What are the best telnet clients for Windows?

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4

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Considered

19

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Recs.

Oct 21, 2023

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

4 Options Considered

Best telnet clients for Windows	Price	Platforms	License
-- ZOC Terminal	-	-	-
-- KiTTY	-	-	-
-- Windows Telnet	-	-	-
-- PuTTY	-	Windows, GNU/Linux	MIT

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score 3 · Answer 1

ZOC Terminal

Top Pro

Telnet and Telnet/SSL

Also supports SSL encrypted telnet connections. See More

Top Pro

Scriptable

Zoc provides complete automation of the client using its macro scripting. See More

score 1 · Answer 2

KiTTY

Top Pro

Multiple terminal windows

Supports tiling multiple terminal windows side by side in different layouts without needing to use an extra program like tmux. See More

Top Con

Still new

Has no packages for a lot of main distros. See More

Top Pro

Startup sessions

Support start-up sessions which allow you to specify the window/tab layout, working directories, and programs to run on startup. See More

Top Pro

Cross-platform

Works on Linux and macOS. See More

Top Pro

OpenGL for rendering

Offloads rendering work to the GPU for lower system load. See More

Top Pro

True Color support

Supports True Color, so software like Vim can display a really nice pallet. See More

Top Pro

Unicode

Uses Unicode for the best character compatibility. See More

Top Pro

Can store login credentials

Top Pro

Includes additional features over PuTTy

Sessions filter Shortcuts for pre-defined command The session launcher Automatic logon script URL hyperlinks Running a locally saved script on a remote session Send to tray Transparency Quick start of a duplicate session SSH Handler: Internet Explorer integration pscp.exe and WinSCP integration New command-line options See More

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score 6 · Answer 3

Windows Telnet

Top Pro

Very minimalistic and barebones

Call it from the command line and it's there. A bare bones typical telnet client like on Linux. See More

Top Pro

Comes with Windows

No need to download. Just add the feature in the Windows installer. See More

score 7 · Answer 4

PuTTY

Top Con

Can not save passwords

Anyway, you can use "PuTTYgen" to generate a key pair, then use "Pageant" to do a password-less SSH remote login. See More

Top Pro

De facto standard client for SSH, Telnet and Rlogin

PuTTY is one of the oldest and most popular clients. It has earned the trust of a great number of users over a long period by being reliable, offering useful features and helpful support. It got into the 15 Essential Open Source Tools for Windows Admins list by InfoWorld. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, GNU/Linux

License:MIT

Initial Release:1999-01-22

Latest Release:2021-07-17

See All Specs

Top Con

Tedious logging/tracing

Its tedious to set up logging and tracing (e.g. for serial connections). See More

Top Pro

Free

Top Con

Ugly design, too simple

Top Con

Lacks features

It is JUST an SSH client. There are many other options with built in X-servers, Multitabbing, etc. See More

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What are the best telnet clients for Windows?

4 Options Considered

ZOC Terminal

My Recommendation for ZOC Terminal

My Recommendation for ZOC Terminal

Telnet and Telnet/SSL

Scriptable

KiTTY

My Recommendation for KiTTY

My Recommendation for KiTTY

Multiple terminal windows

Still new

Startup sessions

Cross-platform

OpenGL for rendering

True Color support

Unicode

Can store login credentials

Includes additional features over PuTTy

Windows Telnet

My Recommendation for Windows Telnet

My Recommendation for Windows Telnet

Very minimalistic and barebones

Comes with Windows

PuTTY

My Recommendation for PuTTY

My Recommendation for PuTTY

Can not save passwords

De facto standard client for SSH, Telnet and Rlogin

Tedious logging/tracing

Free

Ugly design, too simple

Lacks features

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