What puttykeyinfo does

PuTTY.info is an independent informational resource website that documents, distributes, and provides guides for PuTTY, a free, open-source SSH, Telnet, and serial console client. The site is explicitly disaffiliated from the official PuTTY project, which is developed and maintained by Simon Tatham as an individual open-source endeavor under the MIT License. PuTTY.info has existed since 1999 and positions itself as a comprehensive reference — covering downloads, PuTTYgen key generation, documentation, tutorials, changelogs, and source code.

The core product is PuTTY, written in C for portability, supporting SSH-1 and SSH-2 protocols, Telnet, public-key authentication, X11 forwarding, and port forwarding across Windows 95 through Windows 11 with an installer under 2MB and no external dependencies. The broader suite includes PuTTYgen (RSA, DSA, ECDSA, Ed25519 key generation with .ppk/OpenSSH format conversion), PSCP (command-line secure copy), and PSFTP (SFTP client). Distribution is purely self-serve through website download, the chiark.greenend.org.uk official site, and a Git repository — with no sales motion, channel partners, or paid acquisition.

There is no revenue model. The software is offered free of charge under the MIT License, supported as a hobby/public-service project by a single individual maintainer, with no corporate entity, venture capital, or commercial offerings. Target users are system administrators, software developers, and network engineers who need a lightweight, portable SSH client — primarily on Windows — for remote server management, SSH key generation, secure file transfer, and encrypted tunneling. PuTTY has accumulated 100M+ downloads over 25+ years and is widely treated as the de facto standard SSH client for Windows.

Name

puttykeyinfo

Legal name

PuTTY.info

Website

https://puttykeyinfo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Short description

PuTTY.info is an independent informational resource site documenting PuTTY, the free open-source SSH/Telnet client suite (PuTTY, PuTTYgen, PSCP, PSFTP) maintained by Simon Tatham under the MIT License. It serves system administrators, developers, and network engineers needing lightweight, portable remote server management on Windows.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Developer Tools Documentation

NAICS

Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290)

akta.pro primary industry

General Web Portals & Start Pages (BPAMAAAA)

Keywords

• SSH client tools
• SSH key generation
• Terminal emulation
• Secure file transfer
• Remote server access

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Open Source Distribution (No Revenue): PuTTY is distributed free of charge under the MIT License. There is no revenue model — the project is maintained by Simon Tatham as an open-source hobby/public service project. No paid tiers, subscriptions, or commercial offerings exist.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

puttykeyinfo (operated as PuTTY.info) is an informational resource website that provides documentation, tutorials, download guides, changelogs, and source code references for PuTTY, the free open-source SSH and Telnet client originally developed by Simon Tatham. The site aggregates and presents PuTTY-related content — including setup walkthroughs, SSH key generation guides, and version change logs — since 1999, but does not develop PuTTY itself and explicitly states it is not affiliated with the official PuTTY project.

Product overview

PuTTY is a suite of networking tools developed by Simon Tatham, consisting of the core PuTTY SSH/Telnet client, PuTTYgen key generator, PSCP secure copy utility, and PSFTP SFTP client. All tools are open-source under the MIT License and share a lightweight, dependency-free architecture. The suite provides comprehensive remote server management capabilities including secure connections, SSH key generation and conversion, encrypted file transfers, and port forwarding/tunneling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PuTTY SSH Client The free, open-source SSH, Telnet, and serial console client originally developed by Simon Tatham. Securely connects to remote servers using SSH-1 and SSH-2 protocols, supports public key authentication, X11 forwarding, and port tunneling. Lightweight at under 2MB with no external dependencies, runs on Windows 95 through Windows 11.
• PuTTYgen Key Generator SSH key generator that creates RSA, DSA, ECDSA, and Ed25519 key pairs. Supports conversion between PuTTY (.ppk) and OpenSSH formats for interoperability between PuTTY and OpenSSH-based tooling.
• PSCP (PuTTY Secure Copy) Command-line secure copy tool for transferring files over SSH using the SCP protocol. Enables automated file operations with secure encryption in scripts and pipelines.
• PSFTP (PuTTY Secure FTP) Command-line SFTP client for secure file transfer operations using the SSH protocol. Supports automated file transfer workflows for scripting and integration with developer tooling.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100M+ cumulative downloads worldwide
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Emerging players

• AlternativeTo: Software discovery and comparison platform. Competes for the same software-discovery search traffic that PuTTY.info relies on, particularly queries like 'PuTTY alternatives' which the resource site would otherwise capture.
• OpenSSH: The reference open-source SSH implementation, now bundled in Windows 10/11 and the default SSH client on Linux/macOS. Disrupts PuTTY's core value proposition and reduces the audience for PuTTY.info search traffic over time.
• Termius: Modern cross-platform SSH client with a polished UX and freemium/subscription model. Represents the next-generation alternative to PuTTY and the kind of monetization path PuTTY.info could theoretically pursue.

Direct peers

• Bitvise SSH Client: Windows SSH client with both free and paid tiers. Comparable as a Windows-focused SSH tool with a documentation-driven informational site and overlapping target users (sysadmins, developers).
• WinSCP: Free open-source SFTP/SCP client for Windows. Highly comparable as a long-standing Windows-focused developer tool with a separate informational/download site that draws similar high-intent sysadmin search traffic.
• KiTTY: A fork of PuTTY for Windows with additional features (session filtering, portability, scripting). Directly comparable as a Windows SSH client targeting the same user base and competing for the same search demand.
• MobaXterm: Enhanced terminal for Windows with built-in SSH, X11, and network tools. Directly competes with PuTTY in the Windows SSH client category and has its own documentation/download portal targeting the same audience.
• Wireshark: Free open-source network protocol analyzer with its own documentation/download site (wireshark.org). Comparable as a long-lived open-source networking tool with a documentation-and-download hub serving sysadmins and security professionals.
• FileZilla: Free open-source FTP/SFTP client with a standalone project website providing downloads and documentation. Closely comparable structure: open-source tool + dedicated informational portal serving the same sysadmin/developer persona.

Broad incumbents

• Solar-PuTTY: Free Windows SSH client from SolarWinds with session management UI. Competes directly with PuTTY for the same sysadmin persona and shares the Windows-only SSH client positioning.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PuTTYkey
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about puttykeyinfo