Ghostty vs Warp
Ghostty and Warp side by side: what each one is, verified plan pricing and install commands where we have them, and the full review of each.
Ghostty
Terminal emulator built in Zig with platform-native UI and GPU acceleration. 2ms key-to-screen latency. Metal on macOS, Vulkan/OpenGL on Linux. By the co-founder of HashiCorp.
Warp
AI-powered terminal built in Rust with GPU rendering. Block-based output, natural language commands, Agent Mode for autonomous tasks. 700K+ developers. Free tier available.
At a glance
| Field | G Ghostty | W Warp |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity | Productivity |
| Website | ghostty.org | warp.dev |
| Pricing | Free and open source (MIT) | Free - $0/mo: terminal, Warp Agent CLI, bring your own API key or endpoint, extra agent usage at 20% above paid-plan rates; Build - $20/mo ($18/mo billed annually): $20 of agent usage a month at API rates, all frontier and open-source models; Max - $200/mo ($180/mo billed annually): $200 of agent usage a month; Business - $50/user/mo ($45 billed annually), up to 25 seats, $20 of usage per seat, SAML SSO; Enterprise - custom pricing |
| Install | brew install --cask ghostty or snap install ghostty --classic or pacman -S ghostty | brew install --cask warp or winget install Warp.Warp |
| Models | The macOS app is written in Swift with AppKit and SwiftUI, and the Linux app is written in Zig on the GTK4 C API. Both sit on a shared Zig core called libghostty that handles terminal emulation, font handling, and rendering, and Ghostty supports terminal features such as the Kitty graphics protocol. | Paid plans include OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI models, such as GPT-6.1 Sol, Claude Opus 5.5, Gemini 3.1 Pro, and Grok 4.7. They also include open-weights models hosted on Fireworks AI, such as GLM 5.3, Kimi K3, and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash. You pick a model per prompt in the model picker or let one of the Auto modes choose (Responsive, Cost-efficient, Genius, Open-weights). On the Free plan you bring your own API key, SuperGrok subscription, or OpenAI-compatible endpoint. |
| Last verified | November 1, 2026 | November 1, 2026 |
In Depth
Ghostty
Ghostty is a terminal emulator built from scratch in Zig by Mitchell Hashimoto (co-founder of HashiCorp). It uses a custom GPU rendering pipeline targeting Metal on macOS and OpenGL 3.3/Vulkan on Linux, delivering 2ms key-to-screen latency at the threshold of human perception. The macOS app is a true SwiftUI application with real windowing, menu bars, and a settings GUI rather than a web-wrapped Electron shell. Ghostty does not claim to beat every competitor on benchmarks. Its docs say it aims to be in the same class as the fastest terminal emulators, faster in some benchmarks and slower in others. There are no AI features built in, which is the point: Ghostty is for developers who want the fastest, most reliable terminal possible and run their AI tools (Claude Code, Codex CLI, etc.) inside it. For anyone frustrated with Electron-based terminals, Ghostty is the performance ceiling.
Warp
Warp is a terminal emulator written in Rust with GPU-accelerated rendering, used by 700K+ developers. Its defining innovation is block-based output where every command execution produces a discrete container holding the command, its output, and metadata, transforming the terminal from a scroll of text into a structured document. The AI features include natural language command generation, error explanation and debugging, context-aware autocomplete, and Agent Mode which can autonomously edit files, generate code, and manage complex workflows. It supports Anthropic, OpenAI, and other model providers. The IDE-style text editing with multi-cursor support, find-and-replace, and syntax highlighting makes it feel like a code editor that happens to be a terminal. For developers who want AI built directly into their terminal rather than as a separate tool, Warp is the most complete option.
FAQ
Answers taken from each tool's verified fact sheet, with the date it was last checked.
How much does Ghostty cost?
As of November 1, 2026: Free and open source (MIT). Source: Download Ghostty, Binaries and packages, Release notes, About Ghostty, ghostty-org/ghostty LICENSE.
How do I install Ghostty?
Official install commands as of November 1, 2026: brew install --cask ghostty or snap install ghostty --classic or pacman -S ghostty.
Which models does Ghostty use?
As of November 1, 2026: The macOS app is written in Swift with AppKit and SwiftUI, and the Linux app is written in Zig on the GTK4 C API. Both sit on a shared Zig core called libghostty that handles terminal emulation, font handling, and rendering, and Ghostty supports terminal features such as the Kitty graphics protocol.
How much does Warp cost?
As of November 1, 2026: Free - $0/mo: terminal, Warp Agent CLI, bring your own API key or endpoint, extra agent usage at 20% above paid-plan rates; Build - $20/mo ($18/mo billed annually): $20 of agent usage a month at API rates, all frontier and open-source models; Max - $200/mo ($180/mo billed annually): $200 of agent usage a month; Business - $50/user/mo ($45 billed annually), up to 25 seats, $20 of usage per seat, SAML SSO; Enterprise - custom pricing. Source: Warp pricing, Warp changelog 2026, Agent model choice, Installation and setup, warpdotdev/warp README.
How do I install Warp?
Official install commands as of November 1, 2026: brew install --cask warp or winget install Warp.Warp.
Which models does Warp use?
As of November 1, 2026: Paid plans include OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI models, such as GPT-6.1 Sol, Claude Opus 5.5, Gemini 3.1 Pro, and Grok 4.7. They also include open-weights models hosted on Fireworks AI, such as GLM 5.3, Kimi K3, and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash. You pick a model per prompt in the model picker or let one of the Auto modes choose (Responsive, Cost-efficient, Genius, Open-weights). On the Free plan you bring your own API key, SuperGrok subscription, or OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
