iTerm2 vs JetBrains
The ultimate side-by-side head-to-head analysis for 2026.
Short answer
- Price: not directly comparable — iTerm2 is free, JetBrains is pricing not verified.
- How to start: iTerm2 is free, JetBrains is pricing not verified.
These lines are generated from the pricing we track, not from a paid placement. We do not publish a quality score, because we do not have one we can stand behind. They cannot tell you which tool fits your workflow — the sections below are there for that. How we score tools.
iTerm2
JetBrains
Category
Developer Tools
Developer Tools
Base Price
Free
Not verified
Public API
No
Yes
Mobile app
No
No
Open source / self-hostable
Yes
No
SSO (SAML)
No
Yes
Choose iTerm2 if:
Mac users who spend real time in a terminal.
Choose JetBrains if:
Developers working daily in one language on a substantial codebase.
iTerm2: pros & cons
- Free and mature
- Split panes and session restore
- Deeply configurable
- macOS only
- Configuration surface is large
- Interface is functional rather than modern
JetBrains: pros & cons
- Refactoring and code intelligence remain best in class
- Consistent experience across languages
- Built-in database, VCS and test tooling
- Paid subscription per developer
- Noticeably heavier than a plain editor
- Overkill for small scripts
Our verdict on iTerm2
The long-standing default on macOS, and still free. Newer terminals win on polish, not capability.
Our verdict on JetBrains
Worth the money if you live in the IDE. Occasional users get less from it than the price suggests.