Comparison

a vs Herald Bonjour Network Browser

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

Herald Bonjour Network Browser

Discover and inspect Bonjour services on your local network. Visualize smart home devices, Thread, and Matter, or simply see what's broadcasting around you. Export data for documentation.

Highlights
  • Discover 45+ Bonjour service types
  • Inspect service details (hostname, IP, port)
  • Explore Thread network devices
  • Discover Matter smart home devices
  • Scan for Matter commissioning devices via BLE
  • Export discovered services (TXT/JSON)
  • Search service names, types, and TXT records
Features
Read full description

Herald discovers and inspects Bonjour service on your local network using DNS-SD/mDNS, giving you visibility into the devices and services around you. Herald is designed for debugging smart home setups, exploring Thread and Matter devices, or just visualising what's broadcasting on your network. - Browse 45+ Bonjour service types including HTTP, SSH, AirPlay, HomeKit, printers, file shares in a single searchable list - Inspect service details including hostname, port, IPv4/IPv6 addresses, and parsed TXT records with human-readable labels - Dedicated Thread network tab showing Border Routers, TREL peers, SRP servers, and Matter commissioners with decoded metadata (network name, vendor, model, Thread version) - Dedicated Matter tab for discovering smart home devices with vendor lookup, device type, commissioning mode, and discriminator - Dedicated Bluetooth tab scans for nearby Matter commissioning devices via BLE (service UUID 0xFFF6) - Export discovered services as plain text or JSON for sharing and documentation - Search across service names, types, and TXT record values to find what you're looking for instantly - Clean, native iOS interface with live-updating service counts and clear error reporting - No account required, no data collection

Screenshots

a4 screens
Herald Bonjour Network Browser4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Herald Bonjour Network Browser at free against a's paid. Herald Bonjour Network Browser also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 78%). a's advantage is ratings volume (562 vs 1) and chart position (#21 vs unranked). 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Herald Bonjour Network Browser holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: a has 562 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of a's written reviews are positive against 100% of Herald Bonjour Network Browser's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

a ships an update monthly, Herald Bonjour Network Browser weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
a versus Herald Bonjour Network Browser: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteraHerald Bonjour Network Browser
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (562 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings562 — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#21 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size2.1 GB6 MB
Age rating+174+
DeveloperNicolas HolzschuchJC Multimedia Design

Customer experience

a

All ratings562 ratings
Positive88.3%
Neutral4.6%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews388 reviews
Positive78.4%
Neutral9.5%
Negative12.1%

Herald Bonjour Network Browser

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Herald Bonjour Network Browser

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

a

No in-app purchases

None

Herald Bonjour Network Browser

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is a free?
a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Herald Bonjour Network Browser free?
Herald Bonjour Network Browser is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, a or Herald Bonjour Network Browser?
Herald Bonjour Network Browser is rated higher. a averages 4.6 out of 5 from 562 ratings, while Herald Bonjour Network Browser averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do a or Herald Bonjour Network Browser have ads?
Neither a nor Herald Bonjour Network Browser shows ads.
Which is updated more often, a or Herald Bonjour Network Browser?
a ships an update monthly, and Herald Bonjour Network Browser weekly. Most recently, a was updated on October 25, 2026 and Herald Bonjour Network Browser on October 24, 2026.

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