Best Terminal Emulators in 2026: Kitty vs Alacritty vs WezTerm vs iTerm2 vs Windows Terminal

Best Terminal Emulators in 2026

Your terminal emulator is the application you stare at for hours every day. Picking the right one matters more than most developers admit. The difference between a sluggish terminal and a GPU-accelerated one is immediately noticeable when you're tailing logs, scrolling through large files, or running build output.

Here's a practical comparison of the five terminals worth considering in 2026, with clear recommendations for each platform.

The Contenders

Kitty

Kitty is a GPU-accelerated terminal written in C and Python by Kovid Goyal. It's fast, feature-rich, and has the most capable image rendering protocol of any terminal.

Strengths: Native image display (the Kitty graphics protocol is now supported by many tools), excellent font rendering with ligature support, built-in tab and split management, and a powerful remote control API. Configuration lives in a single kitty.conf file with clear syntax.

Weaknesses: macOS support works but feels second-class. No Windows support at all. The developer has strong opinions and is not shy about closing feature requests he disagrees with.

# ~/.config/kitty/kitty.conf
font_family      JetBrains Mono
font_size        13.0
enable_audio_bell no

# GPU rendering
sync_to_monitor yes

# Splits and tabs
map ctrl+shift+enter new_window_with_cwd
map ctrl+shift+t     new_tab_with_cwd

# Theme
include themes/catppuccin-mocha.conf

Alacritty

Alacritty bills itself as "the fastest terminal emulator in existence." It's written in Rust, uses OpenGL for rendering, and is intentionally minimalist.

Strengths: Genuinely fast rendering. Cross-platform (Linux, macOS, Windows). Simple TOML configuration. Very low resource usage.

Weaknesses: No tabs, no splits, no ligatures (by design). The developers' philosophy is that your terminal multiplexer should handle those features. If you want tabs, you pair it with tmux or Zellij. Font ligature support was finally added in v0.15, but it took years of community pressure.

# ~/.config/alacritty/alacritty.toml
[font]
size = 13.0

[font.normal]
family = "JetBrains Mono"

[window]
opacity = 0.95
padding = { x = 8, y = 8 }

[scrolling]
history = 10000

WezTerm

WezTerm is a Rust-based terminal with Lua-scripted configuration. It's the most programmable terminal emulator available.

Strengths: GPU-accelerated, full ligature support, built-in multiplexer (tabs, splits, workspaces), image protocol support, and a Lua configuration that lets you script virtually anything. Cross-platform with solid support on all three OSes. The SSH integration lets you multiplex remote sessions without tmux.

Weaknesses: Higher memory usage than Alacritty or Kitty. The Lua configuration is powerful but the learning curve is steeper than a flat config file. Some users report occasional rendering glitches on Wayland.

-- ~/.config/wezterm/wezterm.lua
local wezterm = require 'wezterm'
local config = wezterm.config_builder()

config.font = wezterm.font('JetBrains Mono')
config.font_size = 13.0
config.color_scheme = 'Catppuccin Mocha'
config.enable_tab_bar = true
config.use_fancy_tab_bar = false
config.window_background_opacity = 0.95

config.keys = {
  { key = 'd', mods = 'SUPER', action = wezterm.action.SplitHorizontal { domain = 'CurrentPaneDomain' } },
  { key = 'd', mods = 'SUPER|SHIFT', action = wezterm.action.SplitVertical { domain = 'CurrentPaneDomain' } },
}

return config

iTerm2

iTerm2 is the macOS-only terminal that most Mac developers have used at some point. It's been around for over a decade and has accumulated an enormous feature set.

Strengths: Deep macOS integration, excellent profile system, triggers and automatic profile switching, native tmux integration mode, built-in password manager, and a mature, stable codebase.

Weaknesses: macOS only. Not GPU-accelerated in the same way as the Rust/C alternatives (it uses Metal, but rendering is noticeably slower on large output). The settings UI is sprawling and hard to navigate. Configuration is stored in macOS preferences, making dotfile management awkward compared to a plain config file.

Windows Terminal

Windows Terminal is Microsoft's modern terminal for Windows, replacing the ancient conhost. It runs PowerShell, CMD, WSL, and Azure Cloud Shell in tabs.

Strengths: GPU-accelerated text rendering, proper Unicode and emoji support (finally), tabs with split panes, JSON configuration, and tight WSL integration. It's the only sane option on Windows.

Weaknesses: Windows only. The settings JSON can be finicky. Some keybinding conflicts with Windows system shortcuts. No plugin system.

Comparison Table

Recommendations

Linux: Use Kitty. It has the best combination of speed, features, and Linux-native development. The graphics protocol is increasingly well-supported by CLI tools like ranger, yazi, and neovim. If you want maximum minimalism and pair everything with tmux, Alacritty is the runner-up.

macOS: Use WezTerm. It gives you everything iTerm2 does (tabs, splits, images) with better rendering performance and a version-controllable Lua config. iTerm2 is still a fine choice if you're already invested in it, but for a fresh setup, WezTerm wins. If you prefer native macOS feel over configurability, iTerm2 still has the edge in OS integration.

Windows: Use Windows Terminal. There's no real competition here. Pair it with WSL2 and you have a solid Linux development environment. WezTerm on Windows is a decent alternative if you want the same config across all your machines.

Cross-platform consistency: Use WezTerm. It's the only terminal that runs well on all three platforms with the same configuration file. If your dotfiles need to work everywhere, this is the answer.

The Bottom Line

The terminal emulator landscape has matured significantly. GPU acceleration is table stakes, not a differentiator. The real decision comes down to: do you want a batteries-included terminal (Kitty, WezTerm, iTerm2) or a minimal renderer paired with tmux/Zellij (Alacritty)?

Both approaches are valid. The batteries-included route means fewer moving parts. The minimal route means each component is replaceable. Pick the philosophy that matches how you think about your tools, then commit to it.