Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

PuTTY VS iperf

Compare PuTTY VS iperf and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

PuTTY logo PuTTY

Popular free terminal application. Mostly used as an SSH client.

iperf logo iperf

A TCP, UDP, and SCTP network bandwidth measurement tool
  • PuTTY Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-13
  • iperf Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-17

PuTTY features and specs

  • Free and Open Source
    PuTTY is free to use and its source code is openly available. This allows flexibility for users to modify it according to their needs and ensures that there are no licensing costs associated with its usage.
  • Wide Protocol Support
    PuTTY supports various network protocols including SSH, Telnet, SCP, and SFTP. This makes it versatile for different types of server management and data transfer tasks.
  • Lightweight
    PuTTY is a lightweight application that consumes minimal system resources, making it suitable for use on older or less powerful systems without significant performance degradation.
  • Extensible Configuration Options
    PuTTY offers a wide range of configuration options for terminal emulation, keyboard mappings, and connection settings, giving users fine control over their connections and workflow.
  • Portability
    PuTTY can be run as a portable application from USB drives or other external storage devices without the need for a formal installation process on the host system.

Possible disadvantages of PuTTY

  • No Integrated File Manager
    Unlike some other SSH clients, PuTTY does not come with an integrated file manager, which can make tasks involving file transfers less convenient without the use of PuTTY's separate utilities like PSCP or WinSCP.
  • Limited Scripting Capabilities
    PuTTY itself lacks advanced scripting capabilities which can be a limitation for users who need to automate sessions or workflows extensively. External tools or extensions are necessary for these needs.
  • Basic User Interface
    The user interface of PuTTY is quite basic compared to modern applications. It lacks some of the polished features and aesthetics that other terminal clients might offer.
  • No Tabbed Sessions
    PuTTY does not natively support multiple tabbed sessions within a single window, which can make managing multiple connections less convenient. Users typically need to open multiple instances of the application.
  • Windows-Centric
    While PuTTY is primarily developed for Windows, its cross-platform capabilities through ports like PuTTY for Mac or Linux are not as well-supported, leading to potential inconsistencies and lack of features compared to the Windows version.

iperf features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    iperf is compatible with a variety of operating systems including Windows, Linux, and macOS, making it a versatile tool for network performance testing across different environments.
  • Comprehensive Performance Metrics
    Provides detailed metrics such as bandwidth, jitter, and packet loss, which are essential for in-depth network analysis and troubleshooting.
  • Client-Server Model
    Utilizes a client-server model that allows for measuring the maximum TCP and UDP bandwidth between two endpoints, making it suitable for both local and remote testing.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, iperf allows users to review, modify, and contribute to the codebase, ensuring transparency and fostering community involvement.
  • Customizable Test Parameters
    Allows users to customize tests with various parameters such as port number, buffer size, and test duration, offering flexibility to perform targeted network evaluations.

Possible disadvantages of iperf

  • Complexity for Beginners
    The command-line interface and numerous parameters might be overwhelming for beginners who are not familiar with network testing tools.
  • Limited Graphical Interface
    While powerful in functionality, iperf lacks a native graphical user interface, which could be a disadvantage for users who prefer visual tools over command-line utilities.
  • Resource Consumption
    iperf can consume substantial network resources and CPU power during testing, potentially affecting other applications running on the same network or device.
  • Manual Deployment Required
    Users need to manually deploy iperf on both client and server machines, which may be cumbersome for those looking for out-of-the-box network testing solutions.
  • Security Considerations
    Running iperf in server mode might expose a system to network attacks if not secured properly, necessitating careful consideration of security measures.

Analysis of PuTTY

Overall verdict

  • Yes, PuTTY is generally regarded as a good choice for those needing an SSH client on Windows. Its robustness and long-standing reputation in the industry contribute positively to its assessment.

Why this product is good

  • PuTTY is a popular and widely used SSH client for Windows due to its light weight, ease of use, and reliability. It is open-source, supports various network protocols like SSH, Telnet, and Rlogin, and has been maintained and updated consistently over the years. The software's configurability and ability to store session configurations make it a versatile choice for both beginners and advanced users.

Recommended for

    PuTTY is recommended for system administrators, developers, network engineers, and anyone who needs to perform remote command-line operations on a computer or server using the SSH protocol. It is particularly useful for users who are working on Windows systems.

PuTTY videos

MASSIVE STORE PUTTY REVIEW!

