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PuTTY vs Viscosity

Professional comparison and analysis to help you choose the right software solution for your needs.

PuTTY icon
PuTTY
Viscosity icon
Viscosity

PuTTY vs Viscosity: The Verdict

Last updated: May 2026 · Comparison by Sugggest Editorial Team

Feature PuTTY Viscosity
Sugggest Score — —
Category Network & Admin Security & Privacy
Pricing Open Source —

Product Overview

PuTTY
PuTTY

Description: PuTTY is a popular open-source terminal emulator and SSH client for Windows. Developed by Simon Tatham, PuTTY provides a lightweight and versatile tool for connecting to remote servers using various network protocols, including SSH, Telnet, and Rlogin. It is widely used for secure and convenient command-line access to remote systems.

Type: software

Pricing: Open Source

Viscosity
Viscosity

Description: Viscosity is a VPN client for macOS and Windows that allows you to connect to VPN services and tunnels. It has an easy-to-use interface and supports many VPN protocols like OpenVPN, L2TP, and IPSec.

Type: software

Key Features Comparison

PuTTY
PuTTY Features
  • SSH client
  • Telnet client
  • Rlogin client
  • Raw socket connection
  • Serial port connection
  • Basic file transfer (SCP and SFTP)
  • Proxying for tunneling connections through HTTP proxies
  • Local terminal emulator (with VT100 and VT52 emulation)
  • Configurable keyboard shortcuts
  • Session logging
Viscosity
Viscosity Features
  • User-friendly interface
  • Supports many VPN protocols like OpenVPN, L2TP, IPSec
  • Auto-connect on launch
  • Per-app VPN routing
  • Split tunneling
  • NAT traversal
  • Scripting support

Pros & Cons Analysis

PuTTY
PuTTY
Pros
  • Free and open source
  • Lightweight and fast
  • Supports multiple network protocols
  • Available for Windows, with unofficial ports for other platforms
  • Highly configurable with many options
  • Actively developed and maintained
Cons
  • Official builds only for Windows
  • Limited file transfer capabilities compared to FTP/SFTP clients
  • Minimalist interface lacks some conveniences of other SSH clients
  • Lacks advanced SSH features like agent forwarding or port tunneling
  • No official support offered
Viscosity
Viscosity
Pros
  • Easy to set up and use
  • Reliable connections
  • Lots of configuration options
  • Good performance
  • Supports many protocols
Cons
  • No free version
  • Expensive subscription plan
  • Limited to 2 simultaneous connections in standard version
  • No ad blocking

Pricing Comparison

PuTTY
PuTTY
  • Open Source
Viscosity
Viscosity
  • Not listed

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Learn More About Each Product

PuTTY
PuTTY
Reviews, pricing & alternatives →
Viscosity
Viscosity
Reviews, pricing & alternatives →

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