Comparison

WebSSH vs a

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, and Port Forwarding client for iOS and macOS — now with an integrated Proxmox client. Built 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). Connections are fast and stable, with support for local port forwarding, automatic startup commands, full terminal emulation (XTERM-256COLOR, XTERM, VT100), and custom profiles — themes, fonts, colors, and keyboard shortcuts tailored to your workflow. MANAGE FILES REMOTELY The integrated SFTP client lets you browse directories, create, rename, upload, and download files — and edit text files directly within the app. No separate FTP client needed. MORE THAN SSH WebSSH also supports Mosh, Telnet, and Serial connections, making it a versatile tool across a wide range of scenarios. Mosh (mobile shell) 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. Serial connections support full configuration (baud rate, parity, stop bits, flow control), and Telnet supports both direct and interactive authentication. PROXMOX AT YOUR FINGERTIPS NEW: WebSSH now includes a built-in Proxmox client. 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. BUILT-IN SYSADMIN TOOLKIT Quick diagnostics without leaving the app: Ping, Traceroute, DNS Lookup, and Whois. The mashREPL feature gives you a fully local shell (ls, grep, curl, ping, tar, and more) that works even without internet access. 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. 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

a

Run a full Unix-like terminal environment on your iOS device. Execute a wide range of commands, edit files, and even program using included interpreters and compilers. Supports multitasking and integration with Shortcuts.

Highlights
  • Local Unix terminal emulator
  • SSH client
  • File transfer (scp, curl)
  • Text editing (vim, ed)
  • Scripting languages (Python, Lua, Perl, JS)
  • C/C++ compiler
  • TeX distribution
Features
Read full description

a-Shell is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on your iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk and sed. You can work with git repositories using lg2.  Most commands are compiled for iOS native Arm64 format, making them fast and well integrated with the BSD Unix that powers iOS/iPadOS. a-Shell includes Python, Lua, Perl, JavaScript, C, C++ for programming and TeX (texlive 2025, with Tikz and LuaTeX) for text processing. There are also multiple network utilities: nslookup, ping, whois, ifconfig... Type help for help, help -l to get the full list of commands. a-Shell can be controlled from Shortcuts: run commands in order, process files in a-Shell, get the results as text or files, transfer files to other apps... a-shell uses iOS 13+ “multiple windows” ability, so you can run multiple shells at the same time, with different commands, in different directories. You can edit a file in one window with vim and process it in the other with python. Compile your C or C++ programs to webAssembly using clang or clang++, and execute the resulting binary. A complete webAssembly SDK is included (WASI-libc). a-Shell is the complete version. If you need a smaller app, and you don't need a C compiler, a TeX engine, or numpy and matplotlib, there is a-Shell mini.

Screenshots

WebSSH4 screens
a4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: a at none against WebSSH's 3. a also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 26.0). WebSSH's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly) and ratings volume (2.5K vs 553). On price, rating, review sentiment and 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

Both are free to download. WebSSH sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. a asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for WebSSH against 4.6 for a. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.5K and 553 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of WebSSH's written reviews are positive against 79% of a's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WebSSH ships an update every 2 weeks, a monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
WebSSH versus a: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWebSSHa
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.5K ratings) — better4.6 (553 ratings)
Positive reviews86.1% of reviews — better78.6% of reviews
Number of ratings2.5K — better553
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#30#19 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size254 MB1.9 GB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperMENGUS ARNAUDNicolas Holzschuch

Customer experience

WebSSH

All ratings2,534 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.0%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews545 reviews
Positive86.1%
Neutral3.9%
Negative10.1%

a

All ratings553 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral4.5%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews294 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral10.2%
Negative11.2%

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.)

a

From 553 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful terminal with Linux commands
  • 👍 Useful for programming and development
  • 🔒 Secure and reliable
  • 💡 Impressive capabilities for an iOS app
  • 👍 Helpful documentation and developer support

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Limited customization options
  • 🔍 Missing some basic terminal features
  • 🔍 Compatibility issues with certain packages

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

a

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Toolbar buttons not accessible in portrait mode on some devices
  • Pasting from clipboard can insert unexpected characters
  • Sourcing certain script files causes crashes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for package managers like Homebrew or APT
  • Implement more advanced shell features like job control and better tab completion
  • Integrate Git for version control
  • Allow installing additional packages and libraries
  • Improve clipboard and file management integration

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

a

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is WebSSH free?
WebSSH is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is a free?
a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, WebSSH or a?
WebSSH is rated higher. WebSSH averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while a averages 4.6 from 553 ratings.
Do WebSSH or a have ads?
Neither WebSSH nor a shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WebSSH or a?
WebSSH ships an update every 2 weeks, and a monthly. Most recently, WebSSH was updated on October 1, 2026 and a on October 2, 2026.
Which is more popular, WebSSH or a?
WebSSH currently peaks at #30 in the App Store charts, and a at #19. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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