Top 10 PuTTY SSH and Telnet Clients Alternatives

PuTTY is an SSH and telnet client. Simon Tatham develops it for the Windows platform. This is a software which is open source and it is available with source code. It can support some network protocols and those include SCP, SSH, Telnet, rlogin and raw socket connection. Also, it can connect to a serial port.

PuTTY can support a lot of variations on the secure remote terminal. It provides user control over the SSH encryption key and protocol version, alternate chippers including RC4, AES, 3DES, Blowfish, DES, and public key authentication.

The reason why you come here maybe because you need some information about the alternatives of PuTTY SSH and Telnet Clients. Well, you come to the right place because here we have collected the top 10 Putty SSH and Telnet Clients alternatives. What are they? You are able to see in the list below including the features of each tool.

1. KiTTY

If you are looking for Putty SSH and Telnet clients alternatives, one of the options that you are able to use is KiTTY. It is the source code of PuTTY which was copied and changed some time ago to be able to develop this separate utility. The copy was taken, so the original program has been revised and updated. Periodically, KiTTY is also updated so that this tool has diverged gradually from the functionality of PuTTY.

This tool is only available for Windows and it is free. However, even though the interface of KiTTY only works on Windows, you are still able to log into remote devices which can run Windows, Unix, Linux and Mac OS. KiTTY has features which are missing from PuTTY. Here is the list of features which are offered by KiTTY.

• This tool has features of Sessions filter, Portability and Automatic password.
• This tool has features of ‘send to the tray’ and an icon for each session.
• This tool can permit you to be able to run a locally saved script on a remote session.
• You are able to start a duplicate session quickly.
• This tool is able to be integrated with pscp.exe and WinSCP.

2. Solar-PuTTY

It is a great application which permits you to be able to manage remote sessions and connect to any device on the network. It has the ability to be able to manage multiple sessions from one console with a tabbed interface. You are able to save credentials or private keys to any session and it will make it easy for using and logging in.

All the scripts that you need it to run can be automated when you log into a system and establish a connection. Also, you are able to find saved sessions easily using Windows Search integration with the application. If you want to search this application, you are able to do that by IP Address, Name, Tag, Username and many other options which is good for finding a system which you are trying to connect quickly.

Do you want to know the key features of Solar-PuTTY? Here they are.

• It can support SCP, SSH, Telnet and SFTP.
• It has credential saving.
• It has multiple session support via tabs.
• There is a quick access for most used sessions.
• It has auto-connect capabilities.
• It offers graphical SFTP file transfer.
• It has support for Post Connection Scripts.
• It is supported by integrated Windows search.

3. SmartTTY

This is another SSH client which is free to use. It is offered by SysProgs and it includes better session management features than PuTTY. This tool can support a lot of multi session features that you are able to find with other clients such as a tabbed interface and support for the most common session protocols.

However, this tool has a design which is unusual. This tool does not array the tabs along the top of the display panel, but the designers of the tool put the tab space along the left side and the bottom edge of the screen. You are able to see that an index panel to the left of the primary terminal panel displays the directory structure of the computer in the session which is being displayed.

SmartTTY also provides a secure SCP file transfer system. What are the features which are offered by this tool actually? You are able to see in the list below.

• If you use the latest version of this tool, you will see that it provides the features of Auto-completion, Package managemeny GUI and many more.
• It permits a lot of tabs with one SSH session.
• It has Smart Terminal Mode with features of automatic completion for files, folders and recent commands and easy file navigation panel.
• It offers a built-in hex terminal for COM ports.
• You will be able to see the directory of the computer in the current session through the index panel. You are able to use file storage with the help of this directory explorer.

4. ZOC

This is a terminal emulator which can support Windows and MacOS. It is a client which provides modern terminal session features for both platforms. If you want to use this tool, it is free to use. However, it cannot work in Linux. The terminal emulator is able to set to use the VT220, xterm, Wyse, QNX, TN3270, or TN5250 standards. The interface of this tool permits you to be able to have multiple sessions to be open simultaneously.

There are some features that you are able to enjoy in this tool. Those are listed below.

• This tool provides features of client-side SSH key generator, SSH Keep-Alive and SCP file transfer.
• This tool will permit SSH agent and PuTTY agent forwarding between the client and the server.
• It can support the latest encryptions such as ED25519 SHA256, SHA2, or AES-256ctr.
• It has features including, keyboard-interactive or password authentication, SSH public key, Andy dynamic port forwarding.
• It is able to support tabbed sessions with thumbnails.

5. Bitvise SSH Client

This is an SSH client which can do a lot of things that you expect from an alternative of PuTTY. Bitvise is a Windows application which can run on anything including Windows, Server 2016 and Windows 10. An SSH client and SFTP functionality are incorporated here and it makes it one of the better graphical interfaces around. This tool permits for some great features such as single click remote desktop forwarding and also it has a state of the art terminal emulation integrations through bvterm and xterm and also supports vt100 protocols.

