a vs UsageNow
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.
UsageNow
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Hit your AI limit halfway through a task? UsageNow shows how much of each AI plan you have left and exactly when it resets, right on your Home Screen, and warns you before you run out. Built for developers who code with AI agents every day. EVERY LIMIT AT A GLANCE Claude: the 5-hour session and weekly limits, including per-model weekly caps ChatGPT Codex: the 5-hour and weekly windows GitHub Copilot: premium requests, chat and code completions Gemini: daily request quotas for each model A live countdown to every reset, plus the exact reset time in your local format ALERTS BEFORE YOU HIT THE WALL Make your own alerts: choose the 5-hour limit, the weekly limit or all limits, then type the percentage that matters to you, like 90 or 98. Add as many as you like. Each alert comes once per limit and cycle, so your lock screen stays quiet. Turn on a reset alert to know the moment a limit is back. WIDGETS THAT DO MORE Flip through all of your accounts right on the widget Tap to refresh a widget whenever you want the latest numbers Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets in every size, plus Apple Watch complications ALL YOUR ACCOUNTS, IN YOUR ORDER Work and personal, Pro and Max, side by side. Sort by 5-hour reset, weekly reset, highest or lowest usage, name or service, or drag accounts into your own order. EVERYWHERE YOU WORK iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. PRIVATE BY DESIGN You sign in on each service's own login page. Your sign-in stays in your device's Keychain, and UsageNow talks only to the services themselves. There is no UsageNow server, no account to create and no tracking. IN YOUR LANGUAGE Fully translated into 50 languages, with dates and times written the way your region writes them. Pick a language in Settings anytime. TRY EVERYTHING FIRST Start a free 24-hour trial in the app and use every feature, widgets included. To keep using UsageNow and its widgets after the trial, unlock UsageNow Pro with a single one-time purchase. No subscription. UsageNow is an independent app and is not affiliated with Anthropic, OpenAI, GitHub, Microsoft or Google. Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, GitHub Copilot and Gemini are trademarks of their respective owners. Questions or ideas? hourstag.app@gmail.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: a at none against UsageNow's 2. a also leads on chart position (#17 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. UsageNow sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. a asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | a | UsageNow |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (553 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 78.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 553 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Best chart rank | #17 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.9 GB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nicolas Holzschuch | Guan Feng Lai |
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
UsageNow
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
a
No in-app purchases
UsageNow
- 1-Day TrialFree
- UsageNow Pro$8.99









