Kitty vs iTerm2

Developers should use Kitty when they need a fast, feature-rich terminal for intensive tasks like coding, system administration, or running complex CLI tools meets developers should use iterm2 when working extensively in the terminal on macos, as it improves efficiency with features like split panes for multitasking, robust search, and mouseless copy-paste. Here's our take.

Kitty

Nice Pick

Developers should use Kitty when they need a fast, feature-rich terminal for intensive tasks like coding, system administration, or running complex CLI tools

Pros

• It's ideal for those who prioritize performance, want extensive theming and configuration, or work with graphics or multimedia in the terminal
• Related to: terminal-emulation, shell-scripting

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

iTerm2

Developers should use iTerm2 when working extensively in the terminal on macOS, as it improves efficiency with features like split panes for multitasking, robust search, and mouseless copy-paste

Pros

• It is particularly valuable for DevOps, backend development, and system administration tasks where terminal usage is frequent, offering better performance and customization than the default Terminal app
• Related to: command-line-interface, shell-scripting

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Kitty if: You want it's ideal for those who prioritize performance, want extensive theming and configuration, or work with graphics or multimedia in the terminal and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use iTerm2 if: You prioritize it is particularly valuable for devops, backend development, and system administration tasks where terminal usage is frequent, offering better performance and customization than the default terminal app over what Kitty offers.

The Bottom Line

Kitty wins

Developers should use Kitty when they need a fast, feature-rich terminal for intensive tasks like coding, system administration, or running complex CLI tools