MobaXterm packs an SSH client, an X11 server, and a full set of Unix commands into one Windows app, so you stop juggling PuTTY, Xming, and WinSCP separately.
It’s built for developers, sysadmins, and anyone who connects to Linux or Unix servers from a Windows desktop.
The free Home Edition handles most personal workflows, capped at 12 sessions, 12 macros, and 12 bookmarks.
If you manage more than one remote server and want it all in a single tabbed window, this download earns its spot on your machine. We checked the SHA-256 hash on every build linked below before publishing it.
How to Download & Install
How to Download and Install MobaXterm
Direct Download
Get the verified MobaXterm build from the GramFile MobaXterm download page. We manually review the file and publish its SHA-256 checksum so you can confirm it against the official release before running it. No bundled toolbars, no forced browser extensions.
Available Installer Types
- Installer Edition (.msi) – the standard setup. Adds a Start menu shortcut and installs the default plugin set for you.
- Portable Edition (.zip) – no install required. Unzip it anywhere, including a USB drive, and run MobaXterm.exe directly. Good fit for locked-down office machines.
System Requirements
- Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, or 11 (32-bit and 64-bit builds both available)
- Around 100 MB of free disk space
- No demanding RAM or CPU requirements – it runs comfortably on older hardware
License Type and Activation
MobaXterm ships in two editions. Home Edition is free for personal use, permanently, but limits you to 12 open sessions, 12 macros, and 12 saved bookmarks at once.
Professional Edition removes those caps and adds features like persistent session history across reboots and centralized license deployment for teams. Pricing starts near $69 for a single-user license and drops per seat as you buy in bulk.
To activate Professional, Mobatek emails you a license key file after purchase.
- Drop that file into the same folder as MobaXterm.exe, or load it manually from Settings > Configuration > Misc > License.
- The app switches to Professional mode automatically the next time you launch it, no separate serial number to type in.
How to Update MobaXterm
MobaXterm doesn’t check for updates on its own. Go to Help > Check for updates inside the app, or just download the newest installer from the GramFile page and run it over your current install.
Your saved sessions, bookmarks, and settings stay intact. Portable Edition users should download the latest zip and copy their old MobaXtermSettings folder into the new one so sessions carry over.
Features and Full Review
What is MobaXterm?
MobaXterm is a terminal application for Windows built by the French company Mobatek. It combines an SSH client, an embedded X11 server, and a Cygwin-based set of Unix commands into a single tabbed window.
Instead of installing PuTTY for SSH, Xming for X11 forwarding, and WinSCP for file transfers, you get all three in one app.
It’s been a go-to tool for network engineers and developers since its first release, and it’s still one of the most searched SSH clients for Windows because it solves a real annoyance: switching between five separate remote-access tools.
Built-in X11 Server
MobaXterm’s X11 server starts automatically the moment you launch the app. Connect over SSH to a Linux machine, run a graphical Linux application, and its window opens directly on your Windows desktop, no separate X server configuration needed.
This is the feature most engineers mention first when they explain why they switched from PuTTY plus a standalone X server.
Setup that used to take three separate installs and some registry tweaking now just works out of the box.
SSH Client and Session Manager
The session manager on the left sidebar keeps every saved SSH, RDP, VNC, FTP, or Telnet connection organized in folders.
Click a saved session and MobaXterm opens it in a new tab, complete with a local file browser showing the remote directory tree next to your terminal.
Password and key-based authentication both work, and sessions can be set to reconnect automatically if the connection drops, which matters if you’re SSH’d into something you can’t afford to lose mid-task.
Unix Commands on Windows
Under the hood, MobaXterm runs a lightweight Cygwin distribution, which means commands like ls, grep, ssh, rsync, and wget work directly in its local terminal without installing WSL or a separate Unix environment.
It’s not a full Linux distribution, but for scripting and quick file operations on Windows, it removes a lot of friction that Command Prompt or PowerShell alone don’t solve.
File Transfer: SFTP, SCP, and FTP
Every SSH session automatically opens a matching SFTP file browser in the same tab, so dragging files between your Windows machine and a remote server doesn’t require opening WinSCP separately.
It also supports standalone FTP and SCP sessions if that’s all you need. The file transfer panel updates live and remembers your last browsed directory per session.
Remote Desktop: RDP and VNC
Beyond terminal work, MobaXterm handles RDP and VNC connections in the same interface, useful if you manage a mix of Windows and Linux machines and don’t want a separate remote desktop client for each protocol.
Plugins and Customization
MobaXterm supports optional plugins that add tools like Docker integration, extra compression formats, or additional protocol support.
The interface itself is customizable down to color schemes, font sizes, and keyboard shortcuts, and it remembers your layout across sessions.
Home Edition vs Professional Edition
This is the comparison most people search for before downloading. Home Edition is free forever but caps you at 12 simultaneous sessions, 12 macros, and 12 bookmarks; past that, you’ll see a popup asking you to upgrade.
Professional Edition removes all three caps and adds persistent session logging, custom branding for enterprise deployment, and priority support.
For a solo developer managing a handful of servers, Home Edition is usually enough. Once you’re managing dozens of connections across a team, the caps start getting in the way and Professional becomes worth the cost.
Performance and Resource Use
MobaXterm stays light on system resources even with several tabs open.
It’s not going to strain a modern machine, though users running many simultaneous X11 sessions with graphics-heavy remote apps will notice more RAM and CPU use than a plain terminal window would need.
Portable Edition: How It Works
Unzip the folder, run MobaXterm.exe, done. No installer, nothing touches the registry. Works fine off a USB stick if that’s your thing.
Your sessions and bookmarks all live in a MobaXtermSettings folder right next to the exe, so copying that one folder moves your entire setup to another machine.
Downside: you’re on your own for plugins and updates since there’s no installer babysitting that for you.
MobaXterm vs PuTTY
PuTTY still does one job and does it fast: you open it, you’re SSH’d in, that’s it. MobaXterm throws in file transfer, X11 forwarding, and a Unix shell on top, so you’re not switching between four different windows for one server.
The tradeoff is startup time. For a quick thirty-second connection, PuTTY wins every time. Once you’re juggling several servers and moving files back and forth all day, the extra weight stops mattering.
I still keep both on my machine. PuTTY for the one-off, MobaXterm for everything else.
