MobaXterm vs Tabby (2026): which should you pick?

Pick MobaXterm if

• Fits if you are on Windows and need SSH, X11 forwarding and RDP together
• Works for admins who want a portable app with no install

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you use a Mac or Linux, as it is Windows only
• Tight if you pass 12 sessions, 2 tunnels or 4 macros on Home
• Watch out: Professional includes 12 months of updates and the page gives no price after
• Watch out: for use inside a company the vendor points you to Professional

Pick Tabby if

• Fits if you want one free app for local shells, SSH and serial ports
• Works for Windows users replacing PuTTY or the default console

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if memory use matters, since the project says Tabby is not lightweight
• Skip it if you need shared vaults or team features, as the pages describe none
• Too light for support needs: there is no paid support, only the open-source project
• Watch out: it is not a new shell and does not replace MinGW or Cygwin

MobaXterm

• Runs on Windows only; the vendor describes it as a Windows application.
• The Home Edition caps sessions at 12, SSH tunnels at 2 and macros at 4.
• The Professional price includes 12 months of updates; the page does not state the price of later updates.
• For use inside a company, the vendor says to consider the Professional Edition; it mentions volume discounts.

Tabby

• The project says it is not lightweight; it points to other terminals if memory use matters.
• Tabby is not a new shell and does not replace MinGW or Cygwin.
• The pages read describe no team features such as shared vaults, and list no paid support.

MobaXterm

Tabbed SSH terminal

Tabbed sessions based on PuTTY with antialiased fonts, macro support and a session manager for saved connections.

Embedded X server

An X.org-based server exports DISPLAY from a remote Unix host and carries X11 forwarding over SSH.

Remote desktop protocols

Besides SSH, the Home Edition lists RDP, VNC and Xdmcp for remote desktops, and Telnet, rlogin and Mosh for terminals.

Automatic SFTP browser

Opening an SSH session brings up a graphical SFTP browser so remote files can be edited directly.

Unix commands on Windows

Basic Cygwin commands such as bash, grep, awk, sed and rsync run in a single portable executable.

Plugins and Customizer

Plugins extend the app. The Professional Edition adds a Customizer for startup message, logo and profile script.

Tabby

SSH and Telnet client

SSH2 with a connection manager, X11 and port forwarding, jump hosts, agent forwarding and login scripts.

Serial terminal

Saved serial connections with readline input, optional hex input and hexdump output, newline conversion and automatic reconnection.

Split panes and tabs

Nested split panes, tabs on any side of the window, a dockable quick console with a global hotkey and fully configurable shortcuts.

Local shells on Windows

Profiles for PowerShell, WSL, Git-Bash, Cygwin, MSYS2, Cmder and CMD sit beside remote sessions.

Encrypted secrets container

SSH secrets and configuration are kept in an integrated encrypted container; Zmodem transfers files from SSH sessions.

Plugins and web app

Plugins and themes install from the settings view, and a web app offers SSH, SFTP and Telnet, with a self-hosted option.

MobaXterm

• Home Edition$0

  Free. Max. 12 sessions, 2 SSH tunnels and 4 macros; the vendor points company use to Professional.

• Professional Edition$69

  per user, one-time, with 12 months of updates

  Also listed in euros at 49. Unlimited sessions, tunnels and macros, a Customizer tool and a lifetime right to use.

Tabby

• Tabby$0

  Free and open source; the web app can also be self-hosted.