Comparison

Blink Shell, Build & Code vs BluKit Workbench

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

Head to head
About

Blink Shell, Build & Code

Transform your iOS device into a powerful terminal for coding and development. Leverage Mosh and SSH for stable, fast connections. Integrate with VS Code and manage your entire development workflow from your pocket.

Highlights
  • Mosh and SSH connections
  • VS Code integration (Blink Code)
  • Remote runtime creation (Blink Build)
  • Full SSH toolset
  • Hardware keyboard support
  • External display support
  • SFTP transfers
Features
Read full description

Do Blink! Transform your iOS device into a pro-grade terminal. Blink is the first professional, desktop-grade terminal for iOS that leverages the support of Mosh and SSH. Thus, we can guarantee stable connections, crazy-fast speeds, and full configurations. It can and should be your all-day-long tool.  **Start your 14-day free trial now!** But, Blink is much more. Now with Blink Code and Blink Build**, your entire development workflow fits in your pocket. What the Blink community is saying: “In some ways, I prefer my iPad / Blink / Digital Ocean setup to coding on my Mac“ - TheVerge "I have tried a number of terminals on iOS and this is really The One." - Twit.tv “Connections still come up when I get back to a client project after a weekend off.“ - The Sweet Setup “The way to use VS Code on the iPad” - programminglife.io What our users love the most from Blink Shell: - Mosh connections that even survive a device reboot. - Most complete SSH implementation on iOS. - Code command for VS Code integration. - Blazingly fast terminal and SFTP transfers. - Includes Pragmata Pro with ligatures. Blink Shell has a fully loaded SSH toolset: - SSH with PKI support: DSA, RSA, ECDSA & ED25519 keys. - Support for Secure Enclave Keys and Certificates. - Port forwarding with local, remote & dynamic tunnel support. - SOCKS5 proxy for a private VPN. - Agent Forwarding. - Complete SSH Config file support. - ControlMaster and pooled connections. - Files.app integration for SFTP remote hosts. - SFTP with copy-on-change. Blink has been the leading developer tool in the AppStore for +5 years, so there is a lot more: - External Display support. - Legendary Hardware Keyboard support, even remap shortcuts and keyboard codes. - Local & iCloud Blink Shell folders for Files.app access across devices. - Host sync over iCloud. - Link-files from other applications and work with them in Blink. - Cool themes and fonts, and install your own! - Smart Keys on SW Keyboard to navigate with touch. - FaceCam command to create tutorials and streams. - Bell notifications. - Supports multiple windows and multiple tabs. - Network & UNIX CLI tools, check our docs for more information. Blink Code integrates with VS Code: - Code on local projects, or seamlessly on remote machines. - Fully-loaded code editor. - A coding experience fitted to your device, that connects to VS Code for web, GitHub Codespaces, GitPod or your own VS Code server. Blink Build (Requires a $7.99/month subscription) Creates remote runtimes that can be accessed on all your devices. You can use Build in your day-to-day workflows whether you need to do development, DevOps or just play around with new tooling. Participate in our community, and don’t forget to leave us your feedback and your feature(s) requests. Enjoy! http://blink.sh http://twitter.com/blinkshell http://GitHub.com/blinksh Terms of Use: https://blink.sh/blink-gpl Privacy Policy: https://blink.sh/pp * Blink Code is not affiliated nor endorsed by Microsoft. ** Blink Build requires a separate subscription to make use of our Virtual Machines.

About

BluKit Workbench

This app is a powerful utility for discovering, inspecting, and prototyping Bluetooth devices. It allows real-time recording and export of peripheral data, and enables the creation of virtual peripherals for testing and development.

Highlights
  • Bluetooth scanning, connecting, inspecting
  • Filtering and sorting discovered devices
  • Recording and exporting peripheral data to JSON
  • Creating and interacting with virtual peripherals
  • Supports Mac, iPhone, and iPad
  • Built with BluKit Framework for Xcode
Read full description

BluKit™ Workbench app is an indispensable Bluetooth® development tool. It is also a powerful Bluetooth discovery and inspection utility app. BluKit Workbench is available on Mac, iPhone and iPad, taking full advantage of each platform. BluKit Workbench includes all the expected features of a Bluetooth scanning app: scanning, connecting, inspecting, filtering, sorting, renaming, and hiding. In version 2, BluKit Workbench introduces features to improve the experience of developing software for apps that communicate with Bluetooth peripherals. BluKit Workbench 2.0 introduces an exciting new software developer feature: Virtual Peripherals! The following Bluetooth peripheral data can be recorded in real time, and exported to a JSON file: • Peripheral
• Services • Characteristics • Descriptors • Advertisement Data • RSSI signals • Characteristic Notify/Indicate values as Data The exported JSON Bluetooth peripheral data can be inspected, and even modified! Import the valid JSON file into BluKit Workbench. The new "Virtual Peripheral" appears as another discovered Bluetooth peripheral. Inspect, Connect, and interact with the Virtual Peripheral just like a real peripheral! BluKit Workbench is built with BluKit™ Framework, a powerful Xcode framework available from Zion Software for your company to use for development, testing, and commercial app licensing. BluKit™ Framework simplifies and improves Bluetooth software integration on iOS, iPadOS and macOS: • Load Virtual Peripherals from JSON • Develop apps using Xcode Simulators, including the CoreBluetooth features. • Add tests to cover the Bluetooth features of your app. • Automate testing within Xcode Simulators including the CoreBluetooth features. • Leverage prebuilt support for many Bluetooth GATT Services and Characteristics. • Built on top of Apple's CoreBluetooth Framework. • Minimal API changes to adopt BluKit Framework.

Screenshots

Blink Shell, Build & Code4 screens
BluKit Workbench4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: BluKit Workbench at 100% against Blink Shell, Build & Code's 37%. BluKit Workbench also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 5) and device support (4 vs 2). Blink Shell, Build & Code's advantage is price (Free vs $9.99) and chart position (#12 vs unranked). On ads 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

Blink Shell, Build & Code is free to download; BluKit Workbench costs $9.99 up front. Blink Shell, Build & Code sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. BluKit Workbench asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Blink Shell, Build & Code versus BluKit Workbench: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlink Shell, Build & CodeBluKit Workbench
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating3.1 (418 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews36.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings418 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#12 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size211 MB3 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperBlink Shell, IncZion Software, LLC

Customer experience

Blink Shell, Build & Code

All ratings418 ratings
Positive51.7%
Neutral2.6%
Negative45.7%
Written reviews345 reviews
Positive36.8%
Neutral2.3%
Negative60.9%

BluKit Workbench

Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Blink Shell, Build & Code

Subscriptions4
  • Build Basic - 50 credits/month1 Month trial$7.991 Month
  • Blink+Build Basic7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Blink Plus$19.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Blink+14 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Blink Shell ClassicFree
None

BluKit Workbench

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Blink Shell, Build & Code free?
Blink Shell, Build & Code is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BluKit Workbench free?
BluKit Workbench costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Blink Shell, Build & Code or BluKit Workbench have ads?
Neither Blink Shell, Build & Code nor BluKit Workbench shows ads.

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