Contour vs iTerm2
Contour
contour-terminal.org
iTerm2
iterm2.comSide by side
| Figure | Contour | iTerm2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Terminal Emulators | 8.8 (#1) | 8.0 (#20) |
| Spec score · Terminal apps | 8.3 (#12) | 8.3 (#9) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| GPU acceleration | Yes | Yes |
| Scripting API | Yes | Yes |
| Split panes | Yes | A tab can be divided into vertically or horizontally arranged panes, each showing a different session. |
| SSH support | Yes | Yes |
| Support | The site links to the Contour community on Discord. | The site directs users with problems or ideas to its bug tracker, forum, or the maintainer by email. |
| Supported Platforms | Available for Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and Windows. | macos |
| tmux integration | Contour supports tmux control-mode interoperability in both directions. | The documentation includes a dedicated tmux Integration feature. |
Plans
In their own words
Contour
Contour is a free terminal emulator for everyday use, designed for people who want control over terminal workflows. It runs on Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and Windows. GPU-accelerated rendering and high-DPI support accompany text features such as font ligatures, Unicode grapheme clusters, and colored emoji. Users can split panes, use vi-like modes for navigation and selection, and jump through history with vertical markers. Sessions can persist beyond a terminal window and be reattached locally or over a network. Contour interoperates with tmux control mode in both directions, but not its -CC mode. It also supports clickable links, inline Sixel images, OSC 52 clipboard setting, and profiles for color schemes and login shells. TCP connections use TLS encryption and require a token. Daemon mode is experimental, and its command-line flags and wire protocol may change. The project website remains in draft mode. Contour is licensed under Apache License 2.0.