There are some key features of this tool including:

• It has graphical SFTP File Transfers.
• It has Terminal Access – remote console.
• It is a single sign-on.
• It is port forwarding.
• It has customization options.
• It has a portable install.

6. MobaXterm

This is an enhanced terminal application that you are able to use for Windows. It has built-in X11 server integration built into it. It acts as a tabbed SSH client and it has additional network tools and also the other useful features like Remote Desktop Manager, Remote Session Manager, SSH, SFTP, telnet, VNC and XDMCP support.

If you want to use MobaXterm, you are able to choose whether the free version or paid version because it is available in both versions. The main differences between these versions are that the professional versions has all of the standard features of MobaXterm and also additional features that you are able to enjoy as listed below.

• It has a customizable startup message and logo.
• It can modify and save profile scripts.
• It can remove unwanted screensavers games and tools.
• It has an unlimited number of sessions.
• It offers unlimited Tunnels and Macros.
• It has unlimited run time for network Daemons.
• It has Master Password Support.
• It has a lifetime right to use.

What about the key features of this tool? Here they are.

• There is an embedded X server.
• It has easy display exportation.
• It has X11-forwarding functionality.
• It has a tabbed terminal with SSH.
• It has Cygwin integration.
• It supports Addon and Plugin.
• It has a network manager.

7. Xshell

This is a tool which is developed by Netsarang as part of their suite of PC X apps. It is designed to streamline the interface between Linux, UNIX, and Windows PC. It has a session manager which can help you to be able to handle a lot of connections. The tabbed GUI interface of Xshell also makes it easy to switch between them.

It is free to use if it is used for home, but there is also a paid version that you are able to use for businesses. The function of file transfer which is built into Xshell uses the SFTP system and it is secure. If you want, you are able to be on the lookout for the Open Beta 7 which is available on the Netsarang site.

Here are some key features of Xshell that you are able to enjoy.

• It has a session manager.
• It has highlight sets.
• It has a tabbed environment.
• It has a compose pane.
• It can support SSH PKCS#11.
• It offers dual font integration.
• It is X11 forwarding.

All of these features are present to make an enhanced SSH session manager with a lot of customizability and enhanced options is stored for you as a user.

8. mRemoteNG

mRemoteNG stands for Multi-Remote Next Generation. This tool can make multiple remote sessions manageable with a tabbed interface. Also, it is flexible because it can support most types of remote sessions that you may need such as VNC, RDP, SSH, HTTPS, telnet and many more. If you want to use it, of course you need to know the key features of it. So, here are the key features of mRemoteNG.

• It supports RDP/ Terminal for connecting remotely.
• It can support VNC and connectivity.
• It has ICA.
• It offers SSH clients.
• It offers Telnet.
• It has HTTP/ HTTPS.
• It has rlogin.
• It has raw socket connections.

When you use it, you will see that the user interface of it is simple and clean. Also, it does not try to cram in too many features in one window.

9. PuTTY Tray

This is another PuTTY for that has one of the most sought after functions out of all of the PuTTY alternatives. It can minimize it to the system tray. Even though it does not sound much of an additional feature, it can add a lot of practicality to the application.

In the list below, you are able to see the main features of PuTTY Tray.

• It can minimize the system tray.
• It has customizable icons.
• The Tray icon will blink if the bell signal is received.
• The Window transparency will be configurable.
• It has URL hyperlinking.
• It is a portable install.
• It is always on top setting.
• It can support android ADB.

So, if you are a fan of PuTTY, then PuTTY Tray is one of the best alternatives to PuTTY SSH.

10. WinSCP

It is a file transfer utility which is written for Windows. It is free to use and it has been downloaded more than 113 million times. It is a popular tool and it provides more than just SCP. Also, it includes FTP, SFTP and WebDAV implementations. WinSCP is free and open-source.

This tool provides basic file manager functionality. Scripting capabilities are also available here. Some features of this tool can be seen below.

• It provides a graphical user interface and text editor which is integrated.
• It permits all common operations with files.
• If you are worried about the language, you do not need to because it is translated into a lot of languages.
• It is integrated with Windows including drag & drop, URL, shortcut icons and jump list.
• The directory synchronization in several semi or fully automatic ways.
• It shares site settings with PuTTY.
• It optionally protects stored site information with master password.
• It has explorer and commander interfaces.
• It is integrated with Pageant (PuTTY authentication agent) for full support of public key authentication with SSH.
• It has a lot of features such as scripting and task automation, workspaces, background transfers and many more.

Actually, there are still more alternatives that are available besides the ones in the list above. However, those are the top 10 best alternatives of PuTTY SSH and Telnet clients based on our version. So, from these alternatives of PuTTY, which one do you want to try? It is up to you. You may have your own reason to choose one of them. And, of course we hope that this information can help you. If you need more information related to IT and Windows, you are able to read the other articles on this site.