PuTTY is one of the most sought Secure Shell (SSH) Clients in the world. Also, it is a popular terminal client and communication software that is used to make remote connections. It supports many iterations of the secure remote terminal. PuTTY is also a great terminal emulator and supports emulation sequences from VT102, VT220 and xterm. While it is one of the oldest terminal clients, it is still widely trusted and used.

One of the downsides of PuTTY is that it does not support many of the modern features such as a tabbed interface. Therefore, developers also sought for PuTTY alternatives for Windows.

However, PuTTY is an application for the Windows operating system and does not work on the most widely used mobile operating system – Android.

Therefore, below was have listed the top ten SSH clients or PuTTY alternative for the Android operating system. PuTTY has various clients such as the key generation utility – PuTTYgen, the SCP client – PSCP, the SFTP client – PSFTP and Telnet client – PuTTYtel. As such, our list of alternatives for PuTTY features applications that not only offer as an alternative SSH client but also covers the majority of the functions of the PuTTY components.

Before we get into details, it is necessary to understand what SSH is and its primary uses.

SSH is a standard cryptographic network protocol that is leveraged to operate network services over the unsecured network securely. SSH was designed as a replacement of Telnet – a protocol that offers bidirectional text-based interactions facility over the internet.

With SSH, one can remotely access servers via SSH channels that assure complete security. Also, users can also remotely access most of the devices on the same network. Moreover, the cryptographic network protocol is also used for port forwarding or tunnelling. It is common knowledge that SSH is the best for secure connections.

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Best SSH Clients for Android

There are tons of applications on Android that are excellent Secure Shell Clients as well as PuTTY alternatives. However, our list only features the best ten apps that can fit the requirement of most.

The list below covers both free and paid SSH client applications. Most of the paid apps offer a trial version for a user to test it.

JuiceSSH – Best SSH Client for Android

JuiceSSH is one of the best free PuTTY alternatives for Android. At present, it is one of the most sought SSH clients for Android. Also, the app supports Local Shell, Mosh and Telnet support, hence, commonly known as the all-in-one terminal client. Amongst its top features is its minimal interface that is packed with features. The app is so powerful that users feel of having Linux terminal on your fingertips.

The app is free to use, and most features are unlocked. However, certain advanced features are locked, and one can only unlock them via in-app purchases. Some of these elements include dynamic port forwarding, team collaboration, post login script, synchronisation of multiple devices. The added perks of JuiceSSH is that it does not contain any advertisements.

The feature-rich terminal client allows users to assign identities such as usernames, the private key for multiple connections and passwords, for each of the individual connections. The software is touted as the best and is most favoured by users. Even google fetches it as the top result for the search query ‘SSH client for Android.“ The fact is common for search on Google Play Store.

JuiceSSH is sleek and modern SSH client that offers a colourful terminal. Also, the app comes with a popup keyboard that includes shell characters. However, for users that want to connect to an external keyboard, the app has programmed support. JuiceSSH offers various in-depth configuration ability such as leveraging the volume key to change the font size or even choose the type of connection.

The app comes with inbuilt themes to choose from such as Molokai, 80s hacker, Solarized Dark and Light. More so, users can set a particular script to run at login when creating SSH connection.

Among its best features include support for third-party plugins, copy and paste in the middle of sessions, support for Android terminal, key forwarding, and RSA key generator. Another secure feature is support for two-factor authentication. Users can secure their connections via Google Authenticator or any other third-party authenticator.

Termius – most favourite putty for android

Termius is unanimously the most favoured PuTTY alternative for Android. The application is a sophisticated and comprehensive command-line terminal solution that makes remote access seamless. Remotely operating and accessing any device including Linux or IoT device is accessible using Termius. One can remote connections without any hassle from the comfort of their couch.

WIth Terminus, one can access SSH, Telnet and Mosh. Users can download the application for free from the Play Store. The software has a beautiful, minimal and easy to operate user interface. To manage the server, a user only has to login by inputting the SSH command. Indeed, one can also control the Android mobile phone using a local terminal.

Termius does more than facilitate remote access; the application is also a great file transfer client. The program comes with a built-in file transfer protocol dubbed – SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). As such, file transfer, file management and file access are effortless on the server.

Besides, the SSH client supports multiple visual themes. As such, the particular feature is one of the most highly-touted on many forums. Another efficient is that it facilitates the management of various connections via a tabbed-interface, hence, saving time and effort. Termius is one of the few SSH clients for Android the provide the tab support. Furthermore, users can even organise connections with labels.

Termius supports auto operating system recognition for Raspberry Pi OSes , and Ubuntu. Other features that the application packs are port forwarding for dynamic, remote and local clients, in addition to the cryptographic algorithms such as chahca20-poly1305, ed25519 and ECDSA.

