head to head · open source
Kitty vs iTerm 2
Kitty has 34,947 GitHub stars, 1,513 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped yesterday. iTerm 2 has 18,067 stars, 1,496 forks, 73 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kitty leads on adoption by 93% (34,947 vs 18,067 stars). Kitty is written in Python under GPL-3.0; iTerm 2 is written in Objective-C under GPL-2.0. Kitty has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, iTerm 2 8%. iTerm 2 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
| Kitty | iTerm 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 35K | ★ 18K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Objective-C |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Kitty if
- You weight community size — 35K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick iTerm 2 if
- You want the iTerm 2 feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Objective-C
- You evaluated both and iTerm 2 fits your workflow better
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 →
About iTerm 2
iTerm 2 is a terminal emulator for macOS, written in Objective C and licensed under GPL 2.0. It replaces the default macOS terminal with an interface for shells, tabs, panes, and remote sessions. The project lives in the macOS developer tools ecosystem, where command line work, SSH sessions, tmux sessions, and shell history need one persistent client.
read the full iTerm 2 overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Kitty or iTerm 2 more popular?
Kitty has 34,947 GitHub stars and iTerm 2 has 18,067. Kitty has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kitty and iTerm 2 free?
Both are open source. Kitty is licensed under GPL-3.0 and iTerm 2 under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kitty and iTerm 2?
Kitty is written in Python and iTerm 2 in Objective-C. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Kitty or iTerm 2?
Choose Kitty if you want the larger community (34,947 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose iTerm 2 if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.