a vs UsageMaster
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.
UsageMaster
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See the AI usage your Mac reads, right on your iPhone. UsageMaster for iPhone is a companion app that shows the usage of AI tools such as Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini CLI, as read by UsageMaster on your Mac, delivered through iCloud. No sign-in and no extra setup: sign in to iCloud with the same Apple Account on both devices and they connect automatically. ◆ Features • Instant iCloud sync: when a value changes on your Mac, it reaches your iPhone right away • 5-hour and weekly limits with reset times, on a single card • Token usage and estimated cost in daily charts • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets to check without opening the app (Pro) • Alerts when a limit resets and when a new AI model arrives • A calm, paper-like design with Light and Dark modes ◆ Privacy • Only usage numbers travel through iCloud. Tokens, emails, and file paths are never uploaded. • The iPhone app never signs in to your AI tools and never handles credentials. ◆ Pro The free plan shows up to three AI tools. Lifetime Pro is a one-time purchase (not a subscription) that unlocks every AI tool and the widgets, and works on the Mac and iPhone signed in with the same Apple Account. Try it first with the free 7-day trial pass from the App Store. Prices may vary by region. ◆ Good to know • UsageMaster for Mac (Mac App Store) must be running for new values to arrive. • If nothing has arrived from your Mac yet, tap "Explore with sample data" to look around first. ◆ Feedback Send feedback through the support link in Settings. dlaudwls1203@gmail.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: a at none against UsageMaster's 2. a also leads on ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#46 vs unranked). UsageMaster's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). On price 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. UsageMaster sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. a asks for nothing beyond the download.
a ships an update every 2 weeks, UsageMaster every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | a | UsageMaster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (120 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 77.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 120 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Best chart rank | #46 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 373 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nicolas Holzschuch | MyeongJin Lee |
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
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- Make Ubuntu default
- Add expansion of keys (e.g., echo {a..z})
- Adjustable font size
UsageMaster
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
a
No in-app purchases
UsageMaster
- 7-day TrialFree
- UsageMaster Pro$1.99
