Comparison

MuffinTerm vs CloudpilotEmu

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

Head to head
About

MuffinTerm

Relive the classic BBS experience with a modern terminal emulator. Connect to telnet-enabled BBSes worldwide and enjoy pixel-accurate retro display modes and aesthetic effects like simulated modem speed and CRT curvature. Upload and download files with classic protocols.

Highlights
  • Telnet BBS connection
  • Authentic retro display modes (CP437, PETSCII, ATASCII)
  • Simulated modem speed
  • CRT curvature and scanlines
  • File transfer (XMODEM, YMODEM, ZMODEM)
  • Digital sticky notes for BBSes
Read full description

MuffinTerm: A terminal crafted for the classic BBS experience. Dive back into the glory days of dial-up bulletin board systems… just, without the dialing up. (Though we’ll always miss that modem sound.) BBSes were once the way that almost anyone “online” got online. The modern Internet might have stolen a bit of the spotlight, but BBSes are still around if you know where to look—and MuffinTerm can take you there. Connect to telnet-enabled BBSes from around the world, with a terminal that’s designed to bring the classic experience to devices of today. (And no more busy signals!) Select from among text modes and terminal hardware of the DOS and home computer era, with pixel-accurate CP437, PETSCII, and ATASCII support for the popular systems of the day, reproduced in exacting detail to help you really feel at home. (All rendered with a custom Metal shader—it is the 21st century, after all.) • MDA with white (P4), green (P31), or amber (P3) phosphor • CGA in 40- or 80-column mode • EGA in 25- or 43-line mode • VGA in 25- or 50-line mode • VIC-II (C64/PETSCII) in NTSC, PAL, or borderless mode • ANTIC (ATASCII) in NTSC, PAL, or borderless mode Fuel your nostalgia further by enabling various aesthetic effects: • Simulated modem speed — from the 110cps teletype crawl of the 1970s to the “blazing fast” 56K of the awesome ’90s. Slow down that ANSI animation to look the way it was originally intended, or just relive the feel of watching the bytes roll in. (Fortunately, without the cross-town toll charges this time around.) • CRT curvature — Turn your flat-screen device into the spitting image of a classic ’tube. • Scan lines — Reject the modernity of your perfect high-DPI display and embrace the scanlines that once reigned supreme. • Warm tube tint — Harken back to an era of dubiously calibrated picture tubes and iffy RF adapters. • VIC-II luma bars — Relive the experience of poorly isolated clock lines (and the resulting visual artifacting). • Overscan borders — View the terminal as it would appear on a typical TV, or flout the factory calibration and show the full borders of the display field. • Select a custom app icon from among several inspired by modems of the BBS era (plus a couple of floppy disks). Some features are functional as well as fun. For example, who hasn’t stuck a sticky note or two to the side of their monitor at some point? Fortunately, the digital era is no bar to this ancient practice. Each BBS in your dialing directory gets its own digital sticky note (pick a color!), plus another that’s shared between them all. Record notes, make reminders, or be naughty and jot down a password or two. (We won’t peek.) Of course, the basics are still all there. Traditional ANSI, PETSCII, and ATASCII terminal emulation give you the proper BBS experience; teletype (TTY) and “raw mode” provide support for special-use systems. Upload and download files using the standard XMODEM, YMODEM, and ZMODEM protocols. Save transcripts of your calls as text or raw data logs. There’s even a session timer in the status line to show you how long you’ve been connected. (Not responsible for flashbacks to long-distance bills from the 1980s.) A comprehensive dialing directory helps you to keep track of your favorite systems. You can also import up-to-date BBS lists from popular online BBS directories. Have multiple devices? Automatically sync your dialing directory and call history between them all—whether iOS, iPadOS, and macOS—via iCloud. And last but not least, it’s free. No ads, no in-app purchases, no weird tracking shenanigans. It’s just you and the soft glow of the pixels calling out to you. It’s time to get back online with MuffinTerm.

About

CloudpilotEmu

This application allows you to run classic PalmOS handheld devices on your modern iPhone or iPad. It emulates various devices and supports PalmOS versions up to 5, offering features like continuous state saves and file management.

Highlights
  • PalmOS handheld emulation
  • Supports PalmOS 4.1 and 5
  • Continuous state saves
  • Savestate file import/export
  • Manage .prc and .pdb files
  • Emulated SD cards and memory sticks
  • Audio emulation
Features
Read full description

CloudpilotEmu runs PalmOS handhelds on modern devices. It emulates a wide range of devices up to PalmOS 4.1 and the Palm Tungsten E2 for PalmOS 5. Its features include: * Continuous state saves — reopen the app and continue right where you left off * Export and import of savestate files * Switch between multiple emulation sessions * Direct installation and export of .prc and .pdb files * Realistic emulation of timers and device speed * Emulated SD cards and memory sticks * File browser for managing memory cards * Audio emulation * Keyboard input on OS4 and earlier * Clipboard integration on OS4 and earlier * Network support (including network HotSync) on OS4 and earlier This app enables you to run CloudpilotEmu on your iPhone or iPad as a native app.

Screenshots

MuffinTerm4 screens
CloudpilotEmu3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: CloudpilotEmu at free against MuffinTerm's paid. MuffinTerm's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for MuffinTerm against 5.0 for CloudpilotEmu. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 38 and 20 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of MuffinTerm's written reviews are positive against 100% of CloudpilotEmu's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MuffinTerm ships an update every 3 weeks, CloudpilotEmu every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on July 6, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
MuffinTerm versus CloudpilotEmu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMuffinTermCloudpilotEmu
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (38 ratings)5.0 (20 ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings38 — better20
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMolly BlackChristian Speckner

Customer experience

MuffinTerm

All ratings38 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral2.6%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive93.3%
Neutral3.3%
Negative3.3%

CloudpilotEmu

All ratings20 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

MuffinTerm

No in-app purchases

None

CloudpilotEmu

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MuffinTerm free?
MuffinTerm is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CloudpilotEmu free?
CloudpilotEmu is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MuffinTerm or CloudpilotEmu?
CloudpilotEmu is rated higher. MuffinTerm averages 4.9 out of 5 from 38 ratings, while CloudpilotEmu averages 5.0 from 20 ratings.
Do MuffinTerm or CloudpilotEmu have ads?
Neither MuffinTerm nor CloudpilotEmu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MuffinTerm or CloudpilotEmu?
MuffinTerm ships an update every 3 weeks, and CloudpilotEmu every 3 months. Most recently, MuffinTerm was updated on July 6, 2026 and CloudpilotEmu on September 9, 2026.

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