When comparing MobaXterm vs Alacritty, the Slant community recommends MobaXterm for most people. In the question“What are the best terminal emulators for Windows?” MobaXterm is ranked 6th while Alacritty is ranked 12th. The most important reason people chose MobaXterm is:
MobaXterm can connect to practically anything.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Flexible
MobaXterm can connect to practically anything.
Pro X server support
In case you need X11 forwarding, MobaXterm has an integrated X server.
Pro Full linux subsystem with package manager
And you can install conda for additional package management.
Pro Tabbed or split mode
Multiple terminals can either be in tabs or split horizontally or vertically.
Pro Integral remote file editor
Edit remote files via ssh and sftp
Pro SSH tunnel controls and forwarding UI controls makes it easy
Pro Automatic SFTP
With MobaXterm, there's no fiddling with multiple apps: simply connect and everything is available.
Pro Connection manager
Pro ENV can use Windows PATH
Pro Password vault
Pro Server tools (HTTPD, SSHD, SFTPD, TTFT)
Pro Build in sftp file manager
Manipulate and edit remote files in the file browser.
Pro Integrates with WSL
Integrates perfectly with the Windows Subsystem for Linux. Out of the box it offers a shell to that system.
Pro Supports macro controls (multi commands in single screen)
Pro Blazing fast rendering with GPU-accelerated
Written in Rust with a philosophy focusing on speed and simplicity, Alacritty is one of the fastest terminal emulators out there.
Pro Looks good
Alacritty looks very slick on Linux, especially with GNOME or i3.
Pro Simple configuration
The configuration file is very well made and easy to use. You can fine tune your preferences to perfection in a matter of minutes.
Pro Comprehensive font options
Alacritty can be configured to adjust line spacing (height), letter spacing (width), and individual character horizontal/vertical positions.
Pro Has support for image previews in w3m and ranger
Pro Has text ref-low when window is resized
Pro Fast and simple but with true color support
It's simple and fast like xterm or urxvt but with truecolor support which is a big plus if you use a terminal based code editor. Basically Alacritty has all the features you need and nothing you don't (if you're using tmux for multiplexing).
Cons
Con Not completely freeware
If you use MobaXterm at work, they hope you will pay for it. This isn't horrifying, but it's not providing any new features in Linux to warrant the outlay. Its integration with Putty in Windows as an X client may make it worth the funds.
Con Split screen prevents tabbed mode
If you split a screen within a tab, you have to go back to single screen before you can switch to another tab.
Con Can have some performance issues
MobaXterm can have some occasional performance issues. These happen rarely but it's worth mentioning that they exist, especially since this is a paid tool.
Con Cannot into ligatures
Alacritty does not support ligatures in Fira Code, Iosevka etc.
Con Unreliable Font Rendering
Like a box of chocolate you never know what you're going to get.
Con Sacrifices basic features for raw performance
The Suzuki GSXR of terminals. Or your ditzy, blonde high school cheerleader; fast and pretty but not a lot going on under the hood.
Eschews a negative developmental philosophy towards including said functionality, with the official reason cited in project documentation as "Not within the realm of a terminal emulator" and ostensibly, "best left up to other tools such as terminal multiplexers" [such as screen or tmux]. Which is unfortunate when you factor in speed against terminal with the functionality built in vs their reliance on 3rd party tools:
tmux on alacritty: 'find /usr' time: 3.234s, cpu: 72%
tmux on konsole: find /usr' time: 1.777s, cpu: 96%
See issue here.