rootshell vs Exec Terminal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
rootshell
This app provides a powerful, desktop-class terminal emulator with GPU acceleration and native support for SSH, Mosh, and tssh. It offers features like system-wide VPN over SSH, native Git integration, and AI assistance for hands-free command execution and web searches.
- GPU-accelerated terminal
- Native SSH and Mosh support
- System-wide VPN over SSH
- Native Git client
- AI voice and text agents
- Cloud and Kubernetes integration
- Hardware security key support
Read full descriptionHide full description
rootshell is a desktop-class terminal emulator built on libghostty — the GPU-accelerated engine behind the Ghostty desktop terminal. A local shell on every platform, Mac screen sharing, native SSH, mosh-compatible roaming, tssh, system-wide VPN, native git, and Metal rendering in a single app. NEW: SCREEN SHARING Reach your Mac's screen, not just its shell, from your iPhone or iPad. High Performance mode streams up to 4K at 60 FPS, fully encrypted. Match Client sizing spins up a virtual display sized exactly to your device: no panning, no letterboxing, with remote system audio. Standard VNC mode covers Linux and headless machines, and tunnels over SSH jump hosts. Nothing to install on the Mac — turn on Screen Sharing and connect. Touch, trackpad, hardware keyboard, and two-way clipboard all work, in tabs, splits, or full screen. METAL-ACCELERATED TERMINAL Built on libghostty's Zig core with direct Metal rendering. Smooth scrolling, zero-flicker synchronized output, and full mouse capture for tmux, vim, and zellij. Tabs, split panes, and persistent scrollback across app restarts. THREE REMOTE PROTOCOLS, ONE APP • SSH — Native Swift SSH client with Ed25519, ECDSA, RSA, and post-quantum ML-KEM + ML-DSA. Jump hosts, port and agent forwarding, and Keychain password storage. • Rootshell Roam — Mosh-compatible sessions survive network changes and app restarts. Multipath TCP bonds WiFi and cellular. Predictive local echo keeps typing responsive. STUN-based NAT traversal punches through firewalls. • tssh with QUIC (TLS 1.3) and KCP transport for lower latency, full native scrollback, and session resumption. NATIVE TMUX INTEGRATION Attach in control mode (tmux -CC) and tmux windows become native tabs, panes become real splits — copy, search, and scroll with native gestures. A dashboard shows live window previews, and tabs survive restarts over tssh. SSH VPN Turn any SSH or tssh session into a system-wide VPN. Route all device traffic through your remote server. No extra software on the server — if you can SSH to it, you can VPN through it. NATIVE GIT Clone, commit, diff, log, blame, rebase, cherry-pick, and worktree — in native Swift with SSH transport. Syntax-highlighted pager output and optional AI-generated commit messages. VOICE AI AGENT Talk to an always-on assistant over Gemini Live. It reads scrollback, runs SSH commands hands-free, searches the web, and asks permission before anything risky. OPTIONAL TEXT AI Chat with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or 400+ models via OpenRouter. Bring your own API key. HARDWARE SECURITY KEYS Private keys never leave hardware. FIDO2/WebAuthn authentication with touch-to-sign. SANDBOXED LOCAL SHELL A full local shell with vim 9.1, Helix, SFTP, SCP, curl, jq, mtr, and standard Unix utilities. The rf browser offers yazi-style miller columns with image previews and git indicators. croc peer-to-peer file transfer, flag-aware tab completion, and prompt themes. CLOUD & KUBERNETES Connect to AWS, Azure, DigitalOcean, Akamai (Linode), and Tailscale. Browse instances, access serial consoles, generate EKS kubeconfigs, and debug Kubernetes nodes with ephemeral pods. 450+ THEMES & VISUAL EFFECTS Over 450 color themes with location-based day/night switching. Animated backgrounds — solar, ocean waves, starfields, fireflies — plus Shadertoy-compatible shaders and custom fonts. CUSTOMIZABLE TOOLBAR Drag, reorder, and hide 45+ built-in keys. Create custom keys that send text, key combos, or sequences. Sticky modifiers with tap and double-tap lock. Separate iPhone and iPad layouts. CONNECTION MANAGEMENT Save profiles with folders, tags, and iCloud sync. Quick Connect autocompletes from history and cloud instances. Background SSH tunnels with auto-start. Siri Shortcuts integration. KEYBOARD POWER FEATURES QMK-style mod-tap keys, dictation and CJK input, customizable shortcuts, and Option key as Alt for international layouts.
Exec Terminal
Read full descriptionHide full description
Exec Terminal is a terminal workspace for iPhone and iPad, built for developers, operators, and anyone who needs secure command-line access on the go. TERMINAL FEATURES — FREE • Connect to your servers with SSH or Mosh • Run a local shell on your device • Save connections and command snippets • Restore terminal sessions and work across multiple servers • Protect access with Face ID or Touch ID • Keep SSH credentials in the iOS Keychain Terminal features remain free and do not require an account or subscription. AI THAT FITS YOUR WORKFLOW Use local AI with supported Apple Intelligence devices, an on-device model, or your own Ollama endpoint. Local AI options do not use Exec Cloud and do not require an Exec Terminal Pro subscription. For cloud assistance, choose Exec Cloud: • Sign in with Apple without sharing your name or email with Exec Terminal • Start with a limited free allowance • Ask for concise command-line help • Optionally include a bounded, redacted portion of terminal context • Use Agent mode to work through multi-step terminal tasks with local tool execution and dangerous-command confirmation EXEC TERMINAL PRO Exec Terminal Pro is an auto-renewable monthly or annual subscription that raises the fair-use limits for Exec Cloud AI and Agent features. Current prices and subscription periods are shown in the App before purchase. Pro is optional; SSH, Mosh, the local terminal, and local AI remain available without it. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can restore purchases or open Manage Subscription from the App. PRIVACY BY DESIGN Terminal context sharing is off by default. Exec Cloud prompts and responses are processed in real time and are not stored in the gateway database. The App does not use advertising or cross-app tracking. Privacy Policy: https://execterminal.com/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://execterminal.com/terms/ Support: https://execterminal.com/support/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: rootshell at none against Exec Terminal's 2. rootshell also leads on chart position (#209 vs unranked). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Exec Terminal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. rootshell asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | rootshell | Exec Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (45 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 94.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 45 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | #209 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 364 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rootshell LLC | Ilia Khabadaev |
In-app purchases
rootshell
No in-app purchases
Exec Terminal
- Exec Terminal Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
- Exec Terminal Pro Annual$69.991 Year









