Kitty vs Ghostty (2025): the terminal duel power-users actually care about

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TL;DR:

  • Choose Ghostty if you want a native, buttery-smooth, “it just works” GPU terminal on macOS or Linux with modern niceties out of the box and zero-config start.
  • Choose Kitty if you live for automation, remote-controlling your terminal from scripts, and “kittens” that display images, manage themes, and orchestrate pane/tile layouts like a pro.

Why this comparison (now)?

Terminals aren’t static. In September 2025, Ghostty shipped a hefty 1.2 release with wide-ranging improvements—plus a new graphical progress bar concept that apps are already adopting. Kitty, meanwhile, keeps refining its already formidable feature set and workflow tooling. So, October 2025 is a perfect checkpoint.

Rendering & performance: what your eyes (and CPU fans) will notice

Both are GPU-accelerated, but their philosophies differ:

  • Ghostty uses Metal on macOS and OpenGL on Linux—leaning into platform-native paths for smooth scrolling, crisp ligatures, and consistently high frame rates under load. The project documents a multi-renderer design and targets around 60 fps during heavy activity.
  • Kitty has long been GPU-based and threaded for low latency, with fine-grained toggles so you can trade FPS for battery or vice-versa. It’s battle-tested across X11 and Wayland environments.

Bottom line: If you want a terminal that feels “native” to each OS while staying fast, Ghostty’s renderer choices give it an edge on macOS. If you want decades-deep tuning knobs and proven performance across Unix-y desktops, Kitty is still a monster.

UI/UX & windowing: panes, tabs, splits, and sanity

  • Ghostty: multiple windows, each with their own tabs and splits, rendered with native UI components so everything looks and behaves like a first-class citizen of your desktop. It ships with hundreds of themes and can auto-switch with system light/dark mode. Also: it’s genuinely zero-config to start—open and go.
  • Kitty: tabs and tiled windows (“splits”), plus startup sessions you can declaratively define. Imagine launching a full project layout—editor, test watcher, logs—pre-wired from a single file.

Verdict: Ghostty feels native and clean; Kitty feels programmable and premeditated.

Power features developers actually use

  • Kitty graphics & keyboard protocols: Kitty invented a modern pixel-graphics protocol that lets terminals render high-res images; it also extends keyboard handling. Ghostty implements those Kitty protocols, which means many “Kitty-aware” terminal apps work great in Ghostty too.
  • Automation without tears (Kitty): A remote control protocol lets you script window creation, resize panes, change colors, and more—from the shell or your CI scripts. It’s absurdly powerful.
  • Images, right in the terminal (Kitty): kitty +kitten icat is still the canonical way to preview images inline. Ghostty shows those same images via its support of the Kitty graphics protocol (the command differs; the protocol is what matters).

Platform support & install reality (October 2025)

  • Ghostty: macOS and Linux today, with Windows planned (unofficial WSL builds and experiments exist, but native Windows isn’t GA). macOS users can install via DMG or Homebrew.
  • Kitty: Linux, macOS, and BSD are first-class; there’s no native Windows build (WSL is your friend).

What’s new in 2025 that might sway you

  • Ghostty 1.2 adds graphical progress bars that terminals—and even CLIs like systemd and Zig—can surface in UI chrome. That’s forward-thinking UX most terminals simply don’t offer yet. Expect more apps to adopt it soon.

Real-world picks (so you don’t overthink it)

Choose Ghostty if you’re a:

  • macOS dev who wants a native feel, perfect emoji/ligature rendering, seamless theme switching, and a fast start with no config rabbit hole.
  • Linux user craving a modern terminal that speaks Kitty-era protocols but uses GNOME/GTK idioms and stays light on ceremony.

Choose Kitty if you’re a:

  • Workflow architect who wants to remote-control panes/tabs, spin up startup sessions, and script everything from color schemes to window geometry.
  • Toolsmith who relies on Kitty’s graphics for inline images, dashboards, and richer TUI UX.

Feature matrix (at a glance)

Capability Ghostty Kitty
GPU rendering Metal (macOS), OpenGL (Linux) OpenGL-based, threaded rendering
Native UI Swift/AppKit (macOS), GTK4 (Linux) Custom; cross-platform Unix focus
Tabs/Splits/Windows Yes (per-window tabs & splits) Yes (tabs & tiled windows)
Themes & light/dark Hundreds; auto switch Extensive theming via config/kittens
Images in terminal Via Kitty graphics protocol Native via kitty +kitten icat
Automation Config-driven; protocol support Remote control protocol + sessions
Windows support Planned (not GA) No native (WSL only)

5-minute quick starts (copy/paste)

Ghostty — crisp defaults with minimal fuss

# ~/.config/ghostty/config
font-family = JetBrains Mono
font-size = 13
theme = OneHalfDark
cursor-style = block
tab-bar-style = native

Ghostty auto-detects dark/light and ships with piles of themes; start plain and tweak later.

Kitty — a tiny session to launch a ready-to-work layout

# ~/work.session
new_tab title="api" cwd=~/code/api
layout tall
launch --cwd=~/code/api -- bash -lc "nvim"
launch --cwd=~/code/api -- bash -lc "npm run dev"
launch --cwd=~/code/api -- bash -lc "rg --follow TODO -n"

# Run it:
# kitty --session ~/work.session

Script it further with Kitty’s remote-control to resize, rename, or broadcast keystrokes to matching windows.

Final verdict

You can’t go wrong with either. Ghostty is the sleek, native, modern default that respects your platform and keeps pace with ambitious UX ideas like progress bars in chrome. Kitty is the grown-up playground where automation and graphical protocols let you bend the terminal to your will.

If you like native polish and zero setup: go with Ghostty.
If you crave scriptability and deep control: pick Kitty.

FAQ (fast answers)

  • Does Ghostty support Kitty’s image protocol? Yes—apps that target Kitty graphics work in Ghostty.
  • Can I run Kitty on Windows? Not natively; use WSL.
  • Is Windows support coming to Ghostty? It’s planned but not yet GA as of October 2025.

Updated October 2025.

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