Comparison of SSH servers explained

An SSH server is a software program which uses the Secure Shell protocol to accept connections from remote computers. SFTP/SCP file transfers and remote terminal connections are popular use cases for an SSH server.

General

Name	Developer	Initial release	Platform	Latest release		License
				Version	Date
Apache MINA SSHD	Apache Software Foundation	2009	AIX	2.9.0^[1]	2022-07-18	rowspan="8"
			BSD
			Linux
			HP-UX
			Java
			macOS
			Solaris
			Windows
	Bitvise SSH Server	Bitvise Limited	2001	Windows
CopSSH	Itefix	2003-08-12	Cygwin	7.10.1^[2]	2022-06-21	rowspan="2"
			Windows
CrushFTP Server	CrushFTP, LLC	2003-01-01	AIX			rowspan="9"
			BSD
			Cygwin
			Linux
			HP-UX
			Java
			macOS
			Solaris
			Windows
Dropbear	Matt Johnston	2003-04-06^[3]	AIX			rowspan="9"
			Android
			BSD
			Cygwin
			Linux
			HP-UX
			macOS
			Solaris
			webOS
lsh	Niels Möller	1999-05-23^[4]	BSD			rowspan="4"
			Linux
			Solaris
			macOS
OpenSSH	The OpenBSD project	1999-12-01	AIX			rowspan="14"
			AmigaOS
			Android
			BSD
			Cygwin
			Linux
			HP-UX
			iOS
			macOS
			OpenVMS
			Solaris
			webOS
			Windows
			z/OS
	Teleport	Gravitational	2016-06-23
wolfSSH	wolfSSL	2016-07-20	BSD			rowspan="6"
			Cygwin
			Linux
			macOS
			Solaris
			Windows

Platform

The operating systems or virtual machines the SSH servers are designed to run on without emulation; there are several possibilities:

• No indicates that it does not exist or was never released.
• Partial indicates that while it works, the server lacks important functionality compared to versions for other OSs but may still be under development.
• Beta indicates that while a version is fully functional and has been released, it is still in development (e.g. for stability).
• Yes indicates that it has been officially released in a fully functional, stable version.
• Dropped indicates that while the server works, new versions are no longer being released for the indicated OS; the number in parentheses is the last known stable version which was officially released for that OS.
• Included indicates that the server comes pre-packaged with or has been integrated into the operating system.

The list is not exhaustive, but rather reflects the most common platforms today.

Name	macOS	Windows	Cygwin	BSD	Linux	Solaris	Java	OpenVMS	z/OS	AmigaOS	AIX	HP-UX	iOS	webOS	Android
	Apache MINA SSHD
	Bitvise SSH Server
	CopSSH
	CrushFTP Server
	Dropbear
	lsh															??
	OpenSSH
	wolfSSH

Features

Name	SSH1	SSH2	Port forwarding	SFTP	SCP	IPv6	OpenSSH authorized keys	Privilege separation	FIPS 140-2
	Apache MINA SSHD									?
	Bitvise SSH Server
	CopSSH								^[5]	?
	CrushFTP Server									?
	Dropbear									?
	Lsh						?	?	?	?
	OpenSSH	^[6]
	wolfSSH

See also

• List of SFTP server software
• Comparison of SSH clients

Notes and References

1. Web site: Apache MINA SSHD. . 5 December 2021.
2. Web site: Copssh update - 7.10.1. itefix.net.
3. Web site: Changes in Dropbear in official web page.
4. Web site: Listing of /~nisse/archive/. liu.se.
5. Web site: sshd_config(5). 2016-05-18.
6. Web site: OpenSSH 7.5 Release notes, SSHv1 server no longer supported. 2017-07-09.