a vs Cookie
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
a
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.
- 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
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a-Shell is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on your iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk and sed. You can work with git repositories using lg2. Most commands are compiled for iOS native Arm64 format, making them fast and well integrated with the BSD Unix that powers iOS/iPadOS. a-Shell includes Python, Lua, Perl, JavaScript, C, C++ for programming and TeX (texlive 2025, with Tikz and LuaTeX) for text processing. There are also multiple network utilities: nslookup, ping, whois, ifconfig... Type help for help, help -l to get the full list of commands. a-Shell can be controlled from Shortcuts: run commands in order, process files in a-Shell, get the results as text or files, transfer files to other apps... a-shell uses iOS 13+ “multiple windows” ability, so you can run multiple shells at the same time, with different commands, in different directories. You can edit a file in one window with vim and process it in the other with python. Compile your C or C++ programs to webAssembly using clang or clang++, and execute the resulting binary. A complete webAssembly SDK is included (WASI-libc). a-Shell is the complete version. If you need a smaller app, and you don't need a C compiler, a TeX engine, or numpy and matplotlib, there is a-Shell mini.
Cookie
Manage your web browser cookies with this open-source tool. Easily view, create, edit, and delete cookies, and import/export them in various formats. Ideal for web development, testing, and enhancing online privacy.
- List all cookies
- Search cookies
- Create, edit, delete cookies
- Import/export cookies
- Delete all cookies
- Customizable interface
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Cookie-Editor is designed to have a simple to use interface that let you do most standard cookie operations. It is ideal for developing and testing web pages or even manual management of cookies for your privacy. Be careful! Do not share your cookies with anyone you do not trust! Cookies can contain very sensitive information like your login information. If you share your cookies with someone, they could gain full access to your account and compromise it. Feature list: - List all cookies for the current tab. - Search your cookies. - Create, edit and delete your cookies. - Import and export your cookies in many formats (JSON, Netscape, Header string) - Quickly delete all cookies for the current tab. - Customizable: chose what extra data to see, what theme to use (light or dark), the amount of detail to see (advanced mode). Cookie-Editor can help you: - Develop web pages. - Improve your SEO work. - Manage your cookies for privacy. - Improve your browsing experience. Cookie-Editor believes in privacy. Your Cookies are safe and all of your data remains offline. For all feature requests or bug report, please visit the GitHub repository and fill an issue https://github.com/Moustachauve/cookie-editor
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: a at 4.6 against Cookie's 3.4. a also leads on review sentiment (79% vs 40%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). Cookie's advantage is monetization model (free vs paid). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
a holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: a has 553 ratings behind it against 91, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of a's written reviews are positive against 40% of Cookie's.
a ships an update monthly, Cookie every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | a | Cookie |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (553 ratings) — better | 3.4 (91 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 78.6% of reviews — better | 40.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 553 — better | 91 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #19 — better | #36 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.9 GB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nicolas Holzschuch | Christophe Gagnier |
Customer experience
a
Cookie
User reviews
a
From 553 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful terminal with Linux commands
- 👍 Useful for programming and development
- 🔒 Secure and reliable
- 💡 Impressive capabilities for an iOS app
- 👍 Helpful documentation and developer support
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Limited customization options
- 🔍 Missing some basic terminal features
- 🔍 Compatibility issues with certain packages
Cookie
From 91 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Works for some users
- 👍 Free and open source
- 👍 Useful for data migration
- 👍 Good for privacy control
- 👍 Works on macOS
Room to improve
- 🐛 Does not work on iOS 18
- 🐛 Does not work on newer iOS versions
- 🐛 Does not work on Sequoia update
- 🐛 Does not work on MacOS updates
- 🐛 Extension not loading
Bugs and requests
a
Reported bugs
3 issues- 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
5 requests- 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
Cookie
Reported bugs
9 issues- Extension cannot be loaded
- Manifest version error
- No cookies detected
- Not working on iOS 18
- Not working on MacOS updates
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Not working after Sequoia update
- Not clearing cookies
- Not exporting all cookies
- Hacking/scam reports (potential security issue)
Requested features
6 requests- Update for iOS 18 compatibility
- Update for newer MacOS versions
- Fix extension loading issues
- Remove intrusive advertising
- Improve cookie parsing for import
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Add option to show all cookies
In-app purchases
a
No in-app purchases
Cookie
No in-app purchases
