# rootshell vs shellin

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: rootshell at none against shellin's 2. rootshell also leads on ratings volume (40 vs 1) and chart position (#145 vs unranked). shellin's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. shellin sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. rootshell asks for nothing beyond the download.

shellin 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 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

rootshell ships an update every 2 weeks, shellin every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | rootshell | shellin |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (40 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rootshell-local-terminal-ssh/id6755794662/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shellin/id6760250186/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **40** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 93.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Subscription |
| Best chart rank | **#145** | — |
| Size | 344 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | **18.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Rootshell LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1829197011) | [Joonhyung Cho](https://appshunter.io/developer/1883466334) |

## What reviewers say

### rootshell

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rootshell-local-terminal-ssh/id6755794662)

**Currently charting:** #145 Top Free · Developer Tools (US App Store)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### shellin

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shellin/id6760250186)

Access and control your Mac terminal from your iPhone or iPad. Monitor AI coding agents, run commands, and stay connected to your workflow remotely via an encrypted peer-to-peer connection.

**Highlights:** View Mac terminal live on iPhone/iPad, Monitor AI coding agents remotely, Real-time interaction with keyboard input, Connect without SSH setup, End-to-end encrypted peer-to-peer session

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Shellin Lite | $0.99 | per 7 days |
| Shellin Pro | $8.99 | per month |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is rootshell free?

rootshell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is shellin free?

shellin is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, rootshell or shellin?

shellin is rated higher. rootshell averages 4.8 out of 5 from 40 ratings, while shellin averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do rootshell or shellin have ads?

Neither rootshell nor shellin shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, rootshell or shellin?

rootshell ships an update every 2 weeks, and shellin every 10 days. Most recently, rootshell was updated on September 22, 2026 and shellin on September 21, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*