Today, many of us are becoming more concerned about privacy and are moving from managed services to self-hosted alternatives. Modern network-attached storage (NAS) devices and virtual private server (VPS) instances are becoming common for everyday users. Self-hosting today is no longer limited to enthusiasts or homelab hobbyists.

Once you have started running services on a VPS or NAS, you will need a reliable way to access and manage them. As most VPS providers offer a limited or laggy web console to access them, which isn’t practical for everyday users. For this reason, PuTTY has long been the default third-party SSH client for Windows users. It’s stable and dependable, but server workflows today are very different from when PuTTY first became popular.

Today, modern problems often need modern solutions. If you have multiple VPS instances, SSH keys, and environments, it can get messy to manage them. I, too, was in that situation until I discovered Termius. It has become one of the most used networking tools on my systems, whether I am on Windows or macOS. It feels built for modern server workflows rather than basic SSH connections. After switching to Termius, the management of my servers has become far more organized and less frustrating.

PuTTY still works, but the workflow feels outdated

Great tool, older approach

PuTTY has always been one of the first tools I install on a new PC or new Windows installation. It has been my default third-party SSH client since I first started renting VPS instances. It is extremely lightweight and very reliable for accessing and managing a VPS. It has a simple interface and can work consistently on older systems.

Earlier, I used to connect to my VPS instances once or twice a week, sometimes once every two weeks, for maintenance. Today, the picture is different. I now host many services on my VPSs. I also run a NAS and a custom homelab server. I even have routers with custom firmware like OpenWrt, which also require SSH access. The frequency of accessing these setups has increased from weekly to daily.

That’s when I started to feel PuTTY’s design and workflow were restricting me. With time, the interface also started to feel bland. But the main issue was not the interface; it was session management, multiple windows, and key management that started to bug me.

It was becoming difficult to manage a long list of hosts since servers are saved as individual sessions; there is no visual grouping or built‑in hierarchical grouping/tags. Additionally, PuTTY opens each connection in a separate window, which makes it difficult to manage multiple connections. And for keys, PuTTYgen is usually required to generate or convert keys.

These small limitations have existed for a long time, but they became frustrating when my workflow and infrastructure started growing.

Termius feels more like a server hub than an SSH client

Everything in one place

Termius became my go-to tool for all server and terminal needs. It made the transition from PuTTY effective by not treating SSH as just a terminal connection but as a managed resource. My first impression of Termius was that it was organized and offered centralized server management. It was not just a simple terminal window; it presented a structured interface to look forward to.

The interface is premium and modern, and it has almost everything a busy workflow would require. It has a clean layout designed more like a professional productivity tool than a simple terminal window. All the servers you previously connected to or saved as sessions are visible in one place and can be accessed with a single click. Navigation is also much easier.

Server organization is one of its most used features. Servers can be grouped, labeled, and organized by project or separated by environments like development, staging, or production. This fixes the long PuTTY session list problem I had. The tabbed workflow improves productivity and multitasking. For example, I can open my VPS instance in one tab and my homelab server in another and keep my local development terminal tab open alongside them.

Termius immediately felt different after dealing with PuTTY’s modern workflow limitations.

SSH key management becomes dramatically easier

No more juggling tools

SSH keys are one of the more secure methods to protect access to your VPS instances. However, managing SSH keys is one of the difficult and crucial tasks, because misplacing them locks you out of your own server. PuTTY requires PuTTYgen, which is a separate tool inside the PuTTY suite, to generate new keys. If you want an SSH agent, you will need to use Pageant. This means using three separate tools to fully manage your server.

Termius makes key management easier since it has a built-in SSH key generator. And in case you already have an SSH key, it can be easily imported to Termius’ keychain tab without using a separate utility. Management and assignment of the keys are also straightforward; one key can be assigned to multiple hosts. Once assigned, you can connect to a host with one click, and authentication happens automatically.

Since the keys are stored directly inside the client, it reduces the chance of misplacing keys across multiple tools. This removes the need for several manual steps compared to the PuTTY workflow.

The small features make the biggest difference

Once you notice them, you can’t go back

When you access servers on a day-to-day basis, small inefficiencies become noticeable. I access multiple servers daily, and keeping track of their IP addresses and their respective methods of authentication can be a tedious task. UI is secondary for me; easier session organization and multitasking were my primary goals.

Termius addresses many of these minor workflow issues and helps improve productivity. For example, when I am working on a full-stack project locally, I need to start both the frontend and backend servers in order to work with them. Termius’ tabbed workflow helps me run both in the same window. This makes it easier to check logs on one server and restart another one to reflect any code changes.

There is one simple yet very useful feature in Termius. It allows me to save snippets of commands that I regularly use, so I can execute a long command in one click regardless of the session. Beyond SSH, Termius also includes built-in SFTP/file management. I can connect to the host and transfer files directly within the client. Previously, I used PuTTY for SSH access and FileZilla to transfer files; now both can be done from a single client.

Conclusion

PuTTY is still a reliable and widely used third-party SSH client. It remains a good choice for administrators who are looking for a simple and lightweight SSH client. For those who are looking for a modern client with features like centralized host management, easier SSH key handling, and tabbed sessions, along with features like command snippets and integrated SFTP, Termius is a solid alternative.

For my workflow, switching from PuTTY to Termius made managing servers significantly easier and more productive.