Termius has two versions – the basic free one and the other offers monthly and annual subscriptions. In the free iteration, many of the advanced features locked. But the best part of the free version is that it does not display ads. The features that are only available in the paid version include fingerprint protection, terminal tabs, AWS EC2 integration, and SFTP support.

Royal TSD

Royal TSD is an eminent Android secure shell client option. The commercial application provides easy and secure access to remote systems by enabling users access to Royal TS/X documents. One of the significant advantages is that it is a multi-platform application, hence, making it straightforward for users switching between multiple operating systems.

Users can open documents from Google Drive, OneDrive or any other cloud provider. One can also transfer the files via USB or email. As such, it is not necessary to connect to a remote desktop anymore. RoyalTSD is updated regularly, and the last update was on April 18. 2019.

Royal TSD uses third-party applications to make the SSH connection to the remote machines. It is more advantages as the majority of the third-party apps transfer the pre-configured login credentials so that one can auto-login to remote hosts. More so, users can configure all the parameters to be passed to these third-party applications.

The application best suit those that repeatedly need to access remote systems with various protocols. Commonly the software is leveraged by professionals such as system engineers and developers.

The app has two iterations – lite version and full edition. The full version is approximate to $7 and permits full access to all management connections. Besides, it also allows users to run PowerShell scripts on multiple remote machines simultaneously. The PowerShell script will offer ‘Quick search’ functionality. With the script, results are displayed on a grid or text. Also, it provides group and column ordering functionality.

In the lite edition of the app, one can only launch remote connections. When the application works in conjunction with the Royal Server, then users can examine event logs, manage virtual machines and even restart services.

The app saves time and energy as with one click users gain access to everything. Also, one can run simultaneous commands on multiple systems.

The most significant benefit of the application is that it supports various terminal connections, few of which are on our list of top 10 PuTTY alternative for Android, such as ConnectBot, Admin Hands and JuiceSSH.

GSW ConnectBot

GSW ConnectBot is one of the most powerful, robust and easy to use SSH client for Android. Georgia SoftWorks developed the application. The software is designed such to benefit bot industrial and administrative environments. However, GSW ConnectBot is mostly leveraged for industrial environments and is piloted on various scanner guns.

The software comes with a clean and straightforward user interface. The applications derive its user interface from the popular secure shell client application – ConnectBot. Reportedly, GSW ConnectBot is the most reliable and SSH client that is mostly used by professionals.

The reason for its top-notch security is the team professional and skilful technicians that support the software 24×7. More so, it is touted that the application offers the strongest encryption available for SSH client in the commercial market. One of the biggest perks of the program is that it has robust features that are highly reliable for industrial environments.

Another significant element of the application is that it is compatible with various hosts. The software also allows the administrator to preconfigure host shortcuts so that one can initiate the program in screen lockout as per the required work environment. Thus GSW ConnectBot’s feature set is one reason that it the ideal alternative of PuTTY for Android.

More so, users do not need an internet connection to leverage most of the management capabilities. As such, the software at no cost exchanges information or machine interactions with any third-party applications.

The GSW ConnectBot team updates the software regularly and ensures that users are not using the cryptographic algorithm that is found vulnerable. Therefore, the program leverages the latest cyphers that are tested to contain no weakness or vulnerability. The team makes sure that the best of the best is only released for commercial deployment.

ConnectBot

ConnectBot is yet another Android SSH client. It is an open source application that is entirely free. The source code of the program is available on GitHub. Also, the app has no ads or in-app purchases locked behind subscription plans. The best attribute about the software is that it offers an excellent feature set that is customizable. It is a perfect application for users that are looking for PuTTY alternative.

The program is designed such that it can transform any Android device into a simple and straightforward secure shell client to facilitate remote server connection.

On the downside, the application wasn’t updated regularly and had been idle for a few years in terms of development. However, as part of its plan to develop and revive the software, the team behind the application have launched a renewed version.

The new version welcomes many new features such as ‘material design’ that considerably upgrades the appearance of the app. The upgrade has come with improvement to its IPv6 support and fixing minor bugs.

As to customisation, users have liberty and numerous options when creating an SSH host. As such, one can customise font size, keyboard button configuration and SSH auth agent. Also, users can access control key, function keys, arrow keys by leveraging the special keys options in the app. The app is commonly touted for managing public keys.

Even though ConnectBot does not pack with features such as Termius, but it compensates it by being completely free.

Far Commander

Far Commander is instead a new secure shell client for Android that is straightforward to use. It is arguably one of the best PuTTY alternatives for Android device. One of the most significant advantages of the application is that users can create specific commands and then group them as per the requirement. One can use the software as an SSH client for essential remote connections.

Far Commander is a free application that does not contain any advertisements. However, the app has in-app purchases and reasonably rely on donations. The software is updated regularly and was last updated on 21st April 2019. As to the permissions, the application requires an internet connection so that the app can connect to servers.

