Comparison

a vs ASO Japan

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

Head to head
About

a

This app provides a local Unix terminal emulator for iOS devices, enabling users to run various Unix commands, edit files, and process data. It includes support for multiple programming languages and network utilities, with integration for iOS Shortcuts and multi-window functionality.

Highlights
  • Local Unix terminal emulator
  • Run Unix commands
  • File transfer (scp, curl)
  • Text editing (vim, ed)
  • Programming languages (Python, Lua, C)
  • Network utilities (ping, nslookup)
  • iOS Shortcuts integration
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

ASO Japan

Features
Read full description

For companies, studios, and independent developers publishing on the App Store: Do not stop at launch. Use data to understand your position and keep making your app better. ASO Japan is an app store optimization research tool focused on Japan's App Store market. Enter a keyword to review estimated demand, competition, and opportunity in one place. Compare related apps in ranking order and quickly check app names, developers, ratings, and review counts. Key features • Analyze keywords for Japan's App Store • Review estimated demand, competition, and opportunity • Browse related apps in ranking order • Compare app and competitor details • Save apps for later research • Register your app and check its suggested search position • Discover keyword opportunities worth testing Understand where your app stands, learn from competitors, and find the next keywords to test. ASO Japan helps teams and independent developers build a continuous improvement habit. ASO Japan uses Apple's publicly available data and performs analysis on your device. No account or paid subscription is required. About ads The app may show an interstitial ad after some successful searches. To view related-app results beyond the first 10, you can optionally watch a rewarded ad.

Screenshots

a4 screens
ASO Japan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: a at none against ASO Japan's shown. a also leads on chart position (#21 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence and in-app purchases 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

a ships an update monthly, ASO Japan every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
a versus ASO Japan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteraASO Japan
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (568 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings568 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank#21 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size2.1 GB7 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNicolas HolzschuchTakahiro Aminaga

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

ASO Japan

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

a

No in-app purchases

None

ASO Japan

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is a free?
a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ASO Japan free?
ASO Japan is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do a or ASO Japan have ads?
ASO Japan shows ads; a does not.
Which is updated more often, a or ASO Japan?
a ships an update monthly, and ASO Japan every 2 weeks. Most recently, a was updated on November 3, 2026 and ASO Japan on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons