a vs Finn
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
a
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.
- 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
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a-Shell mini is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on you iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk and sed. Work with git repositories using lg2. Most commands are compiled for iOS native Arm64 format, making them fast and well integrated with iOS underlying BSD Unix. a-Shell mini includes Python, Lua, JavaScript and webAssembly for programming and scripting. It also includes native ffmpeg and convert for fast image and video conversion. 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 mini 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 mini uses iPadOS 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. a-Shell mini is a minimalist terminal, designed to have a very small footprint (less than 250 MB). If you need more commands, please consider a-Shell, which has more Python packages, more JavaScript modules, Perl, make, a C and C++ compiler and TeX.
Finn
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Finn - Text/Voice-Driven Coding Companion Code from anywhere using your voice. Finn connects to Claude Code on your desktop, letting you write code, fix bugs, and build features — all from your phone. How it works: • Speak or type coding tasks from your phone • Finn sends them to Claude Code running on your computer • Watch real-time progress as code is written • Review changes and approve commits on the go Requirements: • Claude Code CLI installed on your computer • Finn desktop companion app (free download at tryfinn.ai) • Active Claude Code subscription Finn is a free companion app for the Finn desktop daemon, a developer tool that runs on the user's computer. The mobile app sends coding prompts to the desktop, which executes them and streams results back. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://tryfinn.ai/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: a at none against Finn's 1. a also leads on chart position (#32 vs unranked). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Finn sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $14.99 per month. a asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | a | Finn |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (122 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 78.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 122 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Best chart rank | #32 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 383 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nicolas Holzschuch | Jack Ryan Killilea |
Bugs and requests
a
Reported bugs
12 issues- 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
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- Command not found errors for all commands
- App crashes on launch after update
- Cannot get own absolute path
- Cannot execute own programs
- App messes up .txt file association
- Trouble selecting characters to copy and paste
- No module named requests in shortcuts
Requested features
8 requests- Option to use old keyboard buttons
- Add openssl support
- Add libx265 codec for ffmpeg
- Support telnet command
- Add possibility to compile from source
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Make Ubuntu default
- Add expansion of keys (e.g., echo {a..z})
- Adjustable font size
Finn
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
a
No in-app purchases
Finn
- Finn Pro$14.991 Month
