iTerm2 VS Ghostty

Compare iTerm2 VS Ghostty and see what are their differences

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iTerm2

A terminal emulator for macOS that does amazing things.

Ghostty

A fast, feature-rich, and cross-platform terminal emulator

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2018-10-29

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iTerm2

Website: iterm2.com
$ Details

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Ghostty

Website: ghostty.org
$ Details: -

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iTerm2 features and specs

Versatility
iTerm2 supports a wide range of features such as split panes, multiple tab management, and hotkey-activated terminal windows, making it highly versatile for different workflows.
Customization
Offers extensive customization options, including themes, color schemes, and key bindings, allowing users to tailor the terminal to their preferences.
Advanced Features
Includes advanced functionality like instant replay, which allows users to rewind their terminal session, and integration with automation tools like AppleScript.
Performance
Designed to be efficient and responsive, ensuring it performs well even with multiple sessions and tabs open simultaneously.
Integrations
Seamless integration with macOS features such as native notifications, fullscreen mode, and support for external editors.
Community Support
Active community and comprehensive documentation, which can be very helpful for troubleshooting and learning advanced configurations.

Possible disadvantages of iTerm2

Mac-Only
iTerm2 is exclusive to macOS, which means users on other operating systems cannot utilize its features.
Complexity
The sheer number of features and customization options can be overwhelming for beginners, requiring a learning curve to utilize efficiently.
System Resource Usage
iTerm2 may consume more system resources compared to simpler terminal emulators, which could be a concern on lower-end hardware.
Update Frequency
Occasional updates can introduce bugs or unexpected behavior, requiring users to adjust settings or find workarounds.

Ghostty features and specs

Easy-to-Use Interface
Ghostty offers a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate, making it accessible for users of all experience levels.
Enhanced Privacy
The platform emphasizes user privacy, ensuring that personal data is kept secure and not shared without consent.
Multiple Platforms Supported
Ghostty supports a wide range of platforms, allowing users to connect and share content across different networks seamlessly.
Customizable Features
Users have the option to customize settings and features, enabling them to tailor their experience to their specific needs.

Possible disadvantages of Ghostty

Limited Free Version
The free version of Ghostty offers limited features, which may restrict functionality for users not willing to upgrade to a paid plan.
Occasional Downtime
Some users have reported occasional downtime or connectivity issues, which can disrupt the user experience.
Learning Curve for Advanced Features
While the basic interface is easy to use, some advanced features require a learning curve and may be more complex for new users.
Subscription Cost
Users may find the subscription cost for premium features to be relatively high compared to similar services.

Analysis of iTerm2

Overall verdict

iTerm2 is regarded as an excellent terminal emulator for macOS due to its robust feature set and usability, making it a top choice for power users.

Why this product is good

iTerm2 is often praised for its advanced features, customization options, and efficiency that enhance productivity for users who work with the command line frequently. It offers split panes, hotkey window, undo close, instant replay, and a highly configurable interface that caters to power users, making it a versatile tool for developers and system administrators.

Recommended for

Developers and programmers who need a highly customizable terminal.
System administrators who require powerful scripting and automation capabilities.
Users who frequently work with command-line interfaces and require multiple sessions handled efficiently.
Anyone seeking an enhanced, feature-rich alternative to the default macOS terminal.

iTerm2 videos

+ Add

Customizing iterm2 with ZSH and PowerLevel9k | Z shell Tutorial

Ghostty videos

+ Add

Ghostty is Probably The Best Terminal Emulator I've Ever Used

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to iTerm2 and Ghostty)

iTerm2

Ghostty

SSH

95 95%

SSH

5% 5

Terminal Tools

0 0%

Terminal Tools

100% 100

Server Management

95 95%

Server Management

5% 5

Developer Tools

100 100%

Developer Tools

0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using iTerm2 and Ghostty. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare iTerm2 and Ghostty

iTerm2 Reviews

KateBlanc

about 1 year ago

Useful

I've had so many problems with terminal in my Mac.. thanks for this tool. It's like really useful

👍 Pros: Fast|Convenience|Fastest, safest, and cheapest

👎 Cons: None

MobaXterm for Mac: Best Alternatives to MobaXterm for Mac

You can choose a Hotkey and register it as a shortcut to open the iTerm2. When you are using other application, just press the Hotkey and it will bring iTerm (terminal) to the foreground of your screen. So the iTerm2 is the best alternative to MobaXterm for Mac which will be always available for you.

