# Userscripts vs a

The clearest difference is monetization model: Userscripts at free against a's paid. a's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (553 vs 181). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

a holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 181 and 553 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 78% and 79% positive.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Userscripts | a |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (181 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/userscripts/id1463298887/reviews) | **[4.6 (553 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-shell/id1473805438/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 181 | **553** |
| Positive reviews | 78.1% of reviews | **78.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #20 | **#19** |
| Size | 2 MB | 1.9 GB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Justin Wasack](https://appshunter.io/developer/1463298886) | [Nicolas Holzschuch](https://appshunter.io/developer/1450994948) |

## What reviewers say

### Userscripts

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/userscripts/id1463298887)

**Currently charting:** #20 Top Free · Developer Tools (US App Store)

This open-source Safari extension allows you to run custom JavaScript and CSS code on any website. Enhance your browsing experience with personalized styling, automatic redirects, and ad-blocking.

**Highlights:** Run custom JavaScript, Inject custom CSS, Automatic page redirection, Website page manipulation, Custom ad-blocking, Open source, No user tracking

**Features:** Safari Extension, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Works well to inject CSS on iPad in Safari
- 👍 Best thing since sliced bread
- 💡 Allows you to do thousands of things that were previously desktop only
- 🔒 Very stable and works flawlessly with Safari
- 👍 Excellent Safari extension

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Satisfactory to an extent, stops working sometimes
- 🐛 Broke until reinstall
- 🐛 Slowed my Safari down to a crawl
- 🐛 Unpredictable when it applies scripts, but still useful
- 🐛 It's been way too unpredictable for a while now

**Reported bugs**

- Failed to load user data
- Saying there's an error when trying to download something
- Won't work, keeps saying there's an issue and retry
- Disappeared from Safari preferences and won't return after troubleshooting

**Requested features**

- Add support for Safari Tech Preview
- Allow editing of userscripts from the browser extension popup
- Allow creation of a new script from the Safari Extension for the current site
- Allow specifying the order in which scripts should be loaded
- Add support for running scripts in normal mode, private mode or both


### a

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-shell/id1473805438)

**Currently charting:** #19 Top Free · Developer Tools (US App Store)

Run a full Unix-like terminal environment on your iOS device. Execute a wide range of commands, edit files, and even program using included interpreters and compilers. Supports multitasking and integration with Shortcuts.

**Highlights:** Local Unix terminal emulator, SSH client, File transfer (scp, curl), Text editing (vim, ed), Scripting languages (Python, Lua, Perl, JS), C/C++ compiler, TeX distribution

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful terminal with Linux commands
- 👍 Useful for programming and development
- 🔒 Secure and reliable
- 💡 Impressive capabilities for an iOS app
- 👍 Helpful documentation and developer support

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Limited customization options
- 🔍 Missing some basic terminal features
- 🔍 Compatibility issues with certain packages

**Reported bugs**

- Toolbar buttons not accessible in portrait mode on some devices
- Pasting from clipboard can insert unexpected characters
- Sourcing certain script files causes crashes

**Requested features**

- Add support for package managers like Homebrew or APT
- Implement more advanced shell features like job control and better tab completion
- Integrate Git for version control
- Allow installing additional packages and libraries
- Improve clipboard and file management integration


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Userscripts free?

Userscripts is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is a free?

a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Userscripts or a?

a is rated higher. Userscripts averages 4.3 out of 5 from 181 ratings, while a averages 4.6 from 553 ratings.

### Do Userscripts or a have ads?

Neither Userscripts nor a shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Userscripts or a?

Userscripts ships an update monthly, and a monthly. Most recently, Userscripts was updated on September 22, 2026 and a on September 23, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Userscripts or a?

Userscripts currently peaks at #20 in the App Store charts, and a at #19. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*