Comparison

SwiftyTerminal vs Terminal

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

Head to head
About

SwiftyTerminal

Features
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Learn Linux commands on your iPhone or iPad. SwiftyTerminal is a pocket shell where you can practice ls, grep, sed, awk, pipes and redirects, plus ping, nslookup and SSH. When you get stuck, ask the Command Copilot in plain English: describe what you want to do and get a real command you can run. Type ? followed by a task, like "? show hidden files", and the answer lands in the input line, ready to run or edit. Type explain before any command line and it is broken down piece by piece, so you learn as you go. On devices with Apple Intelligence the copilot runs on the on-device model. Everywhere else it answers from a built-in offline guide. Nothing you type leaves your device. COMMAND COPILOT - Plain English to a runnable command, checked against the commands this app actually has - Type explain before a command to decode pipes, options and redirects - Commands that delete or overwrite data are never run for you: they wait in the input line - Recent answers are saved so you can run them again - A searchable reference of every built-in command, with examples ASK FROM ANYWHERE - Shortcuts: Explain a Terminal Command, Suggest a Terminal Command, Run in Terminal, Open Command Copilot - Say "Explain grep in SwiftyTerminal" or "Ask SwiftyTerminal for a command" - Every command is searchable from Spotlight FILES AND TEXT List, create, copy, move and delete files and folders with ls, cd, mkdir, touch, cp, mv, rm and cat. Inspect with file, wc, head and tail. Search and process text with find, grep (-i -v -n -c), sort, uniq, sed and awk, plus pipes, redirects and glob patterns. NETWORK TOOLS ping, nslookup, curl, netcat and port scans for hosts you own, plus SSH sessions with remote commands and file transfer. SYSTEM AND SCRIPTING date, cal, uptime, df, uname, environment variables, aliases and history. A built-in mini Python and Lua interpreter for quick math and variables. A FRESH LOOK A hand-drawn design with living "thinking orb" animations, a Liquid Glass input bar, four terminal themes and adjustable text size. Reduce Motion calms every animation. SwiftyTerminal is a simulated terminal that runs entirely inside the app sandbox. It does not download or run external code. Who it's for: developers, students learning the command line, IT and network folks, and anyone curious about Unix commands.

About

Terminal

Features
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Terminal is a native SSH client for iPhone โ€” built for developers, sysadmins, and DevOps engineers who need real remote access, not a toy shell. CONNECT TO ANY SERVER SSH into any Linux, macOS, or Unix-based server in seconds. Password and SSH key authentication both supported for secure, flexible access. MANAGE YOUR SERVERS Organize server profiles with folders, favorites, and color tags. Built-in search finds any host instantly โ€” no scrolling through long lists. FULL TERMINAL EXPERIENCE True ANSI color rendering, interactive shell, blinking cursor, and accurate VT100 emulation. Designed for real work: editing files in vi, tailing logs, running builds. MULTIPLE ACTIVE SESSIONS Keep several SSH connections open simultaneously and switch between them without dropping a session or losing scroll history. BUILT FOR PRODUCTIVITY โ€ข Command Snippets โ€” save your most-used commands and run them with one tap โ€ข Command History โ€” searchable, per-server log of every command you've run โ€ข Shortcut Row โ€” Tab, Ctrl, Esc, and arrow keys always one tap away above the keyboard โ€ข Keep Screen On โ€” no more screen dimming during long-running jobs CUSTOMIZE YOUR WORKSPACE 8 hand-crafted themes: Dracula Pro, Tokyo Night, Catppuccin, Nord, and more. Adjust font family and size until the terminal feels exactly right. SECURE BY DESIGN Credentials are stored exclusively in the iOS Keychain โ€” never in plain text, never on a third-party server. All connections use the standard SSH protocol. ALL FEATURES INCLUDED Paid download includes every feature in the app: all 8 themes, command snippets, and multi-session SSH. Privacy Policy: https://terminal.avunia.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://terminal.avunia.com/terms

Screenshots

SwiftyTerminal4 screens
Terminal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SwiftyTerminal at none against Terminal's 3. SwiftyTerminal also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 weeks) and price ($0.99 vs $4.99). Terminal's advantage is iOS requirement (17 vs 26.0). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

SwiftyTerminal costs $0.99 and Terminal $4.99 up front. Terminal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. SwiftyTerminal asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SwiftyTerminal ships an update every 5 days, Terminal every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences ยท 2 level
SwiftyTerminal versus Terminal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSwiftyTerminalTerminal
Price$0.99 โ€” better$4.99
Update frequencyEvery 5 days โ€” betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size6 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHemal ModiSerhan Cetin

In-app purchases

None

SwiftyTerminal

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Terminal

Subscriptions2
  • Terminal Pro Monthly3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Terminal Pro Yearly3 Days trial$8.991 Year
One-time1
  • Terminus Pro Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is SwiftyTerminal free?
SwiftyTerminal costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Terminal free?
Terminal costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Do SwiftyTerminal or Terminal have ads?
Neither SwiftyTerminal nor Terminal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SwiftyTerminal or Terminal?
SwiftyTerminal ships an update every 5 days, and Terminal every 5 weeks. Most recently, SwiftyTerminal was updated on October 25, 2026 and Terminal on October 28, 2026.

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