# rootshell vs Conduit

The clearest difference is update cadence: Conduit at every 2 days against rootshell's fortnightly. Conduit also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). rootshell's advantage is ratings volume (53 vs 2) and chart position (#153 vs unranked). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for rootshell against 5.0 for Conduit. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: rootshell has 53 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

rootshell ships an update fortnightly, Conduit every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | rootshell | Conduit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (53 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rootshell-local-terminal-ssh/id6755794662/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/conduit-ssh-mosh-and-sftp/id6780054869/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **53** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 91.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | **#153** | — |
| Size | 376 MB | 26 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Rootshell LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1829197011) | [Grzegorz Witkowski](https://appshunter.io/developer/6780054871) |

## What reviewers say

### rootshell

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

**Currently charting:** #153 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


### Conduit

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/conduit-ssh-mosh-and-sftp/id6780054869)

Connect to your servers, workstations, and development environments from your iPhone using SSH, Mosh, and SFTP. Offers local credential storage, hardware security key support, and tmux integration without requiring an account or subscription.

**Highlights:** SSH terminal sessions, Password, private key, and hardware security key authentication, SFTP file browsing and export, Saved machine profiles with tags, Local credential storage, Tabbed terminal workspace

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is rootshell free?

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

### Is Conduit free?

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

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

Conduit is rated higher. rootshell averages 4.9 out of 5 from 53 ratings, while Conduit averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do rootshell or Conduit have ads?

Neither rootshell nor Conduit shows ads.

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

rootshell ships an update fortnightly, and Conduit every 2 days. Most recently, rootshell was updated on October 30, 2026 and Conduit on October 31, 2026.

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