RETRO FORTH vs Terminal & SSH
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Concatenative programming language
- Code editor with Markdown subset
- Literate programming style
- Interactive listener interface
- Gopher server data fetching
- File manager
- Documentation browser
Read full descriptionHide 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.
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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide 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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
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.
| Parameter | RETRO FORTH | Terminal & SSH |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (5 ratings) — better | 4.3 (105 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | 84.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 105 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.4 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 74 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Charles Childers | Pavlo Kravchenko |
Customer experience
RETRO FORTH
Terminal & SSH
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 moreShow fewer
- 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 moreShow fewer
- Swipe up through history
- Dark mode
- More clear explanation of connection purchases
In-app purchases
RETRO FORTH
No in-app purchases
Terminal & SSH
- Remove ads$4.991 Month
- Remove ads$9.993 Months
- Five connections$1.99
- Twenty connections$4.99
- Infinity connections$9.99
Questions
Is RETRO FORTH free?
Is Terminal & SSH free?
Which has better reviews, RETRO FORTH or Terminal & SSH?
Do RETRO FORTH or Terminal & SSH have ads?
Which is updated more often, RETRO FORTH or Terminal & SSH?
Other comparisons















