Comparison

SSH Client vs Helmrig Shell

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Helmrig Shell

Features
Read full description

The terminal from your desk, now on iPhone and iPad. Helmrig Shell is a native terminal — btop, tmux, vim, true color, ligatures, full escape-sequence support, rendered natively. Not a web view, not a cut-down mobile shell. A real desktop terminal that feels like the one you already use. Your sessions run on your own Mac or server. The iPad or iPhone is just the window — so they never drop. Lock the screen, lose signal, switch to another app, come back hours later: every tab, every running process, your full scrollback, exactly where you left it. No reconnect dance, no lost output. Drop a file onto the terminal and it uploads to your machine, with the full path dropped straight into your command line. Hand a screenshot to a CLI tool, attach a file to a running command — it just works, as if the file were already there. Built on libghostty for the rendering you'd expect from a desktop terminal. Hardware keyboard shortcuts, split panes, tabs that name themselves after what's running. Designed for iPad first, not ported from somewhere else. Works anywhere over an end-to-end encrypted connection — at your desk, on the couch, or across the world. Not limited to your local network. Helmrig Shell requires a subscription to use. A free trial is available, after which continued access requires Helmrig Shell Pro at $8.99/month. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. WHAT IT IS A window into your own machine. Your shell, your tools, your environment — running where they always have, now reachable from your iPad. WHAT IT NEEDS A Mac or Linux machine you control, running the Helmrig server. Setup takes one command. PRIVACY No third-party SDKs. No analytics. No crash reporting. Helmrig Shell servers never see terminal output. Full policy at helmrig.app/shell-privacy.html CONTACT hi@helmrig.app Support Link: https://helmrig.app/support Privacy Policy: https://helmrig.app/shell-privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://helmrig.app/shell-terms.html

Screenshots

SSH Client4 screens
Helmrig Shell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Helmrig Shell at none against SSH Client's 3. SSH Client's advantage is chart position (#14 vs unranked) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence and ads 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. SSH Client sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Helmrig Shell asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SSH Client ships an update weekly, Helmrig Shell every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
SSH Client versus Helmrig Shell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSSH ClientHelmrig Shell
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.6K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews94.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.6K — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
Best chart rank#14 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.4 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size132 MB39 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAnders BorumNikita Kislitsin

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

Helmrig Shell

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

SSH Client

Subscriptions2
  • ShellFish Monthly subscription14 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • ShellFish Annual subscription$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • ShellFish Lifetime Pro Unlock$29.99
None

Helmrig Shell

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SSH Client free?
SSH Client is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Helmrig Shell free?
Helmrig Shell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SSH Client or Helmrig Shell have ads?
Neither SSH Client nor Helmrig Shell shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SSH Client or Helmrig Shell?
SSH Client ships an update weekly, and Helmrig Shell every 2 weeks. Most recently, SSH Client was updated on November 3, 2026 and Helmrig Shell on October 31, 2026.

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