BranchShell Xshell alternative for Mac and Linux
Xshell is a capable Windows SSH client, free for home and school but $119 at work with one year of updates, and its file transfer window, Xftp, is a separate app. BranchShell runs on macOS and Linux as well, has SFTP built in and is paid for once, with updates that do not stop after a year.
No account. No card. No renewal. macOS, Windows and Linux.
Xshell charges again for next year's updates. BranchShell never does.
Once its first year of updates runs out, every new version of Xshell costs another payment. BranchShell is $20 once for 2 computers, with updates delivered inside the app and nothing to renew.
$20 once for 2 computers, updates forever
Free for home and school; $119 for work, with one year of updates
BranchShell and Xshell compared
What each client is built with, what it costs and what it does in the app. Facts about the other client come from its own website and may change.
| Feature | BranchShell | Xshell |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Better: Pay once: $20 for 2 computers, no renewal | Worse: Free for home and school; $119 for work, with one year of updates |
| Platforms | Better: macOS, Windows, Linux | Worse: Windows |
| Built with | Rust, drawn on the GPU | Native Windows app |
| Account to use it | None | Licence key |
| Hosts, keys and passwords | Encrypted vault on your computer | Session files, passwords under a master password |
| Port forwarding | Local, remote and dynamic rules, one switch each | Tunnelling rules per session |
| SFTP | Better: Two panes, sudo paths, S3 and R2 buckets | Worse: Command line; graphical in Xftp, a separate app |
| Split terminals | Up to four panes per workspace | Tab groups |
| Mosh | Better: Yes | Worse: No |
| Snippets | Offered as you type, sorted by Laya | Quick commands |
| Databases and SQL | Better: Fourteen engines through SSH, with a SQL client | Worse: No |
| Link to a Git client | Better: Hosts and forwards in the BranchBay tray | Worse: No |
The better side The worse side No colour: the same on both
Why developers pick BranchShell over Xshell
Mac and Linux included
Xshell is a Windows app. BranchShell is native on macOS, Windows and Linux, and one licence covers any mix of 2 computers.
One price for work and home
$20 once for 2 computers, whatever you use them for, with updates that never expire.
Files without a second app
An SFTP tab with this computer and a host side by side, sudo-elevated paths and S3 and R2 buckets, over the connection you already have.
More than a terminal
Mosh, database connections with a SQL client, an Activity bar for running forwards and a link to BranchBay.
What Xshell does that BranchShell does not
- Scripting with VBScript, JScript and Python
- Triggers and highlight rules on terminal output
- A compose pane that sends to every session at once
- Telnet, rlogin and RDP sessions in tabs
If one of these is part of your day, keep Xshell. The rest of the time, BranchShell does the job from one vault, for one payment.
Is there an Xshell for Mac?
Can I use BranchShell at work on the same licence?
Can I try BranchShell before leaving Xshell?
What does BranchShell cost?
Try it next to Xshell.
Import your SSH config and connect to the hosts you already have. Nothing to sign up for, nothing to renew and nothing to uninstall until you are sure.