal or require a platform other than Windows.
Visit mintty Free plan LinuxWindows
Visit PuTTY The facts
| mintty | PuTTY | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Windows | Linux, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | mintty.github.io | chiark.greenend.org.uk |
| On terminal emulators | #21 of 40 | #17 of 40 |
mintty: what it does well
- Supports xterm-compatible emulation and DEC screen controls.
- Renders Unicode, bidirectional text, Arabic shaping, and emoji.
- Offers virtual tabs, session switching, fullscreen, and transparency.
- Settings can be stored in a text file without registry entries.
- Available by default in Cygwin and MSYS2, and included with Git for Windows.
What to know first
- Does not include PuTTY's networking functionality.
- Pseudo-terminal mode can have Windows console input/output interworking problems.
- Available for Windows only.