Comparison

rootshell vs MonkeySSH

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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 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.

About

MonkeySSH

This app provides a mobile SSH workspace for agentic coding, allowing users to connect to servers, manage remote windows, and resume coding sessions. It features a robust terminal, file browsing, port forwarding, and secure SSH key management for modern remote development.

Highlights
  • Mobile terminal with advanced features
  • MonkeyMux and tmux remote window management
  • Agent workflows for coding assistants
  • SFTP workspace for file management
  • SSH key management
  • Port forwarding with in-app browser
  • Local-first security with biometrics
Features
Read full description

Run coding agents on your own servers from iPhone or iPad. MonkeySSH puts native agent conversations, a full SSH terminal, MonkeyMux or tmux windows, and SFTP in one remote workspace. Choose the right view for each task: - Chat with supported agents in native windows with streaming replies, tool progress, plans, diffs, permission prompts, images, audio, attachments, slash commands, and session history. Sign in, answer agent forms, view tool output, and choose MCP servers and extra working directories when supported. Model and mode controls depend on the agent. Get notified when an agent finishes or needs permission. - Switch to the full terminal whenever you need direct CLI control, xterm-256color, inline images, gestures, modifier keys, function keys, macros, or IME-friendly typing. Swipe up on toolbar keys for shortcuts and symbols. - Keep agent and shell work running in persistent MonkeyMux windows. Reconnect, switch windows, and share the same session with your desktop. - Launch Claude Code, Copilot CLI, Codex, OpenCode, Antigravity, Cursor Agent, Pi, Hermes, OpenClaw, Grok Build, and Muse Code, find recent project-scoped sessions, and save launch presets per host. - Manage agent CLIs and ACP adapters on a host with Agent Management. Check versions, install or repair supported packages, and update supported installations together. See account usage, remaining allowances, and reset times when available. A dot on the terminal menu flags available updates. - Browse, upload, download, create, and edit remote files over SFTP. - Generate or import Ed25519 and RSA keys, verify host keys, use jump hosts, and cancel slow connection attempts. - Forward remote ports, manage live tunnels, and open forwarded services in the in-app browser. - Save snippets, macros, home-screen shortcuts, and per-host startup settings for repeat work. Your hosts, keys, snippets, and settings stay on your device. PIN and biometric lock are available, and MonkeySSH does not require cloud sync. Optional analytics and crash reports are off by default and exclude commands, terminal output, paths, hostnames, usernames, clipboard contents, and credentials. SSH, terminal, SFTP, one connected native chat, and the choice between native and terminal agent windows are free. MonkeySSH Pro adds parallel native chats with instant switching and session forks, agent launch presets and recent-session discovery, Agent Management and supported-agent usage rings in MonkeyMux, auto-connect automation, encrypted transfers and migration packages, and host-specific themes. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://github.com/depollsoft/MonkeySSH/blob/main/docs/privacy-policy.md

Screenshots

rootshell4 screens
MonkeySSH4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: rootshell at none against MonkeySSH's 2. rootshell also leads on ratings volume (47 vs 1) and chart position (#152 vs unranked). MonkeySSH's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). 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. MonkeySSH sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. rootshell asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MonkeySSH holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: rootshell has 47 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

rootshell ships an update fortnightly, MonkeySSH every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
rootshell versus MonkeySSH: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterrootshellMonkeySSH
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (47 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews90.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings47 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank#152 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size379 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRootshell LLCDepollsoft

Customer experience

rootshell

All ratings47 ratings
Positive93.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%

MonkeySSH

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

rootshell

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

MonkeySSH

Subscriptions2
  • MonkeySSH Pro (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • MonkeySSH Pro (Annual)$49.991 Year

Questions

Is rootshell free?
rootshell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MonkeySSH free?
MonkeySSH is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, rootshell or MonkeySSH?
MonkeySSH is rated higher. rootshell averages 4.8 out of 5 from 47 ratings, while MonkeySSH averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do rootshell or MonkeySSH have ads?
Neither rootshell nor MonkeySSH shows ads.
Which is updated more often, rootshell or MonkeySSH?
rootshell ships an update fortnightly, and MonkeySSH every 2 days. Most recently, rootshell was updated on October 21, 2026 and MonkeySSH on October 10, 2026.

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