Comparison

ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal vs Ankra

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

Head to head
About

ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal

A professional SSH and Mosh terminal application offering robust features like xterm compatibility, secure authentication via keys and certificates, and smart port forwarding. It includes a code snippet library for batch execution and background connection monitoring.

Highlights
  • Full-featured SSH terminal
  • xterm compatibility
  • tmux support
  • Secure authentication (keys, certs)
  • Smart port forwarding
  • Code snippet library
  • Background connection monitoring
Features
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ShadowTerm is a full-featured SSH and Mosh terminal for iPhone and iPad. Keep tmux and herdr alive across networks, with a desktop-quality terminal and keyboards built for the job. KEY FEATURES Connections that survive - SSH with passwords and keys. Secure Enclave keys sign with Face ID and never leave the device - Jump hosts (Connect Via), one hop. Mosh does not run through a jump - Mosh survives network drops, backgrounding, and sleep - Local and remote port forwarding. SSH agent forwarding (SSH only), confirmed each use - Auto-connect and geofence auto-connect. Background monitoring, notifications, and Live Activities - Handoff a saved host to another Apple device - Picture in Picture. Stopping it does not disconnect Terminal - 256-color support - tmux, GNU screen, and herdr, detected automatically - Mouse mode: tap to left-click, long-press to right-click, scroll to navigate. Mouse off: long-press or double-tap to paste - Tap a path to open that file. A wrapped link opens as one URL - Multi-window on iPad: Terminal, Files, Monitor, Markdown, or Text Editor - App themes include Sci-Fi, Glass, Midnight, Matrix, and more. Glass chrome is transparent. The terminal stays solid - Terminal colors include Dracula, Nord, Gruvbox, Solarized, Monokai, and others - Pinch-to-zoom. Disconnect All from Control Center Keyboards - 15 layouts: Tmux, Herdr, Screen, Files, OpenCode, Productivity, DevOps, Git, Kubernetes, Python, Node.js, macOS, Database, Security, Terminal Classic - Editable keys, snippets, and sticky modifiers. Auto-switch per process. Mic voice entry Files - SFTP with multi-select and bulk copy, move, and delete. Paste a screenshot or file to upload it - Dual-pane copy between hosts, and Files app access (Premium) - Editor with syntax highlighting. Markdown preview, including Mermaid. Startup snippets per host AI, on your keys - OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Grok, Ollama, OpenRouter, or any OpenAI-compatible server - Blocks fork bombs, rm -rf /, and similar patterns on the device - Inline assistant in the editor Hermes, T3, and agents - Hermes for your own hermes-webui: sessions, chat, Tasks, Kanban, and skills. Console layout, voice listen, and read-aloud. Scheduled tasks notify you when you are away - T3 for a self-hosted T3 Code server: chat, plan, implement, a branch picker, and photo attachments - AI Agents for herdr and tmux. A pane is a full terminal. Claude Code, questions, and Hermes actions share one approval card. Face ID can be required to approve - Your own ntfy server. Many channels. Link a host to a channel - Approve or deny Claude Code from the phone, including always-allow and accept-edits. Session templates for repeatable workflows - MCP server (Premium): open sessions, run commands, read output, and check hosts. Risky commands stay approval-gated, with per-host always-allow. Siri and Shortcuts. Agents can edit your keyboards over MCP Monitor - CPU, memory, network, filesystem, disk I/O, and Nvidia GPU when present - Ping, port scan, DNS, TLS probe, Wake-on-LAN, Bonjour, and SSH preflight Also - Snippets with variables, including secrets. Widgets for hosts and AI Agents: Lock Screen, StandBy, CarPlay, and Control Center - Searchable Settings. Universal clipboard sync. Demo Privacy Mode scrambles the terminal while you record. Face ID to turn it off - iCloud sync for machines, identities, snippets, port forwards, keyboards, and settings. Credentials in the Keychain - Your API keys, or fully local with Ollama. No telemetry, no analytics, no data collection ShadowTerm is built by a developer who lives in tmux on iPad. If mobile SSH apps disconnect, lose your prompt, or feel cramped, this one will feel different. mosh ;) Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://shadowterm.app/privacy

About

Ankra

Features
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Ankra is the companion app for the Ankra Kubernetes platform. Manage your clusters, stacks, and add-ons from your iPhone or iPad with native iOS conveniences that the web alone cannot offer. Built for platform engineers and SREs who need cluster health at a glance: • Face ID / Touch ID gate on every launch and after 5 minutes in the background, with device-passcode fallback. • Offline-aware with an active connection probe - the app keeps showing the last view you had and offers a one-tap Reconnect when the network comes back. • ankra:// deep links to jump straight to any cluster, add-on, or stack from links anywhere on your phone. • Native downloads - kubeconfigs, YAML manifests, and platform exports hand off to the iOS Files / Share sheet. • Branded splash and offline screens that match the Ankra design system. • Camera and photo-library integration for attaching screenshots to support tickets. • Optimised WebView - pull-to-refresh, swipe-to-go-back, persistent cookies so you stay logged in between sessions. Requires an active account on platform.ankra.app. Sign up at https://ankra.io or contact sales for a demo. Support: https://docs.ankra.ai Privacy: https://ankra.io/privacy

Screenshots

ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal1 screens
Ankra4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ankra at none against ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal's 3. Ankra also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 4 days) and iOS requirement (15.1 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. ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Ankra asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal ships an update every 4 days, Ankra every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal versus Ankra: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShadowTerm ssh & mosh TerminalAnkra
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (17 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews62.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings17 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size134 MB20 MB
Age rating+4+4
DeveloperCarlos SavcicAnkra AB

In-app purchases

3 purchases

ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal

Subscriptions2
  • ShadowTerm Premium Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • ShadowTerm Premium Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$29.99
None

Ankra

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal free?
ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ankra free?
Ankra is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal or Ankra have ads?
Neither ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal nor Ankra shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal or Ankra?
ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal ships an update every 4 days, and Ankra every 2 days. Most recently, ShadowTerm ssh & mosh Terminal was updated on October 25, 2026 and Ankra on October 25, 2026.

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