rootshell vs VVTerm
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
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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.
VVTerm
A native SSH client for Apple devices, offering secure server connections, remote file browsing, and seamless synchronization across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Supports advanced features like tmux, Mosh, and tunneling for a comfortable remote work experience.
- Native SSH client for iPhone, iPad, Mac
- Password and SSH key authentication
- SFTP remote file browsing
- iCloud sync for servers
- tmux and Mosh support
- Customizable themes and modes
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VVTerm is a native SSH client for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Connect to servers with passwords or SSH keys, browse remote files over SFTP, keep your hosts in sync with iCloud, and work comfortably across Apple devices with tmux, Mosh, and tunnel support. FEATURES • Fast native terminal rendering with full color support • SSH connections with password or SSH key authentication • Remote files browser and transfers over SFTP • iCloud sync for servers and workspaces across devices • Secure storage in Keychain • Workspaces with custom colors and environment labels • Multiple tabs for simultaneous connections (Pro) • tmux integration with session picker on connect • Tailscale and Cloudflare Tunnel support • Mosh support • Zen Mode, Privacy Mode, and custom themes iPhone & iPad • Keyboard toolbar with Esc, Tab, Ctrl, arrows, and function keys • Custom toolbar actions for commands and shortcuts • Full-screen terminal optimized for iPad Pro • Unlimited workspaces and servers • Unlimited tabs • Monthly, yearly, or lifetime unlock Free includes 1 workspace, 1 server for new users, and 1 active connection. Terms of Use (EULA): https://vvterm.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://vvterm.com/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: rootshell at none against VVTerm's 3. rootshell also leads on ratings volume (40 vs 5). VVTerm's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, review sentiment, ads and chart position 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. VVTerm sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.49 per month. rootshell asks for nothing beyond the download.
VVTerm holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: rootshell has 40 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of rootshell's written reviews are positive against 100% of VVTerm's.
rootshell ships an update every 2 weeks, VVTerm every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | rootshell | VVTerm |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (40 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 93.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 40 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #170 — better | #200 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 344 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rootshell LLC | Vivy Technologies |
Customer experience
rootshell
VVTerm
In-app purchases
rootshell
No in-app purchases
VVTerm
- Pro Monthly1 Month trial$6.491 Month
- Pro Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Pro Lifetime$49.99





