# MobaXterm review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Tabbed SSH client and X server for Windows in one portable app Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. MobaXterm is a Windows application that bundles a tabbed SSH terminal, an embedded X server and clients for RDP, VNC, FTP and Mosh. It opens a graphical SFTP browser alongside an SSH session. A free Home Edition exists, and a Professional Edition removes its session and tunnel caps. - **Category:** Remote Desktop - **Made by:** Mobatek - **Website:** https://mobaxterm.mobatek.net - **Runs on:** Windows - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you use a Mac or Linux, as it is Windows only. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, MobaXterm has a free plan, and paid plans start at $69 per user, one-time, with 12 months of updates. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Home Edition: full X server and SSH, RDP and VNC clients, SFTP browser; capped at 12 sessions, 2 SSH tunnels and 4 macros. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | 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. | Read from https://mobaxterm.mobatek.net/download.html on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with MobaXterm before buying. ## Key features - **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. ## Good for - Windows users who need SSH, X11 forwarding and RDP in one tool - Admins who want a portable executable that runs without installing - Teams that outgrow the free edition's 12-session limit ## Worth knowing - 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. MobaXterm bundles an SSH client, an X server and remote-desktop clients in a portable Windows app. Home is free but capped at 12 sessions, 2 tunnels and 4 macros, and it runs on Windows only. - **Value for money: A.** Professional is $69 one-time with 12 months of updates, under a year of the category's $8.33 middle subscription. Home is free. - **Free plan and trial: B.** Home has the X server and SSH, RDP, VNC and SFTP, capped at 12 sessions, 2 tunnels and 4 macros. - **Features: B.** SSH, an X server, RDP, VNC and an SFTP browser together. The listing shows no gap in the core job. - **Ease of use: B.** A portable app you run without installing, with no store rating read. - **Platforms and integrations: D.** Windows only, as the vendor describes it as a Windows application. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Mobatek's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among remote desktop apps - MobaXterm's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 69 of the 85 other remote desktop apps we grade, and level with 5. - It stands best on value for money (A, above 63 of 85) and worst on platforms and integrations (D, above 0). The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/remote-access ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace MobaXterm you would be making a fast, secure link to another computer through any network. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 69 of the 85 other remote desktop apps we grade. It costs $69, paid once. - You could not: A fast, secure link to another computer through any network. - You could not: Storing and serving files for other people. - You could not: A real app for Windows. Something home-made would be a web page. - You could not: It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team. - You could not: The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Remote desktop, File sharing ## Alternatives - [PuTTY](https://toolgpa.com/tools/putty): Free SSH and Telnet client for Windows with file-copy utilities. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mobaxterm-vs-putty) - [SecureCRT](https://toolgpa.com/tools/securecrt): SSH, Telnet and serial terminal for Windows, macOS and Linux. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mobaxterm-vs-securecrt) - [Xshell](https://toolgpa.com/tools/xshell): SSH terminal for Windows with session, tab and file managers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mobaxterm-vs-xshell) - [Termius](https://toolgpa.com/tools/termius): SSH and SFTP client for desktop and mobile with a synced vault. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mobaxterm-vs-termius) - [Royal TS](https://toolgpa.com/tools/royal-ts): Connection manager for RDP, SSH, VNC and web sessions. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mobaxterm-vs-royal-ts) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://mobaxterm.mobatek.net/download.html - https://mobaxterm.mobatek.net Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/mobaxterm Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).