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How to choose the best SSH client for Windows: a checklist

Windows 10 and 11 already have an SSH client: type ssh user@server in PowerShell. It's fine for the odd connection. Once you have several servers, you'll want saved hosts, tabs, keys that just work, and files next to the terminal.

Rather than a list of names that goes stale, here's what actually separates a good SSH client for Windows, as a checklist you can hold any of them against, including ours.

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Updated · Windows 10 and 11

First: the SSH client built into Windows

Windows 10 (version 1809 and later) and Windows 11 include the OpenSSH client. In PowerShell or Command Prompt:

ssh admin@server.example.com
ssh -p 2222 admin@server.example.com
ssh-keygen -t ed25519
scp report.pdf admin@server.example.com:/tmp/

Save your servers in an SSH config file and ssh web is all you type. What it doesn't give you: a saved host list you can click, a file manager, tabs of its own or anything to run one command on many servers. That's where a dedicated client earns its place.

The checklist

  • Tabs (and side by side). Several servers in one window, and two or more on screen at once when you're comparing or watching logs.
  • A saved host list. Folders, search, notes, and import from your SSH config file or the sessions you already have, so moving in doesn't mean typing every server again.
  • Keys that just work. OpenSSH, PEM and .ppk private keys, Ed25519 and RSA, passphrases asked once, and a way to make a key and put it on a server. See passwordless SSH with keys.
  • Passwords stored safely. Encrypted on your PC, never in a plain settings file, and, if they sync between your computers, encrypted so the company in the middle can't read them.
  • Host key checks. A new server's fingerprint shown for you to trust before your password is sent, and a loud warning (not a click-through) when a known server's key changes.
  • SFTP next to the terminal. A two-pane file manager with drag and drop, opened from the same saved host. Bonus: copying straight from one server to another. See SFTP vs SCP vs FTP.
  • Jump hosts, tunnels and proxies. Reaching a server through a bastion, local and remote port forwards, and SOCKS or HTTP proxies. See what an SSH tunnel is.
  • A real terminal. Full-screen tools (htop, vim, nano, tmux) drawn correctly, colors, a resizable window that tells the server its new size, sensible copy and paste, and enough scrollback.
  • Many servers at once. Type into every open tab at once, and run a saved script on a list of servers with each one's output and exit code.
  • Everything else you connect to. If you also use RDP, VNC, serial consoles or web admin pages, one app for all of them beats four.
  • Licensing that fits. Free for personal use only, or for work too? Per user or per device? Check before it's on every admin's PC.

Try it on a real day

Import your hosts, open your three busiest servers, edit a file in vim, copy a log down with SFTP and run one command everywhere. A client that's pleasant for that is the right one.

A terminal for Windows itself

If what you want is a better terminal for local shells (PowerShell, Command Prompt, WSL), look at the terminal apps for Windows. For SSH, an SSH client with saved hosts and SFTP saves more time, because the work is in connecting, not in the window. Many people keep one of each.

How RemoteAccessApp measures up

Here's our own SSH client against the same list, so you can check it for yourself:

  • SSH terminals in tabs, and split view for several at once. htop, vim, nano and mc work.
  • A saved host list, with import from your SSH config file, saved sessions and .rdp files.
  • OpenSSH, PEM and .ppk keys (RSA, ECDSA and Ed25519), with passphrases remembered or asked each time.
  • A server's key fingerprint shown before your password is sent, and a changed key refused with a warning.
  • Two-pane SFTP and FTP file managers, FTPS included, and server-to-server copies in the Windows app.
  • Local and remote port forwards and a SOCKS proxy on each host, plus SOCKS and HTTP proxies to reach it.
  • Send to all tabs, and saved scripts you run with one click or on many hosts at once.
  • RDP, VNC, serial consoles and web admin panels next to your SSH hosts, and remote desktop to your own PCs.
  • SSH from the website in any browser, including on a phone, with a key bar for Esc, Tab, Ctrl and arrows.
  • Free for personal and work use for up to 5 saved hosts, 3 open at once, on Windows and Linux.

Jump hosts Pro and the Vault, which syncs your saved passwords and keys between your computers end-to-end encrypted Pro, are part of Pro, along with unlimited hosts.

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