head to head · open source
Kitty vs WezTerm
Kitty has 34,952 GitHub stars, 1,513 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. WezTerm has 28,933 stars, 1,744 forks, 1,849 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Kitty leads on adoption by 21% (34,952 vs 28,933 stars). Kitty is written in Python under GPL-3.0; WezTerm is written in Rust under a custom or non-standard licence. Kitty has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, WezTerm 6%. Kitty was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (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.
← all 13541 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Kitty | WezTerm | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 35K | ★ 29K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| 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 WezTerm if
- You want the WezTerm feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and WezTerm 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 WezTerm
WezTerm is a GPU accelerated, cross platform terminal emulator and multiplexer written by @wez in Rust, intended for developers and terminal users who want one terminal configuration and one multiplexing model across every operating system they work on.
read the full WezTerm overview →
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More Terminals projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Terminals field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kitty or WezTerm more popular?
Kitty has 34,952 GitHub stars and WezTerm has 28,933. Kitty has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kitty and WezTerm free?
Both are open source. Kitty is licensed under GPL-3.0, and WezTerm has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Kitty and WezTerm?
Kitty is written in Python and WezTerm in Rust. 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 WezTerm?
Choose Kitty if you want the larger community (34,952 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose WezTerm if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.