head to head · open source
Alacritty vs Kitty
Alacritty has 66,108 GitHub stars, 3,704 forks, 340 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kitty has 35,510 stars, 1,581 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Alacritty leads on adoption by 86% (66,108 vs 35,510 stars). Alacritty is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Kitty is written in Python under GPL-3.0. Alacritty has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Kitty 4%. Kitty was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (opengl, terminal, terminal-emulators), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| Alacritty | Kitty | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 36K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.7K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Alacritty if
- You weight community size — 66K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- 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 Alacritty
Alacritty A fast, cross platform, OpenGL terminal emulator About Alacritty is a modern terminal emulator that comes with sensible defaults, but allows for extensive configuration. By integrating with other applications, rather than reimplementing their functionality, it manages to provide a flexible set of features with high performance. The supported platforms currently consist of BSD, Linux, macOS and Windows. The software is considered to be at a beta level of readiness; there are a few missing features and bugs to be fixed, but it is already used by many as a daily driver. Precompiled binaries are available…
read the full Alacritty overview →
About Kitty
= kitty the fast, feature rich, cross platform, GPU based terminal If you live in the terminal, kitty is made for you ! See kitty website]. image: status", link=" Asked Questions] To ask other questions about kitty usage, use either the on GitHub] or the community] Packaging status in various repositories: image: status", link="
read the full Kitty overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Alacritty or Kitty more popular?
Alacritty has 66,108 GitHub stars and Kitty has 35,510. Alacritty has the larger community by that measure.
Are Alacritty and Kitty free?
Both are open source. Alacritty is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Kitty under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Alacritty and Kitty?
Alacritty is written in Rust 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, Alacritty or Kitty?
Choose Alacritty if you want the larger community (66,108 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Kitty if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.