# Alternatives to iTerm2 The Mac terminal power standard. iTerm2 ranks #4 of 9 in Terminal emulators, with an Alt Score of 82. It is licensed under GPL-2.0 and available on macOS. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/iterm2/ Category: Terminal emulators ## Overview - **Who it's for**: macOS users who work extensively in the terminal — developers, sysadmins, and power users — who want more capability than the built-in Terminal app. - **What you get**: A free, open-source terminal emulator with split panes, tabs, and a global hotkey window. It adds search with regex, autocomplete, copy mode, instant replay (scrollback time travel), triggers for automated actions on pattern matches, tmux integration, and shell integration for directory/command awareness. Supports 24-bit color, Unicode/emoji, inline images, and per-host configuration profiles. - **How it works**: Download and run the app on macOS 12.4+; configure profiles, keybindings, and triggers through Preferences to match your workflow. Sessions run in split panes or tabs within a window, with features like shell integration and triggers activating automatically based on your terminal output. ## Profile - **License**: GPL-2.0 (verified 2026-07-11) - **Pricing model**: ? - **Starts at**: ? - **Platforms**: macOS - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [WezTerm](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/wezterm.md) | 96 | MIT | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 2 | [kitty](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/kitty.md) | 91 | GPL-3.0 | macOS, Linux | | 3 | [Tabby](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/tabby.md) | 91 | MIT | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 4 | [Warp](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/warp.md) | 82 | AGPL-3.0 | macOS, Linux, Windows | | 5 | [Windows Terminal](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/windows-terminal.md) | 82 | MIT | Windows | | 6 | [Ghostty](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ghostty.md) | 73 | MIT | macOS, Linux | | 7 | [Alacritty](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/alacritty.md) | 64 | Apache-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 8 | [Hyper](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/hyper.md) | 28 | MIT | Windows, macOS, Linux | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Terminal emulators checklist | iTerm2 | WezTerm | kitty | Tabby | Warp | Windows Terminal | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | ? | Free | Free | Free | Freemium | Free | | Starts at | ? | ? | ? | ? | $20/month | ? | | License | GPL-2.0 | MIT | GPL-3.0 | MIT | AGPL-3.0 | MIT | | Platforms | macOS | Windows, macOS, Linux | macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux | macOS, Linux, Windows | Windows | | GPU acceleration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | | Tabs & splits | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Ligatures support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | | Configuration format | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | | Session restore | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | | Search in scrollback | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Themes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Multiplexer built in | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | ? | Partial | | Cross-platform | No | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | No | | Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ## Sources Sources for iTerm2. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **License**: GPL-2.0 — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991” - **Platforms**: macOS — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “iTerm2 is a terminal emulator for Mac OS X that does amazing things.” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Built on June 2, 2026” - **GPU acceleration**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “If you are on 3.2 or later, ensure the GPU renderer is enabled and that it can be used per the restrictions described at Metal Renderer.” - **Tabs & splits**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Divide a tab up into multiple panes, each one showing a different session. You can slice vertically and horizontally and create any number of panes in any imaginable arrangement.” - **Ligatures support**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Some fonts, such as FiraCode, support ligatures if enabled in iTerm2. You can enable ligatures in Prefs > Profiles > Text.” - **Configuration format**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “The preferences dialog contains the following sections:” - **Session restore**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Session restoration works by running your jobs within long-lived servers rather than as child processes of iTerm2.” - **Search in scrollback**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “iTerm2 comes with a robust find-on-page feature.” - **Themes**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “iTerm2 ships with some color presets, which you may load from this popup menu.” - **Multiplexer built in**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “iTerm2 is integrated with tmux, allowing you to enjoy a native user interface with all the benefits of tmux's persistence.” - **Cross-platform**: No — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “iTerm2 is a terminal emulator for Mac OS X that does amazing things.” - **Open source**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “iTerm2 is distributed under the [GPLv3](LICENSE) license.” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/