# La Terminal vs Shell Drop

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shell Drop at none against La Terminal's 3. Shell Drop also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 66%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). La Terminal's advantage is ratings volume (104 vs 3). On price, ads, chart position and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. La Terminal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Shell Drop asks for nothing beyond the download.

Shell Drop holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: La Terminal has 104 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of La Terminal's written reviews are positive against 100% of Shell Drop's.

La Terminal ships an update every 3 weeks, Shell Drop every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | La Terminal | Shell Drop |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (104 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/la-terminal-mosh-and-ssh-client/id1629902861/reviews) | **[5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shell-drop-ai-agent-terminal/id6760954570/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **104** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 66.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#142** | #197 |
| Size | 85 MB | 16 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **17.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Xibbon, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1625207138) | [Daniel Bilsborough](https://appshunter.io/developer/1885492758) |

## What reviewers say

### La Terminal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/la-terminal-mosh-and-ssh-client/id1629902861)

**Currently charting:** #142 Top Grossing · Developer Tools (US App Store)

This app provides a mobile command center for AI coding agents and server management. It offers full SSH and Mosh support for resilient sessions, along with powerful resource monitoring and an AI-powered assistant for command generation.

**Highlights:** SSH and Mosh support, AI-powered command assistant, Command Search and workflow gallery, Resource monitoring and process explorer, Secure private key storage, iCloud sync for settings and keys

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| La Terminal Pro Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| La Terminal Pro Yearly | $19.99 | per year |
| La Terminal Pro Lifetime | $99.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Best SSH client on iOS/iPadOS
- 👍 Great UI and design
- 💡 Innovative features like session keep alive
- ✨ Nerd font support for icons
- ✅ SFTP server works well

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Laggy performance for some users
- 🐛 File transfer corrupts uploads
- 🐛 Connection silently dies after app switch
- 🐛 Keyboard doesn't hide on sessions page
- 🐛 Blurry fonts on Vision Pro

**Reported bugs**

- Stuck in "keys" dialog on first use (Vision Pro)
- Nerd symbols do not display well
- Session keep alive technology stopped working well
- File transfer corrupts uploads
- Connection silently dies after app switch, folders appear empty

**Requested features**

- Add English option
- Ability to change text size easily
- Support for ed25519 SSH keys
- Option to turn off rendering bright colors as bold fonts
- Ban the soft keyboard from ever appearing again


### Shell Drop

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shell-drop-ai-agent-terminal/id6760954570)

**Currently charting:** #197 Top Free · Developer Tools (US App Store)

This app provides a native terminal experience for iOS and iPadOS, designed for running AI agents via SSH. It allows seamless integration with AI models by enabling image and file uploads directly into sessions, with customizable upload limits. Features include tmux awareness, secure SSH key authentication, and on-device voice input for commands.

**Highlights:** AI agent integration, Image and file uploads, Tmux session management, SSH key authentication, On-device voice input, Customizable keyboard toolbar

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is La Terminal free?

La Terminal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Shell Drop free?

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

### Which has better reviews, La Terminal or Shell Drop?

Shell Drop is rated higher. La Terminal averages 4.7 out of 5 from 104 ratings, while Shell Drop averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.

### Do La Terminal or Shell Drop have ads?

Neither La Terminal nor Shell Drop shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, La Terminal or Shell Drop?

La Terminal ships an update every 3 weeks, and Shell Drop every 9 days. Most recently, La Terminal was updated on October 27, 2026 and Shell Drop on October 25, 2026.

### Which is more popular, La Terminal or Shell Drop?

La Terminal currently peaks at #142 in the App Store charts, and Shell Drop at #197. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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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.*