Comparison

a vs QuickPort Terminal

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

Head to head
About

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.

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
Read full description

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.

About

QuickPort Terminal

Features
Read full description

QuickPort is a lightweight terminal client for developers and engineers. Connect your iOS device to a local target over your network via WebSocket, send commands, and view real-time output. Built for privacy and reliability • No accounts, no tracking, no ads • No cloud storage of your terminal data • All data stays on your device and the local device you connect to Use QuickPort for embedded bring-up, lab work, field diagnostics, and quick checks on the go.

Screenshots

a4 screens
QuickPort Terminal2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: a at #20 against QuickPort Terminal's unranked. a also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
a versus QuickPort Terminal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteraQuickPort Terminal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (553 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings553 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#20 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size1.9 GB2 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNicolas HolzschuchMira Labs EOOD

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

QuickPort Terminal

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

a

No in-app purchases

None

QuickPort Terminal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is a free?
a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is QuickPort Terminal free?
QuickPort Terminal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do a or QuickPort Terminal have ads?
Neither a nor QuickPort Terminal shows ads.

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