Comparison

Blink Shell, Build & Code vs Herald Bonjour Network Browser

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

Herald Bonjour Network Browser

Discover and inspect Bonjour services on your local network. Visualize smart home devices, Thread, and Matter, or simply see what's broadcasting around you. Export data for documentation.

Highlights
  • Discover 45+ Bonjour service types
  • Inspect service details (hostname, IP, port)
  • Explore Thread network devices
  • Discover Matter smart home devices
  • Scan for Matter commissioning devices via BLE
  • Export discovered services (TXT/JSON)
  • Search service names, types, and TXT records
Features
Read full description

Herald discovers and inspects Bonjour service on your local network using DNS-SD/mDNS, giving you visibility into the devices and services around you. Herald is designed for debugging smart home setups, exploring Thread and Matter devices, or just visualising what's broadcasting on your network. - Browse 45+ Bonjour service types including HTTP, SSH, AirPlay, HomeKit, printers, file shares in a single searchable list - Inspect service details including hostname, port, IPv4/IPv6 addresses, and parsed TXT records with human-readable labels - Dedicated Thread network tab showing Border Routers, TREL peers, SRP servers, and Matter commissioners with decoded metadata (network name, vendor, model, Thread version) - Dedicated Matter tab for discovering smart home devices with vendor lookup, device type, commissioning mode, and discriminator - Dedicated Bluetooth tab scans for nearby Matter commissioning devices via BLE (service UUID 0xFFF6) - Export discovered services as plain text or JSON for sharing and documentation - Search across service names, types, and TXT record values to find what you're looking for instantly - Clean, native iOS interface with live-updating service counts and clear error reporting - No account required, no data collection

Screenshots

Blink Shell, Build & Code4 screens
Herald Bonjour Network Browser4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Herald Bonjour Network Browser at 100% against Blink Shell, Build & Code's 37%. Herald Bonjour Network Browser also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 5). Blink Shell, Build & Code's advantage is ratings volume (418 vs 2) and chart position (#11 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Blink Shell, Build & Code sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Herald Bonjour Network Browser asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Herald Bonjour Network Browser holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Blink Shell, Build & Code has 418 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 37% of Blink Shell, Build & Code's written reviews are positive against 100% of Herald Bonjour Network Browser's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Blink Shell, Build & Code ships an update every 3 weeks, Herald Bonjour Network Browser weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Blink Shell, Build & Code versus Herald Bonjour Network Browser: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlink Shell, Build & CodeHerald Bonjour Network Browser
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (418 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews36.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings418 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#11 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size211 MB6 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperBlink Shell, IncJC Multimedia Design

Customer experience

Blink Shell, Build & Code

All ratings418 ratings
Positive51.7%
Neutral2.6%
Negative45.7%
Written reviews348 reviews
Positive36.8%
Neutral2.3%
Negative60.9%

Herald Bonjour Network Browser

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 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

Herald Bonjour Network Browser

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 Herald Bonjour Network Browser free?
Herald Bonjour Network Browser is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Blink Shell, Build & Code or Herald Bonjour Network Browser?
Herald Bonjour Network Browser is rated higher. Blink Shell, Build & Code averages 3.1 out of 5 from 418 ratings, while Herald Bonjour Network Browser averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Blink Shell, Build & Code or Herald Bonjour Network Browser have ads?
Neither Blink Shell, Build & Code nor Herald Bonjour Network Browser shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Blink Shell, Build & Code or Herald Bonjour Network Browser?
Blink Shell, Build & Code ships an update every 3 weeks, and Herald Bonjour Network Browser weekly. Most recently, Blink Shell, Build & Code was updated on October 16, 2026 and Herald Bonjour Network Browser on October 7, 2026.

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