Pick Alacritty if
developers who will stay on OSS at $0 while they open a first src/main.rs pane — not Warp Build $20 first unless they want a hosted agent, and not a GUI preferences app (Alacritty is file-driven).
Read the Alacritty pageAlacritty vs kitty
Our take
Pick Alacritty if developers who will stay on OSS at $0 while they open a first src/main.rs pane — not Warp Build $20 first unless they want a hosted agent, and not a GUI preferences app (Alacritty is file-driven). Pick kitty if developers who will stay on OSS at $0 while they open a first vim + git split, then keep kitty beside WezTerm rather than paying Warp for a hosted prompt.
Best for
Alacritty A local terminal you start at a public $
kitty A local terminal you run at $0
Free plan
Alacritty $0 · download / build from the site and GitHub
kitty $0 · binary / source from the docs and GitHub
Lowest paid
Alacritty Not published by the vendor
kitty Not published by the vendor
Runs where
Alacritty Terminal; models hosted
kitty Terminal; models hosted
Watch out
Alacritty File-driven config, minimal GUI
kitty There is no hosted team SKU
Last checked
Alacritty 2026-10-23 · alacritty.org
kitty 2026-10-23 · sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty
Which one, then?
Pick kitty if
developers who will stay on OSS at $0 while they open a first vim + git split, then keep kitty beside WezTerm rather than paying Warp for a hosted prompt.
Read the kitty page