Windows Terminal vs PowerShell: What Makes Them Different?

They look similar, but under the hood, Windows Terminal and PowerShell act very differently.

If you’re using Windows 10 or 11, you’ll find PowerShell and Windows Terminal pre-installed in your system. At their core, they're essentially command-line tools for inputting instructions (commands) that allow you to perform a variety of tasks on your Windows PC. These tasks include troubleshooting problems, automating tasks, managing systems, running diagnostics, and network administration.

So if you’ve ever asked yourself which one to use between PowerShell and Windows Terminal, knowing what makes them different can help you pick the best app for your situation. Here’s what you need to know about them.

PowerShell Is an Improvement Over Command Prompt

Microsoft introduced PowerShell in 2006, and it does everything that Command Prompt (cmd) does and then some. Since Microsoft built PowerShell on top of the .NET Framework, you can use .NET languages, on top of text-based commands, in the app to interact with your operating system. The most popular language for PowerShell is C#, and it allows you to unlock the tool’s advanced features and boost your productivity.

On top of standard commands, PowerShell has over 200 cmdlets, a special type of C# class that Microsoft defines as “light commands.” When they’re executed by PowerShell, they return a .NET object that you can manipulate.

This, for example, allows you to not only interact with programs on your computer that are powered by .Net Core but process their input as well without you having to write any special or complicated code.

Furthermore, while PowerShell can run batch files like cmd, it also allows for greater automation by enabling you to schedule when tasks execute. That way, you can line up tasks in advance and do other things while letting PowerShell do its thing.

These are just a few ways PowerShell is way more powerful than Command Prompt. So while Microsoft brought us PowerShell to take CommandPrompt to the next level, what is the purpose of Windows Terminal?

Windows Terminal Brought BASH to Windows

Microsoft introduced Windows Terminal in 2019 with Windows 10, and it is a terminal operator that supports almost any command-line shell. The app is most notable for bringing a command-line tool to Windows that the community has long envied about Linux: BASH (Bourne Again Shell).

Also, another big feature in Windows Terminal is the move to a more modern, tabbed interface that allows you to run multiple command-line utilities. For instance, you can have multiple instances of Command Prompt running or open cmd, PowerShell, BASH, and Azure all at once.

Furthermore, you can use emojis and special characters from other languages in Windows Terminal thanks to its Unicode and UTF support. And with its new accelerated GPU text rendering engine, it can display them without skipping a bit. You can also customize the app's interface by giving it different color schemes, background images (it also supports GIFs), and configurations.

Windows Terminal is an open-source project, and the Windows command-line community is actively developing it. This is a community that is passionate about the project and will continually support the app, improve its performance, and adds more features (the contributors will prioritize the most requested ones, of course). You can catch up on its development and even contribute by heading to the Windows Terminal Github repository.

Windows Terminal Is All You Need

PowerShell helps bring the power of the .Net Framework into cmd. And, on top of introducing more commands, it allows you to create your own and even schedule when the app should execute them, giving you greater control and automation.

Windows Terminal allows you to run Bash and other command-line utilities, including PowerShell. It also supports more characters, has a fancy new text rendering engine, and allows you to customize its appearance.

While each of these tools is powerful in its own right, there's no need to open the PowerShell with Windows Terminal around.