Terminals & shellsSeed poll by the operator
Ghostty vs Warp vs iTerm2 vs WezTerm
“Which terminal lives in your dock?”
Compare
- Candidate 1
Ghostty
AI summary — check the sourceOfficial pageShow detailsHide details
Ghostty
- Platforms
- macOS and Linux
- macOS minimum version
- macOS 13+ (Ventura or later)
- macOS binary
- Universal; signed and notarized .dmg
- Linux install
- Distro packages, community builds, source
- Build from source
- Documented for macOS and Linux
- Configuration
- Zero-config start; hundreds of options
- Color themes
- Hundreds built in; light and dark modes
- Keybindings
- Custom via keybind config option
- The project officially distributes prebuilt binaries only for macOS; Linux packages come from distro and community…
- The official pages reviewed list macOS and Linux only; Windows is not listed.
- The official pages reviewed do not state a price or plans; the docs link to a financial support page.
Sources: Ghostty (home page) (official) · Ghostty Docs (official) · Prebuilt Ghostty Binaries and Packages (official) · Download Ghostty (official) · Build Ghostty from Source (official)
Checked 2026-11-03
- Candidate 2
Warp
AI summary — check the sourceOfficial pageShow detailsHide details
Warp
- Free plan
- $0/month; core terminal, Warp Agent CLI, bring your own AI inference
- Build plan
- $20/month; $18/month billed annually
- Max plan
- $200/month; $180/month billed annually
- Business plan
- $50/user/month; $45 billed annually; up to 25 seats
- Enterprise plan
- Custom pricing
- Build included usage
- $20 of agent usage per month at API rates
- Platforms
- macOS, Linux, Windows
- Models
- Fable 5, Claude Opus 5, GPT-5.6, Gemini 3.1 Pro, GLM 5.2, Kimi K3, and more
- Factories Pay as you go
- $0/month; usage at 20% above API rates
- SSO
- SAML-based SSO on Business plan
- Warp Terminal launched in 2022; Warp Factories launched in August 2026 as a separate product.
- The pricing page lists the terminal and agent plans separately from the Warp Factories plans, and factory usage is…
- The Warp Terminal client was open-sourced in April 2026 under the AGPL license.
Sources: Warp Pricing (official) · Warp homepage (official) · How Warp Terminal's History Shaped Warp Factories (official)
Checked 2026-11-03
- Candidate 3
iTerm2
AI summary — check the sourceOfficial pageShow detailsHide details
iTerm2
- Price
- Free
- License
- GPL v2
- Platform
- macOS (Macs only)
- Minimum macOS (3.7.6)
- macOS 13 or later
- Latest stable version
- 3.7.6, built October 15, 2026
- AI providers
- OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenAI-compatible endpoints (e.g., Ollama)
- AI access
- Opt-in AI plugin; user's own provider API key
- Source code
- GitHub: gnachman/iTerm2
- Support
- Bug tracker, forum, email
- Homepage states macOS 10.14 or newer; the 3.7.6 download requires macOS 13+.
- AI features are opt-in and need the AI plugin, a consent step, and the user's own provider API key.
- Maker lists 3.7.7beta2 as the current test build, built October 27, 2026.
Sources: iTerm2 - macOS Terminal Replacement (home) (official) · Downloads - iTerm2 (official) · AI Chat - Documentation - iTerm2 (official) · General Preferences - Documentation - iTerm2 (official)
Checked 2026-11-03
- Candidate 4
WezTerm
AI summary — check the sourceOfficial pageShow detailsHide details
WezTerm
- Platforms
- Linux, macOS, Windows 10, FreeBSD, NetBSD
- Latest version
- 20240203-110809-5046fc22
- Build from source
- Yes, source build allowed (official guide)
- Configuration
- Config file with hot reloading; Lua API
- Multiplexing
- Local and remote hosts; Unix sockets, SSH or TLS
- SSH client
- Yes, with native tabs
- Serial ports
- Yes, for embedded/Arduino work
- Graphics protocols
- iTerm2 image protocol, Kitty graphics, Sixel (experimental)
- Plugins
- Lua plugins via wezterm.plugin
- Official homepage describes WezTerm as a cross-platform terminal emulator and multiplexer; its source is the…
- The official changelog lists a Continuous/Nightly section alongside tagged releases.
- MIT license is reported by non-official listings (GitHub LICENSE.md); the official pages read do not state a license.
Sources: WezTerm homepage (official) · WezTerm features (official) · WezTerm download and build guide (official) · WezTerm change log (official) · wezterm/LICENSE.md on GitHub
Checked 2026-11-03
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