Comparison

WebSSH vs SSH Tunnel

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

Head to head
About

WebSSH

This app provides a comprehensive suite of tools for managing remote servers. It offers secure SSH, SFTP, Telnet, and Port Forwarding capabilities, along with file management and built-in diagnostic utilities. Customize your workflow with extensive profile options for a seamless server management experience.

Highlights
  • SSH, SFTP, Telnet, Port Forwarding client
  • Secure authentication methods
  • Integrated SFTP file management
  • Customizable terminal profiles
  • Built-in sysadmin diagnostic tools
  • Local mashREPL shell
Features
Read full description

Whether you're on the go or at your desk, WebSSH keeps you connected — anytime, anywhere! ٩(^‿^)۶ WebSSH is a professional SSH, Mosh, SFTP, Telnet, Serial and Port Forwarding client for iPhone, iPad and Mac, with a built-in Proxmox client and a complete sysadmin toolbox. Built since 2012 for developers, system administrators and IT professionals who need reliable, secure remote access wherever they are. CONNECT WITH CONFIDENCE Authenticate with passwords, two-factor challenge, or keys (RSA, DSA, ED25519, PuTTY). Jump through bastion hosts, keep an alternative address per host for when you are inside or outside your network, and let known hosts protect you from surprises. Full terminal emulation (XTERM-256COLOR, XTERM, VT100) with WebGL rendering, split panes, inline images, buffer search, session recording and custom profiles — themes, fonts, colors and keyboard shortcuts tailored to your workflow. NEW IN 33: ONE COMMAND, EVERY HOST Run a command or a snippet on several hosts at once and watch the results come back side by side. The Terminal State Bar now shows more about the machine you are on, snippets get keyboard shortcuts on Mac, and the keyboard accessory keys can carry your own icons. MANAGE FILES REMOTELY The integrated SFTP and SCP client lets you browse directories, create, rename, upload and download files — and edit text files directly within the app. WebSSH can also open .txt files from anywhere on your device. MORE THAN SSH Mosh keeps your session alive through network changes, sleep and flaky connections — switch from Wi-Fi to cellular and pick up right where you left off. Telnet supports direct and interactive authentication, including the CP437 character set for BBS servers. Serial connections support full configuration (baud rate, parity, stop bits, flow control). TUNNEL ANYTHING Local and dynamic port forwarding, VPN over SSH to route your device's traffic through a server, port knocking and Wake-on-LAN to reach machines that are not listening yet. PROXMOX AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Connect to one or more Proxmox servers and clusters, monitor your nodes at a glance (CPU, memory, storage), and manage your VMs and LXC containers — start, stop, reboot and migrate them right from your iPhone, iPad or Mac. SNIPPETS THAT WORK FOR YOU Save the commands you type every day, add dynamic variables, sync them from a GitHub Gist and fire them with a shortcut. BUILT-IN SYSADMIN TOOLKIT Quick diagnostics without leaving the app: Ping, Traceroute, DNS Lookup with propagation check, Whois, network scanner, Certificate Checker, Postmaster for SMTP and DMARC audits, HTTP Forge for crafted requests, Hex Viewer, Baker for data transformations, Code Forge for QR codes, Subnet Calculator, Cron generator, Password Generator and end-to-end encrypted Secret Share. The mashREPL local shell (ls, grep, curl, ping, tar and more) works even without internet access. PRIVACY. PERIOD. No account. No analytics. No ads. Your connections stay on your device, and iCloud sync only runs when you turn it on. WHY WEBSSH? Most SSH clients are either too basic or too bloated. WebSSH hits the sweet spot: professional-grade features, a clean mobile-first interface, and rock-solid reliability — every on-device feature unlocked with a single one-time PRO purchase, yours for life on every device. One app. Every protocol. Zero compromises. Download WebSSH and keep your servers close at hand, no matter where you are. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

SSH Tunnel

Securely manage SSH tunnels and port forwarding on your mobile device. Configure local SOCKS5 proxies and private tunnels to your own server, with support for various authentication methods and advanced traffic redirection rules.

Highlights
  • Local Port Forwarding
  • Dynamic Port Forwarding (SOCKS5 proxy)
  • Password, Private Key, 2FA authentication
  • Multiple SSH Key support
  • Connection Export & Import
  • Proxy Auto-Configuration (PAC) file support
Features
Read full description

SSH Tunnel is the easiest way to tunnel your traffic through your own SSH server on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Version 3.0 is a complete native rewrite with a new VPN engine: route ALL device traffic through your server, keep it running in the background, and reconnect automatically. The old foreground-only limitation is gone. TWO ENGINES - VPN engine: system-wide tunnel built on Apple's Network Extension. Works in the background, survives restarts, and restores itself after reboots and network changes (On Demand). - Proxy engine: a local SOCKS5 proxy with a PAC file for browsers, third-party apps, or sharing the tunnel with other devices on your Wi-Fi. Run several tunnels at once. FEATURES - Dynamic port forwarding (SOCKS5 proxy), like "ssh -D" - Local port forwarding, like "ssh -L 80:intra.example.com:80 gw.example.com" - Password, private key, and keyboard-interactive (2FA/OTP) authentication - Keys: ed25519, ECDSA, RSA (rsa-sha2), OpenSSH and PuTTY .ppk formats, import from file - Modern ciphers and OpenSSH 8.8+ compatibility - Host key fingerprint verification - In-app browser that uses the tunnel (iOS) - Proxy Auto-Configuration (PAC) URL with custom PAC rules - Live transfer statistics and connection logs - Connection export & import - Passcode & Face ID protection - Idle disconnect timer - Native menu bar app on macOS, included with your purchase - Dark mode. No ads, no subscriptions, no accounts. YOUR SERVER, YOUR DATA SSH Tunnel connects only to a server YOU provide. There are no accounts and no servers we operate: your traffic flows directly between your device and your own SSH server. We never see, collect, or sell any of it. You need your own SSH server to use this application. Support: support@ssh-tunnel-ios.com