More videos:

  • Review - MOST EXPENSIVE STORE PUTTY + MORE!
  • Review - STORE BOUGHT SLIME & PUTTY REVIEW, MIXING ALL MY SLIME !! SLIME SMOOTHIE | SATISFYING SLIME VIDEO 32

iperf videos

Using Iperf to measure network speed / bandwidth

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to use iperf to test local network LAN speed in Windows 10
  • Review - [HOWTO] Test My Network Speed?! [iPerf & JPerf]

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PuTTY and iperf)
SSH
100 100%
0% 0
Monitoring Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Server Management
100 100%
0% 0
Log Management
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

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

PuTTY Reviews

10 Best PuTTY Alternatives To Try in 2024
Instead of a full-fledged PuTTY alternative, SuperPuTTY is an add-on that changes how PuTTY looks. It also brings several additional features that are missing from the original PuTTY implementation.
10 Best PuTTY Alternatives for SSH Remote Connection
SuperPuTTY requires you to install the original PuTTY for the application to install and run. Besides that, the SuperPuTTY is an advanced PuTTY version with secure SSH connection protection with SCP and SFTP file transfers.
Source: www.tecmint.com
Looking for MobaXterm Alternative? Here are Some Options to Consider
Putty is a popular SSH and telnet client for Windows. It's lightweight, fast, and easy to use. Putty offers all the basic features you need for remote desktop access, including SSH, telnet, rlogin, and raw TCP connections. It also has a built-in serial console for connecting to serial ports. However, Putty doesn't have advanced features like file transfer, X11 forwarding,...
Top 10 Best MobaXterm Alternatives for Windows, macOS & Linux In 2021
PuTTY is, without a reservation, the top SSH customer that we can discover for Windows. Light and really basic, this customer satisfies its function: to enable us to connect to any Windows or Linux server from another location to manage it safely through the Internet. In addition, it has a series of alternatives that permit us to configure, for example, the look or conserve...
The 10 Best Linux Terminal Emulators
The list is by no means exhaustive in any way. There are many Linux terminal emulators with dedicated following and users. Other terminal emulators that could have easily made it into my list include; xfce4-terminal, PuTTY, Tilda, or Yakuake. The default terminal emulator in Linux distros is always good enough for many users. Nailing down a favorite emulator requires you to...

iperf Reviews

We have no reviews of iperf yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, iperf seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 4 times since March 2021. 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.

PuTTY mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of PuTTY yet. Tracking of PuTTY recommendations started around Mar 2021.

iperf mentions (4)

  • Microsoft: Don't Use Iperf3 on Windows
    Just some clarification: IPerf 2 is different from the iperf3 found at https://github.com/esnet/iperf. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Yet Another Bench Script (YABS): evaluate Linux server performance with this simple Bash script and utility
    Network - network throughput (both incoming and outgoing) is tested using iperf3 on several geographically diverse public iperf servers. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Speed testing Visible with a modem
    File transfer using iperf3 over Tailscale. I noticed that the bandwidth to my home computer (on a 500/500 fiber connection) was higher than with speedtest.net. For the first few days I was getting downloads and uploads of 28Mbps (+/- std dev of 6Mbps) and 150ms latency (+/- 35ms). After somewhere around 100GB total transfer (maybe half of that over Tailscale), it is now downloading and uploading at 10Mbps (+/-... Source: about 3 years ago
  • FTP upload speed isn't great
    I can add to this. I have two mini self contained projects to create multiarch static bins of mtr and iperf3 for general usage. Source: almost 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing PuTTY and iperf, you can also consider the following products

MobaXterm - Enhanced terminal for Windows with X11 server, tabbed SSH client, network tools and much more

JPerf - This project gives a better UI and new functionalities to the initial JPerf 1.

KiTTY - KiTTY is a fork from version 0.70 of PuTTY. It adds extra features to PuTTY.

netperf - Netperf is a benchmark that can be used to measure the performance of many different types of networking. It provides tests for both unidirectional throughput, and end-to-end latency. - HewlettPack...

ConEmu - ConEmu-Maximus5 is a full-featured local terminal for Windows devs, admins and users. Get better console window with tabs, splits, Quake style, copy+paste, DosBox and PuTTY integration, and much more.

TamoSoft Throughput Test - TamoSoft Throughput Test is a utility for testing the performance of a wireless or wired network.