# Xshell review (2026): is the free plan enough? > SSH terminal for Windows with session, tab and file managers Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Xshell is an SSH client from NetSarang for Windows that also opens SFTP, Telnet and RDP sessions. It adds a session manager, quick command buttons, triggers and reusable authentication profiles. NetSarang offers a free license for personal and educational use and sells perpetual licenses for business. - **Category:** Remote Desktop - **Made by:** NetSarang Computer, Inc. - **Website:** https://www.netsarang.com/en/xshell/ - **Runs on:** Windows - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you use a Mac or Linux, as there is no build for either. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Xshell has a free plan, and paid plans start at $119 per user, perpetual, with 1 year of maintenance. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Free license for personal and educational (non-commercial) use of Xshell and Xftp; business use needs a paid license. - **Free trial:** 30-day evaluation. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free (personal and educational) | $0 | Non-commercial use only; downloading it signs you up for occasional promotional emails. | | Xshell | $119 per user, perpetual license, 1 year of maintenance included | Single-user license for up to 2 devices, with 1 year of free updates and support. | | Xshell Plus | $139 per user, perpetual license, 1 year of maintenance included | Xshell plus Xftp, the SFTP and FTP transfer client. | | Xmanager Power Suite | $399 per user, perpetual license, 1 year of maintenance included | Xmanager X server, Xshell, Xftp and the Xlpd print server together. | Read from https://www.netsarang.com/en/xshell/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Xshell before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **Free license for personal and educational use** (Education): NetSarang licenses Xshell and Xftp free for personal and educational use only; any business use is outside the free terms. Source: https://www.netsarang.com/en/free-for-home-school/ ## Key features - **Session, tab and file managers:** Dockable panels for saved sessions, open tabs, a quick command manager and a file manager sit around the terminal. - **Quick commands and triggers:** Build buttons for frequent commands, run actions when terminal output matches a pattern, and use a compose pane for multi-line input. - **Script recording:** Scripts can be generated automatically from the input and output of a terminal session. - **Authentication profiles:** Save a set of authentication settings once, apply it to many sessions and update them all by editing the profile. - **RDP in the same window:** Remote Desktop sessions open as tabs beside terminal sessions in one window. - **Color themes and highlight rules:** Dark and other themes, per-session color schemes and highlight rules that pick out important terminal text. ## Good for - Windows users who want SSH, SFTP and RDP tabs in one app - Students and hobbyists who qualify for the free license - Organizations that prefer a perpetual license to a subscription ## Worth knowing - The free license excludes business use; the vendor says commercial use needs a paid license. - A paid license includes 1 year of maintenance (updates and support); the page does not give the price after that. - The download page lists Windows 8 and later; no macOS or Linux build is listed. - Volume discounts are by quote; the vendor tells larger buyers to contact sales. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Xshell is a Windows SSH client with session, tab and quick-command panels and RDP in the same window. It is free for personal and school use, but businesses pay $119 once, it only runs on Windows, and updates stop after the first year unless you pay on. - **Value for money: B.** $119 once for up to 2 devices, with a year of updates, is under two years of this category's middle subscription ($8.33 a month). Xshell Plus with Xftp is $139 and the full suite $399. - **Free plan and trial: B.** The free license covers personal and educational use with no stated cap, but business use is outside it and needs a paid license after the 30-day evaluation. - **Features: B.** SSH, Telnet, SFTP and RDP tabs, quick commands, triggers, script recording and shared authentication profiles. Nothing in the listing is missing from a terminal client's core job. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. It needs sessions and authentication profiles set up before it saves you time. - **Platforms and integrations: D.** Windows only: the download page lists Windows 8 and later and no macOS or Linux build. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from NetSarang'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 - Xshell's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 35 of the 85 other remote desktop apps we grade, and level with 13. - It stands best on features (B, above 55 of 85) and worst on platforms and integrations (D, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $9.92 a month when paid by the year for each person, against a middle price of $8.33 for the category: 25 of the 44 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 26 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/remote-access ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Xshell 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 costs $119 a year. - You could not: A fast, secure link to another computer through any network. - You could not: Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. - 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. ## Works with Xftp, Xmanager **Tags:** Remote desktop, One-time purchase, Workflow automation ## Alternatives - [SecureCRT](https://toolgpa.com/tools/securecrt): SSH, Telnet and serial terminal for Windows, macOS and Linux. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/securecrt-vs-xshell) - [MobaXterm](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mobaxterm): Tabbed SSH client and X server for Windows in one portable app. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mobaxterm-vs-xshell) - [PuTTY](https://toolgpa.com/tools/putty): Free SSH and Telnet client for Windows with file-copy utilities. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/putty-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/termius-vs-xshell) - [Tabby](https://toolgpa.com/tools/tabby): Configurable terminal with built-in SSH, Telnet and serial clients. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/tabby-vs-xshell) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.netsarang.com/en/xshell/ - https://www.netsarang.com/en/free-for-home-school/ - https://www.netsarang.com/en/xshell-download/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/xshell Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).