When comparing PuTTY vs WinSCP, the Slant community recommends PuTTY for most people. In the question“What are the best SSH clients for Windows?” PuTTY is ranked 4th while WinSCP is ranked 17th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Free
Pro De facto standard client for SSH, Telnet and Rlogin on Windows
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.
Pro Can be used on any Windows computer, even without admin rights
Pro Source code available
Full source available. Compile and modify it yourself.
Pro Lightweight and portable
Doesn't require much resources (memory and hard-disk). Can even be run on a system by just downloading without install.
Pro Supports FTP and SFTP
In new versions also supports WebDav.
Pro Free and open-source
It has very good compatibility with the other tools of this segment (e.g. PuTTY).
Pro Supports WebDAV
Pro Not bundled with Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUP)
Does not attempt to install unwanted software on installation.
Pro Supports PPK Keys
You can use the SSH server public/private key files from putty to log in.
Pro Supports Amazon S3
You can use in the last versions S3 so you're good if you use Amazon AWS.
Pro Portable
No Installation required.
Pro Integrated basic text editor
It has a integrated basic function text editor to create/edit/update files directly from client.
Pro Can protect stored passwords by strong AES cipher
Pro Can be automated with batch scripts
Put a line in bat file ""D:\Program Files\WinSCP\winscp.com" /console /script="D:\ftp\scripts\transfer.txt". All the info can be found on their site.
Cons
Con Only one session per window
Cannot open a second session in the same window (you need multiple windows).
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.
Con Lacks features
It is JUST an SSH client. There are many other options with built in X-servers, Multitabbing, etc.
Con Ugly design, too simple
Looks very dated. Does the basic functions very well, but not much more.
Con No global settings
If you want to change a setting for all your connections, you'd have to do it individually.
Con Organizing sessions
Does not have features for organizing session connections (like folders). If you have 5-10 connections that's fine. But if there are 30-50 connections - that becomes a nightmare.
Con Tedious logging/tracing
Its tedious to set up logging and tracing (e.g. for serial connections).
Con No login scripting
Con Keyboard shortcuts not editable
Con Slow
In my opinion, it's slower than Filezilla.
Con No x64 version
Con Does not support UNC
Does not support UNC. This makes working with the "Library"-function in Win 7, 8, 10 not possible when working over a network.
Con Weird keyboard selection handling
If you are accustomed to several commanders, the selection method in WinSCP behaves unexpected - most often selects too much.
