ttyd vs WebSSH2
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
| Feature | ttyd | WebSSH2 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,165 | ★ 2,766 |
| First released | 2016 | 2017 |
| Replaces | PuTTY | PuTTY |
Why pick each one
Choose ttyd if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 12.2k GitHub stars
Choose WebSSH2 if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is ttyd or WebSSH2 better?
Neither is universally better. ttyd has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ttyd and WebSSH2 free and open-source?
Yes. ttyd is licensed under MIT and WebSSH2 under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ttyd and WebSSH2 with Docker?
ttyd: yes. WebSSH2: yes.