Screenshots

WebSSH4 screens
SSH Tunnel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: WebSSH at Free against SSH Tunnel's $9.99. WebSSH also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (86% vs 46%). SSH Tunnel's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On ads, chart position 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

WebSSH is free to download; SSH Tunnel costs $9.99 up front. WebSSH sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. SSH Tunnel asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

WebSSH holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WebSSH has 2.5K ratings behind it against 147, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of WebSSH's written reviews are positive against 46% of SSH Tunnel's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WebSSH ships an update every 10 days, SSH Tunnel monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
WebSSH versus SSH Tunnel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWebSSHSSH Tunnel
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.7 (2.5K ratings) — better4.0 (147 ratings)
Positive reviews86.1% of reviews — better45.6% of reviews
Number of ratings2.5K — better147
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#32 — better#57
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size257 MB17 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperMENGUS ARNAUDMobibean, LLC

Customer experience

WebSSH

All ratings2,545 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.0%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews548 reviews
Positive86.1%
Neutral3.8%
Negative10.0%

SSH Tunnel

All ratings147 ratings
Positive70.7%
Neutral6.8%
Negative22.4%
Written reviews103 reviews
Positive45.6%
Neutral9.7%
Negative44.7%

User reviews

WebSSH

From 2.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Efficient and fast
  • 🔒 Secure SSH/SFTP connections
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 💡 Useful additional tools (ping, traceroute, etc.)
  • 👍 Seamless iCloud sync across devices

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or connection issues
  • 🐛 Copy/paste functionality can be buggy
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with older devices/iOS versions
  • 🐛 Slow input response in some cases
  • 🐛 SFTP limitations (no folder uploads, etc.)

SSH Tunnel

From 147 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✅ Works well for SSH tunneling when used as intended
  • 🌐 Supports SOCKS5 dynamic forwarding
  • 🔐 Supports multiple SSH key formats
  • 📱 Useful built-in browser for tunnel access
  • ⚙️ Proxy auto-configuration (PAC) support

Room to improve

  • 🚫 Cannot maintain SSH tunnel in background (30-second limit)
  • ⚠️ App disconnects when switched to other applications
  • 💰 Expensive for limited functionality ($7.99-$10)
  • 🔄 Lacks transparency about iOS limitations in description
  • 🌐 In-app browser leaks user IP address

Bugs and requests

WebSSH

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Connections failing randomly
  • Session saving not working reliably
  • Clipboard issues (pasting previous content)
  • Drag and drop file uploads not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for function keys
  • Improve SFTP functionality (folder uploads, file details, etc.)
  • Implement background session support
  • Add option to save SSH key passphrases
  • Provide a way to mass import/export SSH connections

SSH Tunnel

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • 2FA login not working despite being advertised
  • In-app browser unable to access localhost or local IP addresses
  • Private key parsing issues (requires proper line endings)
  • Connection drops frequently (every 5 minutes in some cases)
  • App crashes unexpectedly
Show 7 more
  • Cannot edit or delete existing connections
  • Tunnel connection drops when changing applications
  • Port remains busy after tunnel termination
  • Location services prompt appears every time app closes
  • App not updated for iOS 16+ compatibility
  • SOCKS5 functionality not working in some cases
  • Incompatible with iOS 18

Requested features

12 requests
  • Background app refresh capability
  • VPN interface implementation for system-wide traffic routing
  • Multiple simultaneous tunnels
  • Tabs in built-in browser
  • Remote port forwarding support
Show 7 more
  • 2FA/Two-factor authentication support
  • Better documentation and setup guides
  • Support for PuTTY key format
  • Mouse click events in in-app browser
  • Shortcuts app integration
  • Compression option support
  • Global proxy support for mobile networks

In-app purchases

3 purchases

WebSSH

Subscriptions2
  • WebSSH Developer Tip$1.991 Month
  • WebSSH Developer Tip$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • WebSSH PRO$15.00
None

SSH Tunnel

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is WebSSH free?
WebSSH is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SSH Tunnel free?
SSH Tunnel costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, WebSSH or SSH Tunnel?
WebSSH is rated higher. WebSSH averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while SSH Tunnel averages 4.0 from 147 ratings.
Do WebSSH or SSH Tunnel have ads?
Neither WebSSH nor SSH Tunnel shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WebSSH or SSH Tunnel?
WebSSH ships an update every 10 days, and SSH Tunnel monthly. Most recently, WebSSH was updated on October 13, 2026 and SSH Tunnel on October 11, 2026.
Which is more popular, WebSSH or SSH Tunnel?
WebSSH currently peaks at #32 in the App Store charts, and SSH Tunnel at #57. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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