Comparison

Blink Shell, Build & Code vs IoT Panels

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

IoT Panels

Visualize and control your smart home devices with custom dashboards. Connect to various data sources like MQTT and InfluxDB, and control actuators directly from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Offers offline support and data export for analysis.

Highlights
  • Customizable dashboards with drag-and-drop panels
  • Support for MQTT, InfluxDB, and Prometheus data sources
  • Control IoT devices and actuators
  • Home screen and lock screen widgets
  • Offline support with intelligent data caching
  • JSON and CSV data export
Features
Read full description

Visualize and control your IoT devices from iPhone, iPad, and Mac. IoT Panels is the essential dashboard app for smart home enthusiasts, IoT developers, and anyone working with sensor data and connected devices. Free, open source, and no ads. BUILD CUSTOM DASHBOARDS • Create interactive dashboards with drag-and-drop panels • Line charts, band charts, heatmaps, gauges, sparklines, stacked bar and area charts, state timelines, tables, and more • Threshold-based color rules for at-a-glance status • Design your own widget templates and use them on your home screen • Grid-based layout with multiple panel sizes CONNECT YOUR DATA SOURCES • MQTT broker support with SSL/TLS, client certificates, and ALPN • InfluxDB 1.x (InfluxQL), 2.x (Flux), and 3.x (SQL) • Prometheus with guided query builder and raw PromQL editor • Automatic MQTT topic and Prometheus metric discovery • Multiple data sources per dashboard • Persistent MQTT data store — data survives restarts and view changes • Built-in demo data to explore features instantly DASHBOARD TEMPLATES • Pre-built templates for quick setup — get started in seconds • Node Exporter Lite template for Prometheus with 8 panels • Automatic unit conversion — bytes, temperature, rates, and more POWERFUL QUERY BUILDER • Visual query builder — no code required • Select measurements, fields, and tag filters with autocomplete • Aggregation functions: min, max, mean, sum, and more • Compare current data against historical periods — spot trends and anomalies • Manual query editor for advanced users MULTI-HOME SUPPORT • Organize dashboards by home or location • Switch between homes with a tap • Custom icons for each home WORKS EVERYWHERE • Native experience on iPhone, iPad, and Mac • Home screen widgets with your custom designs • Lock screen widgets powered by your queries — see live data at a glance • Background sparklines on gauges and single-value panels for trend at a glance • Real-time data with configurable refresh intervals • Offline support with intelligent data caching PUBLISH AND CONTROL • Send MQTT messages directly from the app • Control IoT devices and actuators • Topic discovery for quick access BACKUP AND EXPORT • Full backup and restore of all configurations • JSON and CSV data export for further analysis Available in English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, and Chinese. Have feedback or feature requests? Visit our GitHub page — IoT Panels is open source and community-driven.

Screenshots

Blink Shell, Build & Code4 screens
IoT Panels4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: IoT Panels at 75% against Blink Shell, Build & Code's 37%. IoT Panels also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 5) and update cadence (daily vs every 3 weeks). Blink Shell, Build & Code's advantage is chart position (#15 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). On price, ads 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

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. IoT Panels asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Blink Shell, Build & Code ships an update every 3 weeks, IoT Panels daily. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Blink Shell, Build & Code versus IoT Panels: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlink Shell, Build & CodeIoT Panels
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (418 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews36.8% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings418 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#15 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size211 MB8 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperBlink Shell, IncPhilipp Arndt

Customer experience

Blink Shell, Build & Code

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

IoT Panels

Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

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

IoT Panels

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 IoT Panels free?
IoT Panels is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Blink Shell, Build & Code or IoT Panels have ads?
Neither Blink Shell, Build & Code nor IoT Panels shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Blink Shell, Build & Code or IoT Panels?
Blink Shell, Build & Code ships an update every 3 weeks, and IoT Panels daily. Most recently, Blink Shell, Build & Code was updated on October 13, 2026 and IoT Panels on October 1, 2026.

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