Tempest vs Termius, MobaXterm, PuTTY & iTerm2
Factual comparison of Tempest with Termius, MobaXterm, PuTTY, iTerm2, and SecureCRT — platforms, modern auth, AI, E2EE sync, and price.
A factual comparison of Tempest with Termius, MobaXterm, PuTTY, and iTerm2. Several of the classic SSH clients are platform-locked (PuTTY = Windows + Linux, iTerm2 = macOS, MobaXterm = Windows), which makes cross-platform support the first axis to compare on.
At a glance (April 2026)
Platforms
macOS · Win · Linux · iOS · Android · Web
macOS · Win · Linux · iOS · Android
Windows only
Windows · Linux
macOS only
Native FIDO2 / YubiKey SSH
✅
✅
❌
❌
Inherits from system OpenSSH
OpenSSH certificate auth
✅
✅
❌
❌
Inherits from system OpenSSH
Post-quantum SSH (PQ KEX)
✅ default — ML-KEM + SNTRUP761
✅
❌
✅
Inherits from system OpenSSH
Zero-trust platform presets¹
✅ one-click wizard
❌
❌
❌
❌
Self-hostable sync server
✅
❌
n/a
n/a
n/a
Browser-based access (Web Mode)
✅
❌
❌
❌
❌
AI assistant
✅ — Claude / GPT / Gemini / self-hosted
✅ — Termius AI Agent + Gloria
❌
❌
❌
E2EE sync
✅ zero-knowledge
✅ zero-knowledge
❌ (no built-in sync)
❌
❌
SFTP file manager
✅
✅
✅
❌ (separate PSCP)
❌
Mosh
✅
✅
❌
❌
❌
Telnet · RCON · Serial
✅
⚠️ Telnet · serial
⚠️ Telnet · serial
⚠️ Telnet · serial · raw
❌
S3 / WebDAV / FTP browser
✅
❌
⚠️ FTP/SFTP only
❌
❌
Pro pricing
$-affordable
$10/mo annual
$69/user/yr (was perpetual)
Free
Free
¹ Built-in setup wizards for Teleport, Cloudflare Access, AWS SSM Session Manager, GCP IAP TCP forwarding, and Tailscale. See SSH Client for Teleport, Cloudflare Access, AWS SSM, GCP IAP & Tailscale.
When to pick each one
Termius
Cross-platform (macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android), E2EE sync, AI assistant, native FIDO2, OpenSSH cert auth, claimed PQ KEX support.
Differences from Tempest:
Zero-trust platform integrations — Tempest ships one-click wizards for Teleport, Cloudflare Access, AWS SSM, GCP IAP, Tailscale. Termius does not.
Web Mode — Tempest runs in a browser via a self-hosted server. Termius is desktop/mobile only.
Self-hosted sync — Tempest's sync server can run on your own infrastructure. Termius requires their cloud.
PQ algorithm transparency — Tempest documents specific algorithms (
mlkem768x25519,sntrup761x25519). Termius states PQ support without naming algorithms in public docs.Pricing — Termius Pro is $10/month annual; Tempest Pro is lower.
Maturity — Termius has a larger user base and longer-running mobile apps.
MobaXterm
Windows-only multi-protocol client (SSH, RDP, VNC, Telnet, FTP) with a bundled X server and Cygwin-style Unix toolset. Home Edition is free for single-user installs; Professional is $69/user/year subscription (changed from perpetual in 2024).
Differences from Tempest:
Platform — MobaXterm is Windows-only. Tempest runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and the web.
Modern auth — MobaXterm's UI doesn't surface FIDO2, OpenSSH certs, or PQ KEX configuration; it inherits whatever its bundled OpenSSH supports.
AI assistant — MobaXterm has none.
Zero-trust presets — MobaXterm has none.
E2EE sync — MobaXterm has no built-in sync (settings live in
MobaXterm.ini).X server — MobaXterm bundles one. Tempest does not (use XQuartz / VcXsrv / WSLg).
Bundled Unix toolset — MobaXterm includes Cygwin tools. Tempest assumes the OS provides them.
PuTTY
MIT-licensed, free. Runs on Windows and Linux (no native macOS). Has post-quantum KEX (SNTRUP761 since v0.78, ML-KEM since v0.83). No native FIDO2 in mainline (PuTTY-CAC fork adds smart-card auth).
Differences from Tempest:
Platform — PuTTY runs on Windows and Linux. Tempest also runs on macOS, mobile, and the web.
Host inventory — PuTTY's session list is flat with no grouping, tagging, or search. Tempest has a structured inventory with groups, tags, snippets.
SFTP — PuTTY ships PSCP / PSFTP as separate command-line tools. Tempest has an integrated SFTP file manager.
Modern features — Tempest has FIDO2, OpenSSH certs, AI, sync, monitoring, port-forward UI, jump-host UI. PuTTY mainline has none of these.
Distribution — PuTTY is a small single-purpose binary with no account or sync component. Tempest is a larger application that includes optional account-based sync.
iTerm2
macOS-only terminal emulator. Not strictly an SSH client — relies on the system /usr/bin/ssh for the protocol, inheriting whatever that build supports (FIDO2 if installed via Homebrew OpenSSH, PQ KEX in newer versions).
Differences from Tempest:
Platform — iTerm2 is macOS-only.
Host inventory — iTerm2 has none. Hosts are managed in
~/.ssh/configdirectly.Built-in features — iTerm2 doesn't include SFTP browsing, sync, AI, vault, monitoring, zero-trust presets. It's a terminal emulator that happens to launch shells.
Terminal-emulator features — iTerm2 includes shell integration, image rendering protocols, and tmux integration. Tempest's terminal does not implement these.
SecureCRT
VanDyke SecureCRT runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Per-seat pricing is roughly $110 plus $35/year maintenance. Includes scripting in VBScript, Python, and JavaScript, and supports terminal emulations such as TN3270, TN5250, Wyse, and SCO ANSI.
Differences from Tempest:
Pricing — Tempest Pro is lower than SecureCRT's per-seat license + maintenance.
Mobile, Web, AI, zero-trust presets, native FIDO2, PQ KEX, E2EE sync — present in Tempest, not in SecureCRT.
Scripting depth — SecureCRT exposes VBScript / Python / JavaScript automation APIs. Tempest's snippets and scheduled runs cover ad-hoc fan-out but do not match SecureCRT's scripting surface.
Terminal emulations — SecureCRT supports legacy mainframe and minicomputer terminal types (TN3270, TN5250, Wyse) that Tempest does not implement.
Migrating from another client
Use Tempest's Import Servers feature.
Download
https://gotempest.app — free tier covers most use cases. Pro adds jump host chaining, port forwarding, monitoring, scheduled snippet runs, X11 / agent forwarding, custom proxies, and connection multiplexing.
See also
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