It is often touted as the one-click application that makes it very easy to use. One can also make use of pre-configured commands in multiple SSH sessions simultaneously with just a single tap.
More so, users can even label the SSH servers into various categories. Far Commander makes it so easy to use the terminal. Also, with just a single tap, users can gain access to Raspberry Pie, Linux Server or other devices that are available in the home automation system.

One of the significant advantages of using Far Commander is that it permits users to backup all the categories of SSH servers and custom commands, configurations, and even server information. The only downside is that it lacks many of the advanced features.

Mobile SSH

Mobile SSH is essential and easy to use SSH client that comes with a simple user interface. Indeed, the app does not rank high in terms of providing a great user experience, but it one of the closest terminal clients to the world’s most favoured and favourite SSH client for Windows.

The reason it is similar to PuTTY is that it backend library is based on PuTTY and OpenSSH. It is derived from OpenSSH and PuTTY. Using the application is very easy, and it supports numerous SSH sessions simultaneously.

One has to enter the secure shell details and click on the connect button. It also supports one of the first public-key cryptosystems dubbed Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA) key authentication. The RSA authentication system is popular among users for secure data transmission.

It is touted that the software was developed in a bid to spread the use of OpenSSH on Android devices.

MobileSSH comes in two versions – basic and paid. Also, the free edition contains advertisements. Some of the features, such as support for multiple SSH sessions, are locked behind the pro version that comes at an affordable price of $2.99. The professional version is available as an independent application on the Play Store.

The pro version has an intuitive interface and offers few configuration options. More so, the team behind the software updates the app actively. All-in-all it is a simple but powerful terminal client for Android devices.

The barebone app offers Telnet and SSH1/SSH2 access to various networks. Moreover, it supports a wide range of terminal emulators such as IBM 5250 and 3270 and VT100.

Termux

Termux is a versatile and comprehensive SSH on an Android app that supports a commendable array of connection options. It is an Android terminal emulator and a Linux environment application that does not require the phone to be rooted.

Users have first to install Termux and then run the following command – ‘apt install inetutils’ that in return will allow utilising SSH, Telnet, and RLogin. The application packed with features, from the basics to the most advanced. Although, it might seem to overkill the additional features can come in handy at times.

The best part of the advanced application is that it is free to use and is ad-free. More so, the app has no in-app purchases. One can enjoy the full liberty of all features for free.

User has to install the additional base packages via the APT package manager. One of the reasons the app is popular among users is that it supports a comprehensive Linux package collection. It is one of the best terminal emulators for Android and is second to none when it comes to features.

After installing Termux, users will gain access to Linux shell, in which one can add or upgrade or remove the built-in packages. One of the significant advantages is that it offers the same user experience as a computer; hence, connecting to a server is the same as on a computer. As such, one can leverage the entire power of the command line.

Beyond its ability to connect to an SSH, Termux can execute the Linux commands directly as it provides access to the Android shell. The application syncs well with various command-line utility, compilers and command languages. Few of those are bash, Unix-like operating command system- grep and compiler systems – GCC and Clang. Also, it facilitates editing files with Nano and Vim.

SerialBot

SerialBot is easy to use and straightforward terminal application for Android devices. The PuTTY alternative for Android facilitates terminal emulation for SSH, Serial & Bluetooth terminal sessions, RLogin, Serial Connections and Telnet. The terminal application provides integrated support for RS232 serial connections. It supports VT100 terminal emulation.

On most cases, users leverage SerialBot to connect to industrial equipment and router console ports.

The application is built by a global cloud-based communication solutions company – Cloudstore. The company offers various cloud-based products. It is famous for developing the serial port application for iOS platform dubbed as getting Console. It is also the maker of the widespread serial-over WIFI or Bluetooth Adaptor – Airconsole.

SSHDroid

SSHDroid is a great SSH client and an ideal PuTTY alternative for Android. The application is designed to serve not only terminal connections but also WinSCP, Secure File Transfer Protocol, and Cyberduck.

Akin to most of the software on the list, SSHDroid comes with a basic (free) version and professional (paid) edition. The software locks various advanced features such as Wi-Fi autostart whitelist, ad removal, home screen and lock screen widgets, and shared key authentication, behind the pro iteration.

Nevertheless, the free edition offers secure SSH connections for Android. As it supports SFTP, users can leverage the software for file transfers. Users are not required to root the phone to use the application; it is an optional choice. One of the drawbacks is that the team behind the app does not actively update the application.

There are many other available in the market such as OrangeSSH Client, AndFTP and SSH/SFTP/FTP/Telenet Advanced Client – Admin Hands.

However, the above-listed are the top 10 PuTTY alternatives for Android. Most of the applications have an intuitive user interface that makes it easy to use. More so, the applications are a mix of both free and paid iterations, therefore, offering the user the complete liberty to choose. The listed apps not only covers most of the PuTTY functions but also add on it.