# a vs gitbay

The clearest difference is monetization model: gitbay at free against a's paid. gitbay also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). a's advantage is ratings volume (123 vs 1) and chart position (#32 vs unranked). 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.

gitbay holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: a has 123 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

a ships an update monthly, gitbay every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | a | gitbay |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (123 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-shell-mini/id1543537943/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gitbay/id6806399095/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **123** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 78.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#32** | — |
| Size | 383 MB | 17 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nicolas Holzschuch](https://appshunter.io/developer/1450994948) | [Christian Cleberg](https://appshunter.io/developer/1883866326) |

## What reviewers say

### a

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

**Currently charting:** #32 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


### gitbay

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gitbay/id6806399095)

Access and manage your git repositories on the go. Review code, track issues, and monitor builds from your mobile device. Securely connect to your own git forge instance without sharing passwords.

**Highlights:** Browse files, commit history, and branches, Review merge requests with diffs and threads, Manage issues with labels and milestones, Monitor CI builds and trigger jobs, View READMEs and wikis, Secure token-based authentication

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is a free?

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

### Is gitbay free?

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

### Which has better reviews, a or gitbay?

gitbay is rated higher. a averages 4.6 out of 5 from 123 ratings, while gitbay averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do a or gitbay have ads?

Neither a nor gitbay shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, a or gitbay?

a ships an update monthly, and gitbay every 2 days. Most recently, a was updated on November 3, 2026 and gitbay 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.*