Comparison

RETRO FORTH vs Terminal & SSH

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

RETRO FORTH

A compact and adaptable concatenative programming language designed for ease of learning and customization. It features a code editor, interactive listener, and support for Gopher servers, allowing for flexible development.

Highlights
  • Concatenative programming language
  • Code editor with Markdown subset
  • Literate programming style
  • Interactive listener interface
  • Gopher server data fetching
  • File manager
  • Documentation browser
Features
Read full description

RETRO FORTH is a concatenative programming language with roots in Forth. Designed to be compact, learnable, and easy to adapt to specific needs, it has been developed and refined through continual use by a small community over more than a decade. Forth is a stack based programming language created in the late 1960's by Chuck Moore. Over the intervening decades it has evolved through use, with many dialects along the way. The Retro dialect was created in the late 1990's, and has been continually developed and supported for over 15 years. It is a structured, imperative stack-based language with modern facilities including quotations and reflection. It features: - latest version of the RETRO language - a code editor using Markdown subset - literate programming style - code is extracted from fenced blocks in Markdown source allowing easy mixing of code and commentary - allows use of unicode & emoji in source & commentary - interactive listener interface for quick interactions - simple console output and text input - editor provides quick access to numbers and symbols - support for fetching textual data from Gopher servers - file manager - documentation browser It also includes documentation and several optional examples.

About

Terminal & SSH

Access and manage Linux or IoT devices securely from your mobile device. Offers SSH, SFTP, and a suite of network tools for command-line administration and file transfer. Includes a code editor and snippet manager for efficient workflow.

Highlights
  • SSH connection with key authentication
  • SFTP file transfer
  • Network tools (ping, ifconfig, etc.)
  • Local text editor with syntax highlighting
  • Command snippets
  • Code editor
  • Terminal theme customization
Features
Read full description

Terminal & SSH is a complete command line and server administration solution that provides secure access to Linux or IoT devices and helps you quickly resolve issues from a mobile device. SSH Features: • SSH connection with password or key authentication: DSA, RSA, ECDSA, Ed25519 (OpenSSH format). • Emulation: XTERM-COLOR256 / XTERM / VT100 • Connection settings are securely stored in the Keychain. • Unlimited server list. • Local text editor with syntax highlighting for more than 30 programming languages. • Snippets (saving commands for quick access). • Special keys Esc, Tab, Ctrl, /,:, -,!, |, $, *, F1-F12 SFTP features: • Upload files from your device to your server. • Download files from your server to your device. • Create / rename / delete files and directories. • Edit text files. Network tools: • ifconfig, ping, whois, host, nc (netcat), nslookup, telnet, dig, curl And: • Authentication to the application via Touch ID / Face ID. • Work with Git. • Code editor for: Swift, Kotlin, Java, Python, HTML and more. • Run code on Python • Customize the terminal theme. • Adjust the font size. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

Screenshots

RETRO FORTH4 screens
Terminal & SSH4 screens

Verdict

The call

RETRO FORTH and Terminal & SSH both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 85% of Terminal & SSH's written reviews are positive against 33% of RETRO FORTH's. Terminal & SSH also leads on ratings volume (105 vs 5) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). RETRO FORTH's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Terminal & SSH sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. RETRO FORTH asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for RETRO FORTH against 4.3 for Terminal & SSH. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Terminal & SSH has 105 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 33% of RETRO FORTH's written reviews are positive against 85% of Terminal & SSH's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RETRO FORTH ships an update monthly, Terminal & SSH every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 6, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
RETRO FORTH versus Terminal & SSH: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRETRO FORTHTerminal & SSH
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (5 ratings) — better4.3 (105 ratings)
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews84.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5105 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.412.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB74 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCharles ChildersPavlo Kravchenko

Customer experience

RETRO FORTH

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral66.7%
Negative0.0%

Terminal & SSH

All ratings105 ratings
Positive84.8%
Neutral4.8%
Negative10.5%
Written reviews79 reviews
Positive84.8%
Neutral5.1%
Negative10.1%

Bugs and requests

RETRO FORTH

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Terminal & SSH

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • App crashes after showing logo on iOS 12.2
  • Crashes on iPad Air with iOS 12.3.1
  • Crashes frequently (Chinese review)
  • Crashes on loading
  • App crashes on loading starting today
Show 9 more
  • Crashes immediately under iOS 15.3
  • Crashes when selecting default theme
  • Cannot keep app in background, requires reconnection
  • Bluetooth keyboard arrow keys not transmitting
  • App crashes on startup
  • App stopped working on iPad after a few days
  • Crashes on iPad Pro 1st Gen (13.4.1)
  • Arrow key presses on MFi keyboard don't transmit
  • App does not start

Requested features

8 requests
  • Keepalive features for long builds
  • Physical arrow keys for Bluetooth keyboards
  • Support for Chinese input in terminal
  • UI improvements for common keys on toolbar
  • Ability to touch and drag back through commands
Show 3 more
  • Swipe up through history
  • Dark mode
  • More clear explanation of connection purchases

In-app purchases

None

RETRO FORTH

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Terminal & SSH

Subscriptions2
  • Remove ads$4.991 Month
  • Remove ads$9.993 Months
One-time3
  • Five connections$1.99
  • Twenty connections$4.99
  • Infinity connections$9.99

Questions

Is RETRO FORTH free?
RETRO FORTH is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Terminal & SSH free?
Terminal & SSH is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, RETRO FORTH or Terminal & SSH?
RETRO FORTH is rated higher. RETRO FORTH averages 4.4 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Terminal & SSH averages 4.3 from 105 ratings.
Do RETRO FORTH or Terminal & SSH have ads?
Terminal & SSH shows ads; RETRO FORTH does not.
Which is updated more often, RETRO FORTH or Terminal & SSH?
RETRO FORTH ships an update monthly, and Terminal & SSH every 2 weeks. Most recently, RETRO FORTH was updated on September 6, 2026 and Terminal & SSH on September 27, 2026.

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