If you have changed to a Mac from Windows OS, you might miss PuTTY on it. In this guide, we show you the 10 best free PuTTY Alternative SSH clients for Mac.
Best free PuTTY Alternative SSH clients for Mac
These are the 10 best free PuTTY alternative SSH clients for Mac.
- Terminal
- Hyper
- iTerm2
- Termius
- Shuttle
- Royal TSX
- Kitty Terminal
- Codinn Core Shell
- Chrome Secure Shell
- ZOC Terminal
Let’s get into the detail of each one.
1] Terminal
The Terminal is an in-built app on Mac that lets you run SSH on it. It is located in the Utilities folder. You can use Terminal to log into remote computer and access files, run programs on it. Everything that happens on the Terminal is text-based and there is no graphic detail to it. You need to know commands to run SSH using it on Mac.
2] Hyper
Hyper is a free and open-source PuTTY alternative for Mac. It is also a command-line-based program that lets you access the remote computer and run programs or access files. Hyper is popular for its speed and consistency. The only flipside is there is no proper encryption to transfer files.
3] iTerm2
iTerm2 is the advanced version of Terminal. It lets you open multiple terminal windows and run SSH. It is very much easier to copy and paste text over iTerm2. The autocomplete feature is a lot of help to type the code to do something.
4] Termius
Termius is another advanced PuTTY alternative. You can run it on Windows, Mac, Linux, and even on mobile phones. You can transfer files between computers easily with encryption. It remembers the frequently used commands and cuts your time. It also has premium plans along with a free plan for better features.
5] Shuttle
Shuttle is not a standalone app. All the app is bundled in the shuttle.json file. It can be edited to add more SSH servers and configure them. Using Shuttle, you can add SSH servers to the Menu bar on Mac, launch them and use them easily.
6] Royal TSX
Royal TSX is a powerful program that lets you run multiple connections, virtual desktops, and applications. It is freeware and also has premium plans for additional features.
7] Kitty Terminal
Kitty Terminal is one of the best PuTTY alternatives. It is a GPU-supported program that improves performance. Kitty Terminal supports Unicode, true-color, graphics, mouse protocol, etc to run SSH connections with ease. It is an open-source app and you can use it for free.
8] Codinn Core Shell
Codinn Core Shell is a feature-rich PuTTY alternative. It has built-in support for OpenSSH. The program has great UI and you can use it more easily than others. Codinn Core Shell supports 1-click login to remote computers with an automatic reconnect option.
9] Chrome Secure Shell
Chrome Secure Shell is developed by Google Secure Shell Developers. It is one of the best PuTTY alternatives for Mac. Chrome Secure Shell uses native-client to connect with SSH servers without the use of third-party proxies. It runs through the Google Chrome web browser.
10] ZOC Terminal
ZOC Terminal is also a great alternative to PuTTY for Mac. It runs incredibly fast and is reliable. You can run multiple connections with color codes to each one. It is a great choice for its customization features like customizable keyboard shortcuts.
Read: Best PuTTy alternative for SSH Clients for Windows.
Do Mac users need PuTTY?
Mac comes with the Terminal app which does everything PuTTY does. You don’t need to install other programs for it. If you do not want to use Terminal or do not like it, the above programs are the best alternatives.
Read: Best free SSH Clients for Windows.
Is PuTTY free for Mac?
PuTTY is an open-source SSH and Telnet client, developed by Simon Tatham for Windows operating systems. PuTTY is available for free for Windows OS on the official website. PuTTY for Mac is not available on its official website. But you can still install it on Mac for free by following an alternate way. You have to run some commands on Mac to install PuTTY, provided Xcode, Command line tools for Xcose, MacPorts, and XQuartz are installed on your Mac.
Related read: Best free Windows emulators for Mac.