Source: www.macoszon.com

30 best PuTTY alternatives for SSH clients for 2020

The iTerm2 system is available for Macs. Specifically, the program can run on Mac OS 10.10 and higher. This interface shows different terminal sessions through a split screen method, allowing you to tile sessions side by side. To lessen confusion, the active panel shows in full resolution, while the others dimmed. You can set up keyboard shortcuts to navigate through the...

Source: www.comparitech.com

Ghostty Reviews

We have no reviews of Ghostty yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, iTerm2 seems to be a lot more popular than Ghostty. While we know about 111 links to iTerm2, we've tracked only 4 mentions of Ghostty. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

iTerm2 mentions (111)

Must-have apps and services in 2024
iTerm + fish. I wrote a post explaining my environment settings. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
Unavoidable developer tools
🍎 macOS: The default Terminal.app is widely used, but iTerm2 is often preferred for its rich feature set and customization options. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
Ask HN: How can I experiment with LLMs with a old machine?
Make yourself comfortable with https://blogs.oracle.com/database/post/freedom-to-build-announcing-oracle-cloud-free-tier-with-new-always-free-services-and-always-free-oracle-autonomous-database https://gist.github.com/rssnyder/51e3cfedd730e7dd5f4a816143b25dbd https://www.reddit.com/r/oraclecloud/ or any other offer. Deploy some minimal Linux on them, or use what's offered. Plus optionally, if you don't want to... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
Honukai Color Theme Goes IDE
Honukai has long been my favorite iTerm, Oh My ZSH color theme, and I just assumed it existed for other use cases. But alas, I had to create them for myself. I adapted Oskar's work for Tabby terminal, ZED IDE and VS Code. You can get the files here. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
(Youtube blogpost) Building Tree Link app with Svelte and Tailwind CSS
iTerm2 is a fast terminal emulator for macOS. Install one of Nerd Fonts for displaying fancy glyphs on your terminal. My current choice is Hack. And use it on your terminal app. For example, on iTerm2:. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago

Ghostty mentions (4)

Compiling a Neural Net to C for a 1,744× speedup
That's why I say it is about being lazy. I'm writing the way I do because I know that whether it is tomorrow, next week, or 6 months from now, I'm going to need to make changes that are going to make things very different from where they are today. I don't think of it so much as having foresight about the future so much as I'm just frustrated at having to constantly dig myself out of a hole and this makes that a... - Source: Hacker News / 6 days ago
Optimizing My Dev Workflow in 2025
Initially, I used the Mac's built-in Terminal, but encountered issues with font loading. This led me to explore alternative terminal options. I initially chose Kitty, but after the official release of Ghostty, I made the switch. It has been running flawlessly for me. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
TIL: Ghostty — a new and quite promising terminal emulator
At the same time, in the internal Slack of the company I work for, my colleague asked the security team whether we have any policies about the apps, as they'd like to start using Ghostty as their terminal emulator. I took a look at it, and it immediately caught my attention: a fresh look, a zero-config setup, platform-native UI (discovered in details in the “Ghostty Is Native—So What?” post by Gregory Anders) and... - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
iTerm2 Critical Security Fix
Kitty (https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty) has been my go to for many years and with tmux it's fantastic. I have heard a lot of great things about https://ghostty.org/ but haven't had a chance to check it out. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago