Comparison

ServerCat vs Shell Drop

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

Head to head
About

ServerCat

Monitor your Linux servers and Docker containers directly from your mobile device. View detailed resource usage, network traffic, and container stats. Offers an SSH terminal for remote management and automation capabilities.

Highlights
  • Server status monitoring
  • CPU, GPU, Memory usage
  • Network traffic and speed
  • Docker container stats
  • SSH Shell Terminal
  • Container management
Features
Read full description

ServerCat is a Linux monitor and Docker Management & SSH Terminal app. ServerCat makes it easy to monitor your server status on your mobile. It shows detail running status of your linux servers and docker containers. It only needs an SSH account without any other dependencies. It will not install any tools to your system. Free Features Monitor detail status of your server including: ・CPU usage per-core ・GPU usage and running process ・Memory usage ・Network traffic/speed and TCP stats ・Docker containers and stats ・Disk blocks and IO per second Premium Features ・ SSH Shell Terminal ・ Sync data across all your iOS devices ・ Create and Manage containers ・Background SSH Security: All SSH credentials are AES-encrypted and saved locally. The Cloud Sync uses iCloud to sync AES-encrypted data securely and nobody can inspect your data in the cloud. Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy https://servercat.app/privacy

About

Shell Drop

This app provides a native terminal experience for iOS and iPadOS, designed for running AI agents via SSH. It allows seamless integration with AI models by enabling image and file uploads directly into sessions, with customizable upload limits. Features include tmux awareness, secure SSH key authentication, and on-device voice input for commands.

Highlights
  • AI agent integration
  • Image and file uploads
  • Tmux session management
  • SSH key authentication
  • On-device voice input
  • Customizable keyboard toolbar
Features
Read full description

ShellDrop is a fast, native terminal for iPhone, iPad and Vision Pro, built for running AI agents: Claude Code, Codex, Grok, Hermes, OpenClaw, opencode, anything that lives in tmux on a Mac mini, VPS or any box you can SSH into. WORK WITH YOUR AGENTS - Paste images straight into a session. Copy a screenshot from any app, paste it in the terminal, and your agent reads it. - Attach files too. Tap the paperclip in the toolbar to pick a file from Files, or a photo or video from your library, and it uploads to the server for your agent to read. - You choose the upload size limit. Settings goes from 100 MB to 1 GB, and if a file is over, ShellDrop offers to raise it on the spot. - Tmux aware. Vertical swipe scrolls history, horizontal swipe switches sessions. - Tab names sync with the real tmux session names automatically. - Sessions stay alive in the background while you switch apps. - Agent to clipboard. Ask your agent to write an email, say "copy that to my clipboard", and it lands on your phone ready to paste into your mail app. - Droplet Visualizer: the feature nobody asked for. See all your sessions from the perspective of an Egyptian god. BUILT LIKE A REAL TERMINAL - SSH key authentication. Generate Ed25519 keys or hardware-backed Secure Enclave keys in-app, where the private key never leaves the chip. - Paste-import your existing OpenSSH keys. - The keyboard toolbar is yours. Tap and hold to rearrange the keys you use most, and create your own custom Tmux key bindings. - Sticky ctrl for all of your perverted tmux activities. - Text selection with a dedicated selection mode, long-press word select, and one-tap links. - Nerd Fonts. FiraCode and JetBrains Mono render the glyphs nvim and LazyVim need. - Full screen mode for extra real estate. - Full iPad support including 13" iPad Pro, plus hardware keyboards. - iCloud sync keeps saved connections on every device, and you can switch it off in Settings any time. Private keys stay on your device by design. NO SUBSCRIPTION Every feature included. VOICE DROP Tap the mic on the keyboard toolbar and talk. Your words drop into the prompt at the cursor. Transcription runs on-device with Apple speech, or through your own Groq API key for whisper-large-v3-turbo. Nothing sends until you hit return. Prefer a dictation keyboard like Wispr Flow? Works great here too. PRIVACY Credentials live in the iOS keychain on your device. There is no account, and no telemetry or analytics are collected. Terminal traffic goes to your servers over SSH and nowhere else. Built by an indie developer who runs AI agents every day.

Screenshots

ServerCat4 screens
Shell Drop4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shell Drop at none against ServerCat's 3. Shell Drop also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 77%). ServerCat's advantage is ratings volume (1K vs 3) and chart position (#41 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. ServerCat sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per year. Shell Drop asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shell Drop holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ServerCat has 1K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of ServerCat's written reviews are positive against 100% of Shell Drop's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ServerCat ships an update every 6 days, Shell Drop every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
ServerCat versus Shell Drop: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterServerCatShell Drop
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (1K ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1K — better3
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#41 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEarly Moon, LLCDaniel Bilsborough

Customer experience

ServerCat

All ratings1,002 ratings
Positive89.7%
Neutral3.2%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews442 reviews
Positive77.4%
Neutral8.8%
Negative13.8%

Shell Drop

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

ServerCat

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Connection issues and failed logins
  • Server status not refreshing properly
  • Crashes when switching between screens or using certain features
  • Incompatibility with certain server configurations (e.g., Debian/Ubuntu only for some features)

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add support for SFTP
  • Implement Celsius temperature display
  • Add home screen widgets for server status
  • Improve syncing of servers and SSH keys across devices
  • Enhance Docker/container management features
Show 2 more
  • Add support for Telnet and other protocols
  • Improve terminal experience (e.g., Tmux bindings, font customization)

Shell Drop

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

ServerCat

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Annual Subscription7 Days trial$5.991 Year
One-time2
  • Premium Upgrade Discount$5.99
  • ServerCat Lifetime Premium$18.99
None

Shell Drop

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ServerCat free?
ServerCat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shell Drop free?
Shell Drop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ServerCat or Shell Drop?
Shell Drop is rated higher. ServerCat averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1K ratings, while Shell Drop averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do ServerCat or Shell Drop have ads?
Neither ServerCat nor Shell Drop shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ServerCat or Shell Drop?
ServerCat ships an update every 6 days, and Shell Drop every 9 days. Most recently, ServerCat was updated on October 15, 2026 and Shell Drop on October 14, 2026.

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