head to head · open source
Ghostty vs Kitty
Ghostty has 61,231 GitHub stars, 3,461 forks, 251 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kitty has 34,947 stars, 1,513 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Ghostty leads on adoption by 75% (61,231 vs 34,947 stars). Ghostty is written in Zig under MIT; Kitty is written in Python under GPL-3.0. Ghostty has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Kitty 4%. Ghostty was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Ghostty | Kitty | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 61K | ★ 35K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Zig | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.5K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Ghostty if
- You weight community size — 61K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Zig
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Kitty if
- You want the Kitty feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Kitty fits your workflow better
About Ghostty
Ghostty is a fast, feature rich, cross platform terminal emulator that uses platform native UI and GPU acceleration, written in Zig under the MIT licence and aimed at developers who want speed, features, and a native app experience in one terminal instead of choosing between them.
read the full Ghostty overview →
About Kitty
Kitty is a GPU accelerated terminal emulator designed for power users who spend most of their time in the command line. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, leveraging OpenGL for rendering to achieve high performance and responsiveness. Built in Python with performance critical components in C, it replaces slower, legacy terminal emulators by providing a modern, efficient foundation for interactive shell workflows.
read the full Kitty overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Ghostty or Kitty more popular?
Ghostty has 61,231 GitHub stars and Kitty has 34,947. Ghostty has the larger community by that measure.
Are Ghostty and Kitty free?
Both are open source. Ghostty is licensed under MIT and Kitty under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Ghostty and Kitty?
Ghostty is written in Zig and Kitty in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Ghostty or Kitty?
Choose Ghostty if you want the larger community (61,231 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Kitty if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.