An SSH client is a software program which uses the secure shell protocol to connect to a remote computer. This article compares a selection of notable clients.
Name | Developer | Initial release | Platform | Latest release | License | GUI | TUI/CLI | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Version | Date | |||||||
AbsoluteTelnet | Celestial Software (Brian Pence) | 1996 | Windows | 11.24[1] | 2020-08-13 | Proprietary | ||
Bitvise SSH Client | Bitvise Limited | 2001 | Windows | 9.32[2][3] | 2023-12-20 | Proprietary | ||
ConnectBot | Kenny Root Jeffrey Sharkey |
2007-11[a] | Android | 1.9.10[4] | 2023-12-21 | Apache-2.0 | ? | ? |
Dropbear | Matt Johnston | 2003-04-06 | AIX | 2024.84[5] | 2024-04-04 | MIT | ||
BSD | ||||||||
Cygwin | ||||||||
Linux | ||||||||
HP-UX | ||||||||
iOS | ||||||||
Maemo | ||||||||
macOS | ||||||||
Solaris | ||||||||
eSSH Client | Ecode Software | 2002-07 | BSD | 4.2.0[6] | 2007-01-15 | Proprietary | ? | ? |
Linux | ||||||||
macOS | ||||||||
Solaris | ||||||||
Windows | ||||||||
lsh | Niels Möller | 1999-05-23 | BSD | 2.1[7] | 2013-06-26 | GPL-2.0-or-later | ||
Linux | ||||||||
macOS | ||||||||
Solaris | ||||||||
OpenSSH[b] | The OpenBSD project | 1999-12-01[c] | AIX | 9.7[8] | 2024-03-11 | BSD | ||
Android | ||||||||
BSD | ||||||||
Cygwin | ||||||||
Linux | ||||||||
HP-UX | ||||||||
iOS | ||||||||
Maemo | ||||||||
OpenVMS | ||||||||
macOS | ||||||||
Solaris | ||||||||
Windows | ||||||||
z/OS | ||||||||
PuTTY | Simon Tatham | 1999-01-22 | BSD | 0.81[9] | 2024-04-15 | MIT | ||
Linux | ||||||||
macOS | ||||||||
Solaris | ||||||||
Windows | ||||||||
SecureCRT | VanDyke Software | 1998-06 | Linux | 9.3.1[10] | 2022-12-06 | Proprietary | ||
macOS | 9.3.1[10] | 2022-12-06 | ||||||
iOS | 2.4.3[11] | 2021-12-13 | ||||||
Windows | 9.3.1[10] | 2022-12-06 | ||||||
Tera Term | TeraTerm Project | 2004[d] | Windows | 5.2[12] | 2024-02-28 | BSD-3-Clause | ||
TN3270 Plus | SDI USA, Inc. | 2006 | Windows | 4.0.7[13] | 2019-02 | Proprietary | ||
TtyEmulator | FCS Software | 2002-05 | Windows | 4.6.0.0[14] | 2021-03-16 | Proprietary | ||
wolfSSH | wolfSSL | 2016-07-20[e] | BSD | 1.4.15[15] | 2023-12-23 | GPL-3.0-or-later[f] | ||
Cygwin | ||||||||
Linux | ||||||||
macOS | ||||||||
Solaris | ||||||||
Windows | ||||||||
ZOC Terminal | EmTec, Innovative Software | 1995-07-01 | macOS | 8.08.2[16] | 2024-05-07 | Proprietary | ||
OS/2 | 4.15[17] | 2004-08-25 | ||||||
Windows | 8.08.2[16] | 2024-05-07 |
The operating systems or virtual machines the SSH clients are designed to run on without emulation include several possibilities:
The list is not exhaustive, but rather reflects the most common platforms today.
