# a vs OBDII Terminal

The clearest difference is update cadence: OBDII Terminal at every 6 days against a's monthly. a's advantage is chart position (#34 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

a ships an update monthly, OBDII Terminal every 6 days. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | a | OBDII Terminal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (122 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-shell-mini/id1543537943/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **122** | — |
| Positive reviews | 78.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Best chart rank | **#34** | — |
| Size | 383 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 16 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nicolas Holzschuch](https://appshunter.io/developer/1450994948) | [Jinwoo Lee](https://appshunter.io/developer/1736047876) |

## What reviewers say

### a

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-shell-mini/id1543537943)

**Currently charting:** #34 Top Free · Developer Tools (US App Store)

Run Unix commands locally on your iOS device with a powerful terminal emulator. Supports file transfer, editing, scripting with Python and Lua, and network utilities. Integrates with Shortcuts and supports multiple windows for multitasking.

**Highlights:** Local Unix terminal emulator, SSH client, File transfer (scp, curl), Text editing (vim, ed), Scripting (Python, Lua, JavaScript), Network utilities (nslookup, ping), Shortcuts integration, Multi-window support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great app for shortcuts
- 🚀 Efficient and functional
- 💡 Useful for IT tasks
- ✨ Free and awesome
- 💻 Good for remote server connection

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Font size not adjustable
- 🐛 Keyboard icons too large
- 🐛 App deletes itself
- 🐛 Rotating screen scrambles display
- 🐛 Pasting text shows strange characters

**Reported bugs**

- Keyboard icons comically large
- App deletes itself
- Rotating iPhone/iPad scrambles display
- Pasting text results in strange characters
- App only uses half of the screen when editing files

**Requested features**

- Option to use old keyboard buttons
- Add openssl support
- Add libx265 codec for ffmpeg
- Support telnet command
- Add possibility to compile from source


### OBDII Terminal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/obdii-terminal-elm327/id6738117199)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is a free?

a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is OBDII Terminal free?

OBDII Terminal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do a or OBDII Terminal have ads?

Neither a nor OBDII Terminal shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, a or OBDII Terminal?

a ships an update monthly, and OBDII Terminal every 6 days. Most recently, a was updated on October 29, 2026 and OBDII Terminal on October 29, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*