SSH Client vs Prompt 3
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SSH Client
This app provides a fast SSH terminal and remote file access, seamlessly integrating your SSH servers with your iOS device. It offers advanced text editing gestures, drag-and-drop file management, and built-in tmux support for persistent sessions. Access your server's file system directly within the Files app and automate transfers via Shortcuts.
- Lightning fast SSH terminal
- Remote file access and management
- Standard and custom text editing gestures
- Drag-and-drop file transfer
- Built-in tmux support for session persistence
- Files app integration for server file system
- Shortcuts app integration for automation
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Lightning fast SSH terminal with remote file access. No other app fuses your SSH servers and iOS devices as well as Secure ShellFish. Tap Get and see for yourself. Terminal supports standard text editing gestures for selection, scrolling and copy/paste as well as custom gestures to send arrow keys and tabulator making shell entry and full screen editing with vim or emacs delightful. Bar above the keyboard makes it easy to type special keys and insert snippets. Select and drag filenames out of the terminal as actual files and drag files from other apps into the terminal to upload. Use built-in tmux support to persist terminal sessions if you lose Internet access, pick existing sessions with thumbnails and Handoff sessions between devices. Server file system is available in the Files app and recently accessed files and directories are cached to make them available when offline. Use apps like Textastic and iA Writer for a native editing experience working on your remote server files. Upload files or entire directories from the share sheet with minimal friction as the last destination directory for each kind of file is remembered or automate file transfers in the Shortcuts app. Connect to your Mac, Synology NAS and any other SSH server or create new Digital Ocean droplets right from the app. Secure ShellFish is useful as a free app and paying pro users can disable ads in the terminal, upload through the Files app and configure unlimited number of servers.
Prompt 3
A fully-native terminal emulator for Apple devices, offering robust connectivity for SSH, Mosh, and more. It features fast emulation, customizable clips, secure authentication, and cross-device syncing for a seamless experience.
- Native terminal emulator
- SSH, Mosh, Eternal Terminal, Telnet support
- Panic Sync for cross-device server syncing
- Superfast emulation with GPU acceleration
- Customizable clips for commands
- FaceID/TouchID authentication
- Jump Hosts and Agent Forwarding
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Prompt 3 is our #1 fully-native terminal emulator for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and now, Apple Vision Pro! Yes, with one purchase, you get four platforms. Supporting SSH, Mosh, Eternal Terminal, Telnet, and Local Shells (on Mac), you can stay connected even on the most unstable networks. And with Panic Sync, your servers sync everywhere. For terminals, this is the only app you need. NOW EVEN BETTER: • SSH, Telnet, and Local (for Mac) Rock-solid and reliable connectivity to your hosts. • Mosh and Eternal Terminal Keep your terminal open even when you get disconnected. Mosh is optimized for high-latency, low-throughput networks. Eternal Terminal is great for when you need to keep your full terminal history on a flaky connection. • Lower Price Everything is so expensive right now. So we made Prompt cheaper. Take that, capitalism. • Superfast Emulation We retooled the text engine in Prompt 3 to be up to 10x faster, including GPU acceleration, and with improved terminal emulation, you can run nvim inside tmux without breaking a sweat. • Clips Put your most-used commands and text bits into clips and access them with a single tap via Prompt’s keyboard bar. Clips can be stored globally or per-server. • Secure Enclave Authenticate with FaceID and TouchID. The keys will stay secure on your device. • Panic Sync Sync your favorite servers, passwords, private keys, and clips, between Prompt on all of your devices. • Customizable Make Prompt perfect with new themes, fonts, and a very configurable iOS keyboard. • Jump Hosts and Agent Forwarding Access corporate servers, even at the beach. • Mouse Support Use your mouse to interact with TUI-based apps that run through the terminal. AND YES, A DARK ICON. What more can we say? TAKE CONTROL FROM ANYWHERE, INCLUDING YOUR MAC AND APPLE VISION PRO. WE HOPE YOU ENJOY PROMPT 3. © Panic EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: SSH Client at 94% against Prompt 3's 22%. SSH Client also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and chart position 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. SSH Client sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Prompt 3 sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
SSH Client holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.5K and 349 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of SSH Client's written reviews are positive against 22% of Prompt 3's.
SSH Client ships an update weekly, Prompt 3 every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.
| Parameter | SSH Client | Prompt 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better | 4.3 (349 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 94.3% of reviews — better | 22.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 349 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #20 — better | #23 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro |
| Requires iOS | 17.4 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 117 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Anders Borum | Panic, Inc. |
Customer experience
SSH Client
Prompt 3
User reviews
SSH Client
From 1.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Turns iPad into productivity machine
- 🚀 Seamless SSH experience
- 👍 Excellent integration with Files app
- 👍 Robust key management and syncing
- 👍 Powerful terminal with great features
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
- 🐛 Inconsistent behavior with some commands
- 🔒 Concerns about data privacy and security
Prompt 3
From 349 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and powerful
- 🔒 Secure with Secure Enclave support
- 👍 Great admin tool
- 👍 Continues to improve over time
- 👍 Fantastic terminal emulator on iPad
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable
- 🚫 Subscription required for full functionality
- 💰 Extremely expensive, especially for existing users
- 🤔 Lacks features compared to competitors
Bugs and requests
SSH Client
Reported bugs
2 issues- Crashes when running certain commands
- Issues with file transfer progress reporting
Requested features
4 requests- Improved documentation and tutorials
- Support for additional authentication methods
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts and layouts
- Tabbed terminal interface
Prompt 3
Reported bugs
5 issues- Server list randomly disappears with Panic Sync
- Crashes when connected to external monitor
- Black screen issues with custom font configurations
- Sync issues causing data loss
- Vertical display sync issues
Requested features
8 requests- Shortcuts support on macOS
- Ability to click and select within commands
- Local shell option
- Run clips on server connection
- Export/backup clips
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Alt/Meta key support for Emacs
- iCloud sync option
- Sign in with Apple for Panic Sync
In-app purchases
SSH Client
- ShellFish Monthly subscription14 Days trial$2.991 Month
- ShellFish Annual subscription$14.991 Year
- ShellFish Lifetime Pro Unlock$29.99
Prompt 3
- Prompt 3 iOS + Mac (Annual)7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Prompt 3 One Time$49.99