Name | macOS | Windows | Cygwin | BSD | Linux | Solaris | OpenVMS | z/OS | AIX | HP-UX | iOS | Android | Maemo | Windows Phone |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AbsoluteTelnet | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
Bitvise SSH Client | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
ConnectBot | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Dropbear | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes[a] | No | Yes | ? |
eSSH Client | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
lsh | Yes | No | No | Partial[b] | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
OpenSSH[c] | Included | Included[d] | Included | Included | Included[e] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[a] | Yes | Yes | ? |
PuTTY | Partial | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | No | No | No | Beta |
SecureCRT | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | ? |
SmartFTP | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
Tera Term | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
TN3270 Plus | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
TtyEmulator | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
WinSCP | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes[a] | No | No | ? |
wolfSSH | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
ZOC Terminal | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
Name | macOS | Windows | Cygwin | BSD | Linux | Solaris | OpenVMS | z/OS | AIX | HP-UX | iOS | Android | Maemo | Windows Phone |
Name | SSH1 (insecure) |
SSH2 | Additional protocols | Port forwarding and Tunneling | Session multiplexing [a] |
Kerberos | IPv6 | Terminal | SFTP/SCP | Proxy client[b] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TELNET | rlogin | Port forwarding |
SOCKS [c] |
VPN [d] | |||||||||
AbsoluteTelnet | yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | SOCKS 4, 5; HTTP |
Bitvise SSH Client | no | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | SOCKS 4, 5 |
Dropbear | no | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
lsh | no | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
OpenSSH[e] | no[f] | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ProxyCommand |
PuTTY | yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes[g] | Yes | Yes | Yes[h] | SOCKS 4, 5; HTTP; Telnet; Local |
SecureCRT | yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | SOCKS 4, 5; HTTP; Telnet; Generic |
SmartFTP | no | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | SOCKS 4, 5; HTTP |
Tera Term | yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | SCP | SOCKS 4, 5; HTTP; Telnet |
TN3270 Plus | yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | SOCKS 4 |
TtyEmulator | yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | SOCKS 4,4a, 5; HTTP Local |
WinSCP [i] | no[j] | Yes | No | No | limited[k] | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | simple | Yes | SOCKS 4, 5; HTTP; Telnet; Local |
wolfSSH | no | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | simple | Yes | No |
ZOC Terminal | yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[l][m] | SOCKS 4; 5; HTTP; Jumpserver |
Name | SSH1 (insecure) |
SSH2 | Additional protocols | Tunneling | Session multiplexing [a] |
Kerberos | IPv6 | Terminal | SFTP/SCP | Proxy client[b] | |||
TELNET | rlogin | Port forwarding |
SOCKS [c] |
VPN [d] |
Name | Keyboard mapping | Session tabs | ZMODEM transfers | Find text in buffer | Mouse input support[a] | Unicode support | URL hyperlinking | Public key authentication | Smart card support | Hardware encryption | FIPS 140-2 validation | Scripting | Shared Database | Auto-reconnect | CA Certificates |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AbsoluteTelnet | full | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Bitvise SSH Client | ? | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | ? | Partial | Yes | No | Yes | No |
OpenSSH[b] | ? | No | No | ? | Yes[c] | Yes | not native[d] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial[e] | No | No | ? | Yes[f] |
PuTTY | No | No[g] | No | No | Yes | Yes | No[h] | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No[i] |
SecureCRT | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ? | ? |
SmartFTP | Partial | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | AES-NI | Yes | No | ? | ? | ? |
Tera Term | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | ? | ? |
TN3270 Plus | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
TtyEmulator | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
wolfSSH | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
ZOC Terminal | full | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
This table lists standard authentication key algorithms implemented by SSH clients. Some SSH implementations include both server and client implementations and support custom non-standard authentication algorithms not listed in this table.
Name | ssh-dss[a] | ssh-rsa | RSA with SHA-2 | ECDSA with SHA-2 | EdDSA | Security keys | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
rsa-sha2-256 | rsa-sha2-512 | ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 | ecdsa-sha2-nistp384 | ecdsa-sha2-nistp521 | ssh-ed25519 | ssh-ed448 | sk-ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 | sk-ssh-ed25519 | |||
AbsoluteTelnet | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Bitvise SSH Client | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
Dropbear | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ||
lsh | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
OpenSSH[b] | Yes[c] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
PuTTY | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No[d] | No[d] |
SecureCRT | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ||
SmartFTP | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Tera Term | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
TN3270 Plus | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
TtyEmulator | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
WinSCP | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ||
wolfSSH | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
ZOC Terminal[e] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
Name | ssh-dss | ssh-rsa | rsa-sha2-256 | rsa-sha2-512 | ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 | ecdsa-sha2-nistp384 | ecdsa-sha2-nistp521 | ssh-ed25519 | ssh-ed448 | sk-ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 | sk-ssh-ed25519 |
RSA with SHA-2 | ECDSA with SHA-2 | EdDSA | Security keys |
ssh-dss
is based on Digital Signature Algorithm which is sensitive to entropy, secrecy, and uniqueness of its random signature value.