Tabby vs Termius
Two of the top three SSH clients, compared rule by rule on published facts.
In short
- Tabby has 81 points and Termius 80, 1 apart on our SSH clients rules.
- Tabby earns more on connections and sessions and workflow; Termius earns more on keys and security and other systems.
- Cheapest uncapped edition, per year: Tabby $0, Termius $0.
- Only Tabby meets: x11 forwarding, open source, scripting or automation and portable version.
- Only Termius meets: key generator and key agent, security key or smart card login and SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001.
Termius80/100 #2 of 12
Best for: People who connect from a PC and a phone and want saved hosts to sync.
Points by group
| Group | Tabby | Termius |
|---|---|---|
| Connections of 35 | 33 | 28 |
| Keys and security of 25 | 12 | 19 |
| Sessions and workflow of 18 | 18 | 11 |
| Other systems of 8 | 4 | 8 |
| Price of 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Total | 81 | 80 |
Rule by rule
What each vendor publishes, and the points it earns. Sources are on each product page.
| Rule (points) | Tabby | Termius |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in SFTP file transfer (7) | Yes 7 | Yes 7 |
| SSH agent forwarding (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| X11 forwarding (5) | Yes 5 | Not published 0 |
| Port forwarding (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Jump hosts (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Serial port connections (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Other protocols (3) | Telnet 1 | Telnet 1 |
| Key generator and key agent (5) | Not published 0 | Yes 5 |
| Security key or smart card login (6) | Not published 0 | Yes 6 |
| Saved logins locked by a master password (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Open source (6) | Yes 6 | Not published 0 |
| SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 (2) | Not published 0 | Yes 2 |
| Saved sessions in folders (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Scripting or automation (5) | Yes 5 | Not published 0 |
| Sync saved sessions between devices (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Portable version (2) | Yes 2 | Not published 0 |
| Updated in the last 12 months (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
| Other systems (8) | macOS, Linux 4 | macOS, Linux, iOS, Android 8 |
| Free for work use (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Cheapest uncapped edition, per year (8) | $0 8 | $0 8 |
Tabby
Tabby suits people who want one free terminal for SSH, serial and local shells on any desktop system. It lists the main forwarding features and an encrypted vault. The catches: the project lists no security key or smart card login, and no key generator.
Termius
Termius suits people who work from several devices and want hosts, keys and snippets in one synced vault. The free Starter plan covers SSH, SFTP, port forwarding and, since version 10.1.0, agent forwarding, host chains and serial. The catch: sync needs Pro at $120 a year, and no X11 forwarding or scripting language is documented.
Both products are scored by the same rules: how we score SSH clients.