Side by side
Terminalz vs tmux
Both stand on terminal multiplexers. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan iPhoneLinuxMac+2
Choose Terminalz if you want a free, self-hosted way to access terminal sessions from multiple machines in a browser, with tmux support and Herdr mirroring. Look elsewhere if you need more than 500 lines of phone scrollback or 2,000 lines on desktop.
Visit Terminalz Free plan APILinuxMac+1
tmux organizes terminal work into persistent sessions, windows, and panes, with support for shared sessions. Building from source requires the listed development dependencies.
Visit tmuxThe facts
| Terminalz | tmux | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | iPhone, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | Free or on request |
| Plans published | None | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | github.com | github.com |
| On terminal multiplexers | #19 of 29 | #15 of 29 |
Terminalz: what it does well
- Connect any number of uniquely named machines to one web account.
- Mirrors Herdr sessions and layout, or exposes local tmux sessions.
- Supports bidirectional terminal streaming with focus-based writing and resizing.
- Agents use outbound authenticated WSS, without an inbound machine port.
- Terminal output and replay checkpoints remain bounded and memory-only.
What to know first
- The control plane must be self-hosted using Docker Compose.
- The native iPhone and iPad client requires building with Xcode.
- Phone scrollback is limited to 500 lines; desktop scrollback to 2,000.
- Public hostnames require Google OAuth configuration and an allowed email.
tmux: what it does well
- Sessions persist after detachment or disconnection.
- Windows can be split into rectangular panes.
- Multiple instances can share a session.
- Available on Linux, macOS, and BSD systems.
- Free, with no paid tiers stated.
What to know first
- Building requires several libraries and tools.
- Binary packages are available only on some platforms.
- Persistence is local.
Alternatives to Terminalz Alternatives to tmux The whole list